2010-12-31 DISC: AR, IL, LA, MO, MS

[James Hammett]

I happened to drive through Sunset Hills just after the tornado (not chasing). There was small debris strewn across I-270 and a swath cut through the trees. Lots of emergency vehicles and folks standing around.

 

[ChristianTerry]

Its still going on. Rankin County has another reported tornado in it right now.

 

[Jason Moreland]

Here's our clip of the Byram Tornado RFD

 

[Mark Ellinwood]

I know lots of people missed this last night, so he is the TORNADO WARNING FOR THE YAZOO CITY AREA that was issued in the closing minutes of 2010:

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
1107 PM CST FRI DEC 31 2010

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN JACKSON HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
WESTERN HOLMES COUNTY IN CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI...
THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF THORNTON...
SOUTHEASTERN HUMPHREYS COUNTY IN CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI...
NORTHERN YAZOO COUNTY IN CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI...
THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF YAZOO CITY...

* UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST

* AT 1107 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS DETECTED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 7 MILES
NORTHWEST OF TINSLEY MOVING NORTHEAST AT 50 MPH.

-----
Waiting to hear confirmed reports of damage in the area... I was at work and forgot to save the SRM, but there were pretty nasty winds regardless of whether there was a tornado or not.

A preliminary of 40 tornado reports already! We could see it climb to 50+ reports before this is done.

 

[Andrew Stoller]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uti4OAtn_-g

Awesome video, especially the end. Fort Leonard Wood, MO.

 

[Jason Harris]

Wonder if this quote may catch fire and lead to tornado-surfing extreme sport to get to be "superman for the day" :--

“It sucked me out of my house and carried me across the road and dropped me,” Chris Sizemore of Cincinnati said in an interview with The Associated Press. “I was Superman for a while. ... You're just free-floating through the air. Trees are knocking you and smacking you down.”

http://www.pretorianews.co.za/i-was-superman-for-a-while-1.1006920

In that Leonard Wood video that Andrew posted, amusing how the guy who was on the phone quickly changes his tone from solemn to excited once he fulfills the duty of checking in with loved ones. You can hear the tornadic wind it sounds like too before the rain comes in.

 

[mikegeukes]

Significant Tornado Damage in Far Eastern Oklahoma and Northwest Arkansas - Updated 9pm 12/31
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/tsa/?n=weather_event_30dec2010

Mike

 

[mikegeukes]

New Years Eve Tornado Outbreak December 31 2010
NWS Saint Louis
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lsx/?n=12_31_2010

Mike

 

[Elaine Spencer]

ILX preliminary damage survey in Petersburg, IL, indicates that an EF3 tornado hit there:

..PRELIMINARY TORNADO DAMAGE SURVEY RESULTS FROM MENARD COUNTY...

THESE RESULTS WILL BE UPDATED AFTER THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND. A SURVEY
TEAM FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LINCOLN SURVEYED STORM
DAMAGE FROM THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THAT MOVED THROUGH CENTRAL
ILLINOIS ON NEW YEARS EVE.

THE MAJORITY OF THE DAMAGE WAS CONFINED TO THE LAKE PETERSBURG AREA
IN MENARD COUNTY...SOUTH OF THE CITY OF PETERSBURG. A TORNADO
TOUCHED DOWN ON THE WEST SIDE OF LAKE PETERSBURG AROUND 1237 PM.
THE TORNADO TRACKED FROM SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST ACROSS LAKE
PETERSBURG...CROSSING SUNNY ACRES ROAD...BEFORE LIFTING SOUTHEAST
OF THE INTERSECTION OF TICE ROAD AND ILLINOIS 123 AROUND 1240 PM.

THE TORNADO HAD A MAXIMUM ESTIMATED WIND SPEED OF 135 MPH...
CLASSIFIED AS AN EF3 ON THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE...IN THE
RESIDENTIAL AREA ON THE NORTHEAST SIDE OF LAKE PETERSBURG. THE
TORNADO HAD AN ESTIMATED MAXIMUM WIDTH OF 200 YARDS AND WAS ON THE
GROUND FOR APPROXIMATELY 3.6 MILES.

AGAIN...MORE INFORMATION WILL BE ADDED TO THIS REPORT IN THE COMING
WEEK.

 

[Keith Wilson]

Two EF-2 tornadoes have been confirmed in SE Missouri.
Details and damage photos can be found here.
NWS Paducah

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/news/display_cmsstory.php?wfo=pah&storyid=61907&source=0

 

[mikegeukes]

Tornado Damage Survey Summary: NWS Springfield

Several tornado damage surveys were conducted by the National Weather Service in Springfield, MO on December 31st and January 1st. Teams were sent to Fort Leonard Wood, Rolla, Northeastern Christian County, Lecoma, and Table Rock Lake.

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/sgf/?n=event_2010dec31_survey
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/sgf/?n=event_2010dec31_summary

Mike

 

[Elaine Spencer]

This story from the Springfield (Illinois) State Journal-Register says that over 100 homes (instead of the original estimate of about 23!) were damaged by the Petersburg New Year's Eve tornado:

http://www.sj-r.com/carousel/x2135341209/National-Weather-Service-confirms-EF3-tornado-in-Peterburg

 

[Christopher E. Kincaid]

I own some property in the Petersburg, IL area so the tornado Friday interests me. I downloaded the level2 radar data and put it into GR2AE. I was shocked to see the echo tops were only about 25Kft! I am no expert by any means, but I never would have thought an EF3 tornado could come from a storm that small.

Here is a 3d pic I made from the data:

http://flic.kr/p/96TGaA

(Not sure why I can not embed pics from Flickr anymore.)

 

[rdale]

A storm's height by itself has no bearing on the storm itself... It's the relative height.

 

[Jeff Duda]

I was shocked to see the echo tops were only about 25Kft! I am no expert by any means, but I never would have thought an EF3 tornado could come from a storm that small.

Storm top is a function of multiple things, including tropopause height as well as parcel buoyancy. However, storm top has been shown to not be very indicative of tornado strength. See a project from a colleague of mine.