2011-04-27 MISC: AL,TN,MS,KY,OH,IN,WV,GA

[Dave Gallaher]

I mentioned (somewhere in the discussion) about a friend's daughter who attends the university in Tuscaloosa and was at work when her apartment building was hit. She sent these photos.

Looking out of her doorway (2nd floor):

Looking down at the parking area:

And a view of her apartment, the only one not destroyed in the building, looking like it merely needs a sweeping:

She was gathering belongings when two guys came in, checked her and a friend's IDs. Then she found herself meeting the president and first lady who were touring the damaged complex at that time.

 

[Dave Gallaher]

I saved this +/-4pm CDT GRL3 reflectivity just to remember what the day was like:

 

[Ryan Pfeifer]

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/april_2011_tornado_information.html

Updated May 1st and the 24 hour number of tornadoes has gone up, not down...

 

[Jeff Snyder]

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/april_2011_tornado_information.html

Updated May 1st and the 24 hour number of tornadoes has gone up, not down...

NOAA's preliminary estimate is that there were 362 tornadoes during the entire outbreak from 8:00 a.m. EDT April 25 to 8:00 a.m. April 28, 2011.

• During the 24-hour period from 8:00 a.m. EDT April 27 to 8:00 a.m. EDT April 28, The National Weather Service (NWS) estimates there were a total of 312 tornadoes.

I am not sure where the 312 total from 4/27 comes from, but I assume it's based on the SPC Prelim log. I just cannot believe that any article using the SPC preliminary log numbers as the actual "number of tornadoes" is being hosted on any NOAA site. As has been noted before, and I know most of us know this, the SPC relaxed their filtering specs for 2011, so more reports for the same events are likely to end up in the SPC Prelim Storm Reports data. Of course, multiple tornado reports are also more likely for long-track tornadoes that impact multiple towns, and there were many of these events on 4/27. For example, looking at http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/110427_rpts.html, there are duplicate reports for many of the tornadoes. I am not surprised when media use the prelim numbers from the SPC Storm Reports pages, but I expect that any NOAA site would know better.

Of course, this isn't to diminish the fact that this was a massive, historical outbreak! It looks like we're currently at two EF5 tornadoes, but I find it tough to compare damage assessments of today with those from 1974.

 

[Jeff Duda]

I am not sure where the 312 total from 4/27 comes from, but I assume it's based on the SPC Prelim log. I just cannot believe that any article using the SPC preliminary log numbers as the actual "number of tornadoes" is being hosted on any NOAA site. As has been noted before, and I know most of us know this, the SPC relaxed their filtering specs for 2011, so more reports for the same events are likely to end up in the SPC Prelim Storm Reports data. Of course, multiple tornado reports are also more likely for long-track tornadoes that impact multiple towns, and there were many of these events on 4/27. For example, looking at http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/110427_rpts.html, there are duplicate reports for many of the tornadoes. I am not surprised when media use the prelim numbers from the SPC Storm Reports pages, but I expect that any NOAA site would know better.

I am also unsure of where all of these additional tornadoes are suddenly appearing from. As of just a few moments ago when I manually searched several of the affected WFO pages, I found that the number of tornadoes occurring between 27.12Z and 28.12Z is 100.

ADD: I looked for tornado confirmations from 26.12Z to 27.12Z and found an additional 43. It's possible that some of the early Wednesday tornadoes in the Birmingham and Huntsville CWAs are being missed or double counted here, but that leaves the two-day total from 12Z 26 April to 12Z 28 April at 143.

 

[Robert Dewey]

I just cannot believe that any article using the SPC preliminary log numbers as the actual "number of tornadoes" is being hosted on any NOAA site.

I was thinking the same thing. I'd go as far as calling it ridiculous.

It looks like we're currently at two EF5 tornadoes, but I find it tough to compare damage assessments of today with those from 1974.

Ditto. To me, it seems they were much more liberal with ratings back then. Perhaps they didn't look as closely to the construction / engineering side of things.

Just looking at local climatology, SE MI averaged a violent tornado once every decade between 1950 and 1980. We haven't seen an >= EF4 since then.

 

[jmarc Pourcelet]

SvP, pouvez-vous me dire si une tornade est passée sur la ville d'Aiken en Caroline du Sud car un ami en France a de la famille et n'arrive pas à la contacter ni par téléphone ni par internet. Merci d'avance.

 

[Zack Hargrove]

I believe in the latest public information statements, the Smithfield, MS EF5 track has been connected to the Alabama EF5 track... so it appears we are back down to one confirmed EF5.

***Edit - I apologize as it appears that I read the statement wrong. Disregard.

 

[Robert Dewey]

SvP, pouvez-vous me dire si une tornade est passée sur la ville d'Aiken en Caroline du Sud car un ami en France a de la famille et n'arrive pas à la contacter ni par téléphone ni par internet. Merci d'avance.

En regardant les rapports, je ne vois que les dégâts du vent sans tornade. Voici le rapport. Désolé, je suis l'aide de Google Translate si mon français n'est pas parfait.

Edit: Aucune tornade. Juste dégâts par le vent.

1043	UNK	 AIKEN	AIKEN	SC	3354	 8173	 AIKEN COUNTY SHERIFF REPORTED TREES DOWN ACROSS THE COUNTY. (CAE)

 

[Chris Outler]

The Smithville,MS tornado touched down at 344pm based on the statement by the NWS, while the Hackelburg tornado in Alabama touched down at 305pm. So they would have to be two seperate EF-5 tornadoes. The Smithville, MS tornado is also listed on SPC tornado reports as happening after the Hackelburg, AL storm, so we should still have two confirmed EF-5s.

 

[Jesse Risley]

SvP, pouvez-vous me dire si une tornade est passée sur la ville d'Aiken en Caroline du Sud car un ami en France a de la famille et n'arrive pas à la contacter ni par téléphone ni par internet. Merci d'avance.

Which translated into English reads as followslease, can you tell if a tornado passed over the city of Aiken, South Carolina because a friend in France has family and can not contact her either by telephone or Internet. Thank you in advance.

J'ai revérifié et ne peut pas vérifier tout rapport tornade telle soit. Très peu ici peuvent lire le français, il est donc conseillé que vous écrivez en anglais ou utiliser un service de traduction basé sur le Web pour être en mesure d'interagir avec les membres du forum sur une base régulière.

For our English readers:

I double checked and can't verify any such tornado report either. Very few here can read French, so it is advised that you write in English or use a web based translation service to be able to interact with the forum members on a regular basis.

 

[Zack Hargrove]

The Smithville,MS tornado touched down at 344pm based on the statement by the NWS, while the Hackelburg tornado in Alabama touched down at 305pm. So they would have to be two seperate EF-5 tornadoes. The Smithville, MS tornado is also listed on SPC tornado reports as happening after the Hackelburg, AL storm, so we should still have two confirmed EF-5s.

Yes, I retracted the statement. I had misread the public information statement from Memphis about the Smithville tornado entering Alabama. I had first thought it went on to be the same one as the Hackelburg tornado but the track of the Smithville tornado was just continued until Shottsville, AL.

 

[Danny Neal]

I believe in the latest public information statements, the Smithfield, MS EF5 track has been connected to the Alabama EF5 track... so it appears we are back down to one confirmed EF5.

***Edit - I apologize as it appears that I read the statement wrong. Disregard.

I don't know about that....

The AL track...

EVENT START LOCATION AND TIME: 34.0880/-88.1328 AT 305 PM
EVENT END LOCATION AND TIME: 34.3109/-87.7858 AT 328 PM

the MS one.

* LOCATION/TIME OF EVENT: SMITHVILLE AT 344 PM EDT ON APRIL 27

2011

Assuming all these times are Eastern. I guess the times could be off too. ?

Sorry didn't see your edit.

 

[Chris Outler]

I don't know about that....

The AL track...

EVENT START LOCATION AND TIME: 34.0880/-88.1328 AT 305 PM
EVENT END LOCATION AND TIME: 34.3109/-87.7858 AT 328 PM

the MS one.

* LOCATION/TIME OF EVENT: SMITHVILLE AT 344 PM EDT ON APRIL 27

2011

Assuming all these times are Eastern. I guess the times could be off too. ?

Sorry didn't see your edit.

I'm still not sure why Memphis posted the time zone as Eastern. Isn't all of MS in central time?

 

[Danny Neal]

I'm still not sure why Memphis posted the time zone as Eastern. Isn't all of MS in central time?

Yeah, I am not quite sure.... Smithville isn't too far away from the border. Perhaps they just defaulted to EDT for survey purposes?