#5 Most Viewed Blog Post of 2012: Hampton, VA Tornado of June 1st...

The fifth most viewed blog post of 2012 covered the tornado and waterspout that struck the Hampton, VA area on June 1st.

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The Tornado Chronicles: Mobile, AL Tornado of December 25, 2012...

Many of you probably recall that a tornado caused fairly extensive damage in the West and Northwest portions of Mobile, AL 5 days ago, on December 20th.

Another tornado struck the city just before 5pm CST on Christmas Day, December 25, 2012 and by all indications it was a large tornado.  The above photos were recently posted to twitter, and the video below has emerged on YouTube, complete with power flashes from exploding transformers.  Both images show a large, "wedge" tornado as it entered the city.

Thankfully, there are no reports of serious injuries or deaths thus far, but widespread damage to trees and powerlines, homes and other structures has been reported.  

The tornado caused extensive damage to the historic Murphy High School, one of the largest high schools in Alabama, with enrollment of over 2,000 students.  Windows are blown out of the school and a large portion of the roof is gone:

The athletic building has been severely damaged and other portable buildings behind the school have been heavily damaged or completely destroyed (photos via al.com):

Extensive damage was also done to the Trinity Episcopal Church on Dauphin Street (photos via al.com):

Extensive damage to trees, powerlines and even some homes was evident in the "Midtown" area of Mobile (unless otherwise noted, photos via al.com):

(photo via AP)

...as well as to businesses along "the Loop" near Midtown (photos via al.com):

Aerial photos taken today by WKRG, the CBS affiliate in Mobile, show a birds eye view of the damage, which is quite revealing.  The first series of photos were taken above Murphy High School:

The remaining aerial photos show damage to homes in the Midtown area, adjacent to the High School and Trinity Episcopal Church:

The following YouTube video has emerged which shows surveillance camera video from a Walgreen's drug store located on Government Street at the Loop as the tornado passes very nearby.  Note the debris, including the movement cars, in the parking lot.  The 2nd half of the video shows movement inside the main entrance to the store at the time the tornado passed nearby: 

The National Weather Service (NWS) conducted a ground-truth storm damage survey on December 26th and has assigned a preliminary intensity rating of EF-2 to this tornado. 



The estimated initiation point of the tornado was near Dauphin Island Parkway and Halls Mill Road.  The tornado then traveled an estimated 5.7 miles before lifting near Telegraph Road and Jakes Lane in Prichard:

The maximum damage width along the tornadoes path was 200 yards, and the maximum wind speed is estimated at 115-135 mph.  The EF-2 rating was based on damage to several homes between Clearmont St. and Spring Hill Avenue (Highway 98) just to the West of Houston St (track portion shown in yellow on this zoomed-in image):

This is also the portion of the track where the tornado increased to near 200 yards wide, as it crossed Dauphin Street.



The tornado on Christmas Day initiated about 3 miles East of the tornado that touched down 5 days earlier, on December 20th.  The ending points of the tornadoes were only one-half of a mile apart, with both crossing Telegraph Road (Highway 43) before lifting:

If you have an interest in this tornado event, please bookmark this post and check back for additional information, photos and videos as they become available over the coming hours and days...

Note:  this post was originally published at 8:41 PM CST on 12/25/12 but has been republished at later dates and times as new information is obtained...



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Coming March 2013:  The Tornado Chronicles full website!

Including information on every U.S. tornado since 1950, tornado safety, preparedness and education as well as interactive radar, tornado outlooks, watches and warnings, and much more!  Please show your support and follow The Tornado Chronicles on twitter and on facebook for the latest updates on tornadoes and the upcoming website!

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Severe Weather and Tornado Threat for Eastern North Carolina...

Radar currently indicates several small but intense thunderstorms offshore to the South of the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  These cells are moving toward the North/Northeast at 40-45 mph, and most of them show some degree of rotation on radar.

A Tornado Watch is in effect across eastern North Carolina as well as northeastern South Carolina, valid until 5pm EST:

If you live across the Eastern half of North Carolina, and especially far eastern portions of the state including the Outer Banks, please remain alert as these storms move through and others develop during the afternoon.  In this type of situation, tornadoes tend to develop quickly and may take place with little or no advanced warning.  As a result, it is important to identify your best sheltering option ahead of time, that way you can move there quickly if threatening weather is observed or a warning is issued.

For more information from 'The Original Weather Blog', including shorter, more frequent posts during rapidly changing weather events, please be sure to follow me on facebook and twitter:

 

If you are in need of highly customized, site specific weather forecasts and/or storm warnings for your business, school or event, be sure visit my professional webpage at WeatherGuidance.com.

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Christmas Day 2012 Tornado Outbreak Will Go Down in the Record Books...

As feared, an extensive tornado and severe thunderstorm outbreak took place yesterday on Christmas Day.



So far, a total of 25 tornadoes have been reported across the South on Christmas Day:  6 in Alabama, 2 in Louisiana, 13 in Mississippi and 4 in extreme southeast Texas (as indicated by the red squares on the image below - click to enlarge):

Since reliable records have been kept (in 1950), this is the first time that a tornado has taken place on Christmas Day in the states of Mississippi and Alabama.



The final number of tornadoes will change (up or down) as ground-truth storm surveys are currently being conducted by the National Weather Service (NWS) across the affected areas.  (Look for individual "Tornado Chronicles" posts here on the blog for information on specific tornado events as information becomes available.  One such post has already been created for the tornado that struck Mobile, AL yesterday evening).



The image below shows radar indicated rotation swaths for a 2 hour period ending at about 3pm CST yesterday afternoon.  This should give you an idea as to the number of potential tornado tracks that are out there.  Keep in  mind that this image did not yet reflect the developments across southeastern Mississippi and southern Alabama:

Fortunately, the tally of serious injuries and deaths from the event has been remarkably low so far, hopefully a result of folks paying attention to the weather after having been warned about what was expected to unfold for several days in advance.  



The NWS issued a total of 264 different severe weather warnings during the event, which is a healthy count on any day, much less Christmas Day.  This total included 92 different tornado warnings, as shown in red on the map below:

The NWS's Storm Prediction Center (SPC) was also very busy yesterday.  They issued a rarely used "Particularly Dangerous Situation" or "PDS" Tornado Watch for an area from southeast Louisiana across central and southern Mississippi and into southwestern Alabama:

As you can see at the bottom of the image, the PDS Tornado Watch was valid from 12:55 until 8:00 pm CST, and covered the majority of the more vigorous tornado activity was was reported on the ground and indicated by radar, including the tornado that struck the Mobile, AL area.  This was the 2nd time in less than a week that Mobile, AL took a direct hit by a tornado (the 1st tornado was just 5 days earlier, on December 20th!)

So far, I have not been able to find another occurrence where a PDS Tornado Watch had ever been issued before on a Christmas Day.  I have also not found another instance where such a watch had been issued in the month of December, but I'm not quite finished with that research just yet.  In any case, it was an extremely rare event for any day in December, much less for Christmas Day!

I have created the following posts on the more notable individual tornado events from Christmas Day 2012:

The Tornado Chronicles:  Mobile, AL Tornado of 12-25-12

The Tornado Chronicles:  Pearl River County, MS Tornado of 12-25-12

The Tornado Chronicles:  Grove Hill, AL Tornado of 12-25-12

The Tornado Chronicles:  Riderwood, AL Tornado of 12-25-12

The Tornado Chronicles:  Monticello, MS Tornado of 12-25-12

The Tornado Chronicles:  Pennington, TX Tornado of 12-25-12

The Tornado Chronicles:  Troy, AL (Conecuh River) Tornado of 12-25-12

The Tornado Chronicles:  Bodock Farms, AL (Near Montgomery) Tornado of 12-25-12

For more information from 'The Original Weather Blog', including shorter, more frequent posts during rapidly changing weather events, please be sure to follow me on facebook and twitter:

 

If you are in need of highly customized, site specific weather forecasts and/or storm warnings for your business, school or event, be sure visit my professional webpage at WeatherGuidance.com.

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Update on "Christmas Day Snowstorm" - Past, Present and Future...

Here is an update on the snow that took place yesterday and overnight last night / early this morning, and where it is going for the remainder of the day today...

Lots of folks had their white Christmas wish granted yesterday, in a broad swath extending from southern and central Oklahoma into northcentral Texas (including the DFW area which is a rarity), and then on Eastward into Arkansas.  Snow fell late on Christmas evening and overnight last night from northeast Arkansas into the middle Mississippi Valley region.  The snow depth analysis valid at 10am CST this morning is shown below, first on the wide view to give you an overall perspective: 

On this next image I've zoomed in on the band of heaviest snow which fell from Arkansas into the Missouri bootheel:

...and on Northeastward across far southern Illinois and extreme southwestern Kentucky:

Snow is falling heavily at this hour from central and northern Indiana into the Ohio Valley as well as western and southern Pennsylvania:

...where a variety of winter weather warnings are in effect today:

The latest edition of the high resolution NAM computer forecast model is calling for total accumulation in excess of 1 foot across this region through 7am EST on Thursday morning:

When combined with strong and gusty North winds, white out or near white out conditions are possible across much of the region today, and travel is highly discouraged.

For more information from 'The Original Weather Blog', including shorter, more frequent posts during rapidly changing weather events, please be sure to follow me on facebook and twitter:

 

If you are in need of highly customized, site specific weather forecasts and/or storm warnings for your business, school or event, be sure visit my professional webpage at WeatherGuidance.com.

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