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re: Today is the ninth anniversary of the April 27 tornado outbreak
Posted on 4/27/20 at 10:28 am to Aubie Spr96
Posted on 4/27/20 at 10:28 am to Aubie Spr96
quote:
Cahaba Heights that morning
Yep, I worked on 280 near Cahaba Heights at the time. I attempted to get to work that morning and there were trees everywhere. Power out everywhere, got sent home to watch Spann the rest of the day from Pelham.
0
Posted on 4/27/20 at 10:41 am to Aubie Spr96
quote:
The forgotten tornado is the F3 that hit Cahaba Heights that morning.
I've watched a lot of stuff about that day
1 thing I pick up on is that the morning storms seemed to come from almost nowhere... it was like that part of it was NEVER expected (or at least was way stronger than expected)
even if you watch those "xtreme weather" videos posted in the thread from a day or 2 ago that show Spann talking about the lead up to that day... the morning threat was NEVER talked about... just the afternoon
and I have no doubt that the morning damage was a factor in the afternoon death toll
Posted on 4/27/20 at 11:27 am to rt3
quote:
1 thing I pick up on is that the morning storms seemed to come from almost nowhere... it was like that part of it was NEVER expected (or at least was way stronger than expected)
I will agree they were stronger, but I known they were expected. They also were expected to be severe with high winds.
I wouldn't so confidently say that if I hadn't watched James Spann's Weather Extreme videos from the week leading up to that day. A lot of people like to shite on models, but the models started picking that up on April 19. They didn't just pick it up, they showed both waves. Granted, the first 3 days the timing was off, but by 4 days out it had zeroed in on two waves of severe weather on Wednesday the 27th.
If you can, watch that series of videos. It is amazing how early every parameter jumped off the charts. It was clear days out that any storm on that day was going to be trouble. Out of everything I have learned about the outbreak, nothing is more amazing than how perfect the setup was.
Posted on 4/27/20 at 11:33 am to LegendInMyMind
What Stands In A Storm by Kim Cross is a good book if anyone is interested in finding about more about it.
Posted on 4/27/20 at 1:10 pm to Aubie Spr96
quote:
The forgotten tornado is the F3 that hit Cahaba Heights that morning
I don't think any of them are forgotten.
It is just too many to remember.
Posted on 4/27/20 at 1:19 pm to RollTide1987
Incredible event. There is so much I can say about it. I remember it all vividly. The line of severe storms that swept across MS, AL, and GA that morning were a major event in themselves, but they were just the pregame show to the legendary mega-tornado outbreak that afternoon. I remember hoping that those morning storms had worked over the atmosphere, but when the sun was out in Birmingham by 8:30am, I knew it was game on that afternoon.
I live about 18 miles north of Birmingham. I had two EF-4 tornadoes pass about the same distance north and south of me. We could hear the Tuscaloosa-Birmingham tornado as it went through Fultondale, even though it 13-14 miles away. And the smell of natural gas a little while later was overwhelming. I also still have papers that fell in my yard from the Tuscaloosa-Birmingham tornado. Where I live ended up in the actual rain/hail core of the storm, so there was a lot of debris raining from the sky.
The simple fact is, the parameters and ingredients for a major tornado outbreak were all in place that day. It was literally just the perfect setup to produce strong, violent tornadoes.
I live about 18 miles north of Birmingham. I had two EF-4 tornadoes pass about the same distance north and south of me. We could hear the Tuscaloosa-Birmingham tornado as it went through Fultondale, even though it 13-14 miles away. And the smell of natural gas a little while later was overwhelming. I also still have papers that fell in my yard from the Tuscaloosa-Birmingham tornado. Where I live ended up in the actual rain/hail core of the storm, so there was a lot of debris raining from the sky.
The simple fact is, the parameters and ingredients for a major tornado outbreak were all in place that day. It was literally just the perfect setup to produce strong, violent tornadoes.
This post was edited on 4/27/20 at 1:32 pm
Posted on 4/27/20 at 1:20 pm to RollTide1987
The Tuscaloosa tornado was the perfect supercell. It’s pretty much the example we use now to study and talk about supercells.
Posted on 4/27/20 at 1:22 pm to Roll Tide Ravens
poor downtown Cordova, Ala.
got hit by an EF-3 in the morning... then an EF-4 in the afternoon
got hit by an EF-3 in the morning... then an EF-4 in the afternoon
Posted on 4/27/20 at 1:23 pm to The Boat
quote:
The Tuscaloosa tornado was the perfect supercell. It’s pretty much the example we use now to study and talk about supercells.
It was the textbook long track tornado producer. It produced tornadoes (which lifted occasionally), from east central Mississippi all the way to the Carolinas.
Posted on 4/27/20 at 1:31 pm to Roll Tide Ravens
wait... the Smithville, Miss. EF-5 picked up a SUV... threw it into the top of the town's water tower... leaving a dent in the tower?
Posted on 4/27/20 at 1:35 pm to rt3
quote:
wait... the Smithville, Miss. EF-5 picked up a SUV... threw it into the top of the town's water tower... leaving a dent in the tower?
I believe so, that’s the story I’ve heard.
Another disturbing story (almost more of a rumor since I’ve never seen it officially confirmed) is that there were people in Hackleburg or Phil Campbell who were in underground shelters, and were still killed. I have no doubt that there were people who did everything they could that day (got in a bathtub, closet, etc.), but it simply wasn’t enough with the strength of those tornadoes.
This post was edited on 4/27/20 at 1:36 pm
Posted on 4/27/20 at 1:46 pm to The Boat
quote:
The Tuscaloosa tornado was the perfect supercell. It’s pretty much the example we use now to study and talk about supercells.
Posted on 4/27/20 at 1:47 pm to Roll Tide Ravens
Posted on 4/27/20 at 1:59 pm to The Boat
quote:
The Tuscaloosa tornado was the perfect supercell.
Without a doubt the most powerful storm I have ever laid eyes on. April 27, 2011 was my first legitimate foray into storm chasing. I was a student at UA at the time and waited for the storm to arrive in Tuscaloosa. As it approached the city, even before I was aware there was a tornado on the ground, I couldn't get over how foreboding it looked.
The sky was pitch black and there was a tremendous volume of thunder and lightning associated with it as it approached. It almost sounded like the T-Rex approaching in Jurassic Park with the distant booming noises the storm was creating. I remember thinking to myself, if ever there was a storm capable of producing a tornado, that one was it. I immediately re-positioned myself to a safer area and got some great footage of the tornado as it passed about a mile and a half to the south of me.
Posted on 4/27/20 at 2:09 pm to rt3
I was living in Montgomery when that crap happened. Thankfully the city of Montgomery never got a tornado. I knew we were okay when the sirens didn't go off. Is this the same storm event where a mother was talking on the phone to her daughter who was a student at Bama. The mom heard a loud noise coming from her daughter's end of the phone and the line went dead? The mom said that she knew then that her daughter was killed. That was a sad story. Until I moved there I never realized that Alabama was a tornado prone state. I remember that a tornado hit Montgomery in a mobile home park called Sunshine Village and one person was killed. I still wonder why it seems that tornados always seem to target mobile homes.
Posted on 4/27/20 at 2:26 pm to avondale88
quote:
I still wonder why it seems that tornados always seem to target mobile homes.
Disproportionate number in high-tornado areas (rural, south, Oklahoma/Texas)
Also hear about it more since there is more damage/likelihood of injury
Posted on 4/27/20 at 2:36 pm to avondale88
They don't target mobile homes more than anything else.
It's just when a mobile home park is hit, you'll hear about it, since oft times it results in a fatality.
It's just when a mobile home park is hit, you'll hear about it, since oft times it results in a fatality.
Posted on 4/27/20 at 3:33 pm to RollTide1987
The same storm that produced the Tuscaloosa tornado is the same storm that passed over me if I remember correctly. No tornado thankfully but that storm was still really powerful
Also just look at all these tornado over just a few days
Also just look at all these tornado over just a few days
Posted on 4/27/20 at 4:36 pm to RollTide1987
I sat in the living room with my laptop in my lap and watched the ABC 33/40 live stream with Spann and Jason Simpson. My sister lives south of Tuscaloosa near Moundville, and thankfully she was home. She said you couldn’t get into town for almost a week.
Me and Dad were just there 10 days prior for A-Day. They had a tornado touch down near Hillcrest. We were at the Walmart in Northport when that happened. It was eerie driving through town a year later and not seeing things were they used to be. My favorite Japanese restaurant Hokkaido got destroyed.
Spann and Simpson did a phenomenal job that day. it landed Jason the chief meteorologist job in Huntsville later that year.
Me and Dad were just there 10 days prior for A-Day. They had a tornado touch down near Hillcrest. We were at the Walmart in Northport when that happened. It was eerie driving through town a year later and not seeing things were they used to be. My favorite Japanese restaurant Hokkaido got destroyed.
Spann and Simpson did a phenomenal job that day. it landed Jason the chief meteorologist job in Huntsville later that year.
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