Chase 2011 - Day 23 Discussion

[Arron]

Yep we can't outrun this so taken cover and praying LOL! This is going to be fun

[Arron]

zzzz main core missed us to the north so heading up to Ada to see some big hail stones hopefully

[icbinb]

Updated MD

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0876

NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK

0810 PM CDT SUN MAY 22 2011

AREAS AFFECTED...SRN OK...NRN TX

CONCERNING...TORNADO WATCH 326...

VALID 230110Z - 230215Z

THE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT FOR TORNADO WATCH 326 CONTINUES.

WW 326 MAY NEED TO BE EXTENDED IN TIME...OR REPLACED BY A NEW WW

DURING THE NEXT HR.

AT 01Z...CLUSTERS OF STORMS AND ISOLATED RIGHT AND LEFT MOVING

SUPERCELLS WERE ONGOING ACROSS PORTIONS OF NRN TX AND SRN OK. THOUGH

CONVECTIVE INHIBITION WILL STEADILY INCREASE INTO THE

NIGHT...COMBINATION OF STRENGTHENING SLY LLJ AND RESERVOIR OF

INSTABILITY COINCIDENT WITH ONGOING STORMS /MUCAPE VALUES AOA 2500 J

PER KG/ WILL LIKELY AID STORM PERSISTENCE THROUGH THE EVENING AND

EARLY NIGHT. UPSCALE GROWTH INTO A QLCS REMAINS POSSIBLE OVER

NRN/NERN TX AND SRN/SERN OK...POSING A CONTINUED THREAT FOR LARGE

HAIL/DAMAGING WINDS AND PERHAPS A FEW TORNADOES

[Roger J Smith]

Breaking news over here on CNN ... major tornado has hit Joplin MO (in southwest Missouri) and there are "at least 24 fatalities" but these are early reports, a regional health center was struck and the tornado was a wedge F3 or more.

Just wanted to mention for UK readers, this is nowhere near the Net-weather storm chase team and they are not in danger of running into one of any kind now, from what I can see on Oklahoma City radar.

[Arron]

Just watcheD a light show south of Ada and now making our way to Norman ready for tomorrows moderate risk! Got some belting lightning shots

[Gorky]

I'm in the Days in in Norman catching up on the days events up in Missouri and Minneapolis. One of the guys I was with in Ada was from Minneapolis so some tense moments earlier. I was probably on the same storms as you. Very grungy. Not too photogenic. Made a brief bid to go for the Tulsa storms but bailed when I lost net connection.

Some truly horrible footage coming off TWC. Looks like another high end EF4/EF5 going through a heavily populated area. What is it with this year.... All or nothing..

[Paul Sherman]

http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=DO&Dato=20110522&Kategori=NEWS01&Lopenr=105220802&Ref=PH

Some sobering pictures here

Was watching the Kansas cell all afternoon as well as our own, it looked like crap about the time it was hitting, I said to the guys it must now be outflow dominant from the way the rotation markers were at the front end of the storm, there are also reports from Chasers bailing on it 10 miles West of Joplin due to Whales Mouth appearance and cold outflow indicitive with a storm gusting out and losing intensity.

We actually got some amazing structure from the left split Storms today, but something was not right down here today even with the 6,000jkg of Cape

Paul S

[TornadoJo]

that's sad. we stayed in joplin didn't we? or is it a different one?

[Paul Sherman]

that's sad. we stayed in joplin didn't we? or is it a different one?

The very same

[Dorsetbred]

that's sad. we stayed in joplin didn't we? or is it a different one?

SAme one, and jusr doing a quick reccie on google maps, a quick check looking through the photo's suggests the main area of the path appears to have hit between 7th and 32nd street, which suggests it was less than 1/2 a mile from the motel where we stayed. Lots of requests for help on 7th St, but requests strech as far as 32nd. Here's a map showing what I think is is the main touchdown area based on initial info, with the pin showing the location of the Best Western we stayed in:

There's a Home Depot shown in the pictures which is a mile north of the motel. The hospital that was wrecked is about 3miles (road route) about 1.7miles as the crow flies from where we stayed.

Suggestion is that up to 75% of Joplin may have been hit by this tormado.

Another 5 videos (which I cant watch as it's blocked)

http://www.buzzfeed.com/daves4/incredible-video-of-the-aftermath-of-the-tornado-i

Edited May 23, 2011 by Dorsetbred

[nsrobins]

I too didn't really follow that storm. Impressively large yes but it looked like 'maxing out' when I last looked at 5pm local time, with several conflicting convective cores and no real signatures to speak of.

Incredible to think it wrecked such havoc.

As for S OK and N TX. At one point the line of cells looked explosive but for some reason the rotation didn't get going, even with an increasing LLJ as night fell. Another one for the 'analyse this' heap.

[Coast]

[TornadoJo]

SAme one, and jusr doing a quick reccie on google maps, a quick check looking through the photo's suggests the main area of the path appears to have hit between 7th and 32nd street, which suggests it was less than 1/2 a mile from the motel where we stayed. Lots of requests for help on 7th St, but requests strech as far as 32nd. Here's a map showing what I think is is the main touchdown area based on initial info, with the pin showing the location of the Best Western we stayed in:

There's a Home Depot shown in the pictures which is a mile north of the motel. The hospital that was wrecked is about 3miles (road route) about 1.7miles as the crow flies from where we stayed.

Suggestion is that up to 75% of Joplin may have been hit by this tormado.

Another 5 videos (which I cant watch as it's blocked)

http://www.buzzfeed....f-the-tornado-i

Isn't that where you went shopping?

[multi cellular thunderstorm]

Couldn't believe it when I heard the news about Joplin being hit.

I think this must be the IHOP we ate in...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/clovenlife/5749623384/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/clovenlife/5749081985/

There's loads of photos of the damage on there by the same person.

Makes it seem even more sad when it's somewhere I have been amd recognise, I can't imagine what it would be like to actually be there to see that, very sad.

[IanM]

It's absolutely devastating, to put it into context an area from where we didn't go on the amusement park, through to a half mile beyond the Ihop and shopping mall has been destroyed. Sadly the main residential area of Joplin is based slap bang in the middle of this zone.

The death toll is expected to top 100, we can only hope that this turns out to be an overestimate. As an example of the power of this storm, Xrays from St Johns Hospital have been found up to 70 miles away.

It is very sobering to think we stayed two nights here, and that the Ihop and Goodyear where I had my tyre repaired are very likely to be heavily damaged at the least.

[Nick F]

I find it incredible and sadening that with many 100s of miles of open countryside in the Mid-west, these devasting EF4/5 tornadoes manage to single out towns surrounded by miles of open land. Joplin, MO; Tuscaloosa, AL; Parkersburg, IA; Greensburg, KS; Moore, OK ... to name but a few. Guess nothing gets in the way of mother nature which knows no bounds.

The video clip below shows the radar of the storms that spawned the Joplin tornado. Around 1min 39secs you can see the couplet on the velocity loop where the area of red and green side by side, showing where the wind/rain is going opposite directions from the colour divide, marks where the tornado is moving ESE through southern side of Joplin:

[Coast]

More pics from the web:

[IanM]

That is the Ihop Mark. I had a flat there on tour 2, and the Goodyear where I had it repaired was a block or so north, which from the pictures no longer exists. The pictures from the walmart car park towards 20th show where it should be.

It is almost unbelievable to see these images

[Dorsetbred]

Isn't that where you went shopping?

Yep, it certainly was, we were up at 5th & 7th

[Stu Robinson]

89 Confirmed deaths in Joplin (so far)

From whats i have seen via video etc - this was a solid EF4 tornado.

[weatherobsuk]

Aerial footage makes for some sobering viewing. I wonder when the SPC team get there how much investigative analysis will be conducted into determining how much of this would be attributed to mesocyclonic winds distributed around the F4 aswell as the direct impact of the Tornado itself.

[chionomaniac]

That is the Ihop Mark. I had a flat there on tour 2, and the Goodyear where I had it repaired was a block or so north, which from the pictures no longer exists. The pictures from the walmart car park towards 20th show where it should be.

It is almost unbelievable to see these images

OMG is that where we waited in the car park at the back of the Restaurant for about 3 hours?

And where Ian, Chris and Clare went and bought the specialist goods from the shop next door?

Edited May 23, 2011 by chionomaniac

[IanM]

That's the place Ed, you were in the iHop car park :

Joplin iHop

How did yesterday go? I guess with the luxury seats you had on the flight you were well rested and stayed awake for the rest of the day.......

[chionomaniac]

That's the place Ed, you were in the iHop car park :

Joplin iHop

How did yesterday go? I guess with the luxury seats you had on the flight you were well rested and stayed awake for the rest of the day.......

Yes, can't quite believe we were eating there last week. One hopes that the staff survived - especially the chap who came out to help.

Yesterday went fine thanks and I didn't fall asleep until late. I really had to stretch out on the plane to actually reach the seat in front of me . How lucky was that?

[IanM]

apparently they had just shy of 20 minutes warning, so double the normal 7-10 mins. Hopefully most people found decent shelter.