Many Picking Up The Pieces After Deadly Tornado Outbreaks

Tornado damage in Harrisburg, IL
Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/60464669@N06/6941893983

It has been a weird last couple of months in terms of weather around the U.S.  With one of the warmest winters on record winding down and many places well below their average snowfall total for the year, tornado season decided to begin early for some folks.  On February 29, 2012, many tornadoes formed  in the central plains and Ohio River valley killing 13 people.  One of the hardest hit areas was Harrisburg, Illinois where an EF4 ripped through the southern part of the city leveling just about everything in its path. 36 total tornadoes have been confirmed so far with the Harrisburg tornado being the only EF4.  EF4 tornadoes typically have winds estimated at 168-199 mph.

Check out the Enhanced Fujita rating system HERE. 

 Pictures of Harrisburg, IL tornado damage.

Confirmed Total	Confirmed EF0	Confirmed EF1	Confirmed EF2	Confirmed EF3	Confirmed EF4	Confirmed EF5
36	6	15	13	1	1	0

Leap Day Tornado Outbreak Totals

Source: Wikipedia

The next day the Storm Prediction Center forecasted a high risk area for tornadoes in the Ohio & Tennessee River valleys.  Many were predicting a larger and more devastating tornado outbreak to occur on Friday March 2....and it did.

On March 2nd, a low pressure system near Missouri was moving ENE with much of the OH & TN River valleys in the warm sector of the low.  A strong low level jet stream was present bringing in moisture and warm air which was destabilizing the atmosphere.  This created a great atmosphere for convection and thunderstorm development.  Strong wind shear also was present.  These two combined formed a great environment for tornadoes to develop.

Image of all the tornado (red) and thunderstorm (yellow)
warnings issued on March 2nd.
Source: WeatherMatrix.AccuWeather.com

The outbreak began a little after the early morning hours and lasted into Saturday.  A preliminary tornado count stands at 79.  This number is expected to increase as Meteorologists assess the damage across the areas.  This number already exceeds the largest tornado outbreak on record for March which occurred March 11-13,  2006.  A total of 74 tornadoes formed then. Damage is still being assessed and official numbers won't be released for a while.  However, it is confirmed that an EF4 hit Henryville, Indiana and an EF3 hit West Liberty, Kentucky.

Before & After 360° view of Tornado Damage in West Liberty.

"Hook echo" displayed on radar just
west of West Liberty.  This
is the storm that produced the tornado
that hit West Liberty.  This
radar image shows a textbook
display of a "hook echo" which
is a great indication of a tornado.
Source: Wes Mason (Twitter)

The death total for the outbreak stands at 39 right now and continues to rise each day.  One of the deaths was a 14-month old girl who was found in a field still alive. She had been picked up by the tornado and carried in the air before she finally landed in a field.  She died a couple days later after being taken off of life support. 

CNN:  Toddler dies, days after being found in Indiana field after tornadoes

This year is already proving to be a busy tornado season.  Tornado season typically lasts from April to June so outbreaks this early are rare.  The total count of tornadoes this year (excluding Feb 29, and March 2-3 outbreaks) is 128.  The average number is around 50. Last year, which ended with the highest total over the last three years, saw 79 tornadoes occur before March.   Below are tornado totals over the past three years and this year from the SPC

...NUMBER OF TORNADOES...    NUMBER OF       KILLER
                                    TORNADO DEATHS  TORNADOES
      ..2012.. 2011 2010 2009 3YR              3YR             3YR
    PREL  ACT  ACT  ACT  ACT  AV 12  11 10 09  AV  12 11 10 09 AV
JAN  95    -   16   30    6   17  2   0  0  0   0   2  0  0  0  0
FEB  33    -   63    1   36   33  7   1  0  9   3   2  1  0  2  1
MAR   -    -   75   33  115   74  -   1  1  0   1   -  1  1  0  1
APR   -    -  758  139  226  371  - 360 11  6 126   - 43  2  3 16
MAY   -    -  326  304  201  279  - 178  7  5  64   -  9  4  3  5
JUN   -    -  160  324  270  251  -   3 12  0   5   -  1  6  0  2
JUL   -    -  103  146  118  122  -   0  2  0   1   -  0  1  0  0
AUG   -    -   57   55   60   57  -   2  1  0   1   -  2  1  0  1
SEP   -    -   51   57    8   39  -   0  2  0   1   -  0  2  0  1
OCT   -    -   23  108   65   65  -   0  0  1   0   -  0  0  1  0
NOV   -    -   44   53    3   39  -   5  0  0   2   -  2  0  0  1
DEC   -    -   33*  32   38   34  -   0  9  0   3   -  0  4  0  1
    ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- -- -- -- --- --- -- -- -- -- --
SUM  128   0 1709* 1282 1146 1382 9 550 45 21 206   4 59 21  9 30

PREL = 2012 PRELIMINARY COUNT FROM ALL NWS LOCAL STORM REPORTS.
ACT  = ACTUAL TORNADO COUNT BASED ON NWS STORM DATA SUBMISSIONS.

Remember, tornadoes are very dangerous and any warning should be taken seriously.  One of the best ways to to stay safe during severe weather outbreaks is to purchase a weather radio!  Weather radios can be bought at local wal-marts and online at various sites.

Sources:

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/online/monthly/newm.html

http://www.weather.com/outlook/weather-news/news/articles/tornado-outbreak-march-reports_2012-03-02

 http://edition.cnn.com/2012/03/04/us/indiana-tornado-girl/?hpt=us_c1

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_March_2012_tornado_outbreak

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Leap_Day_tornado_outbreak