Tornadoes Rip Through Southern US – Kill at least 45
April 19, 2011
Following three days of intensely strong storms that ripped through the southern portion of the US, at least 45 people lost their lives. Nearly half of those killed were in North Carolina where as many as sixty tornadoes were confirmed on Saturday. A state of emergency has been declared in North Carolina after what storm experts say was the worst storm activity in the state in two decades.
Starting in Oklahoma on Thursday, the massive storm system swept across the southern US into the eastern state of Virginia by late Saturday. Over 200 tornadoes were reported which annihilated hundreds of homes and businesses. Scores of people have reported that the tornadoes destroyed everything they owned. A total of 15 states were affected and the devastation is stunning. The storm was the deadliest since February 2008 when 57 people died in the “Super Tuesday” election day tornadoes in the Southeastern United States.
In Raleigh, North Carolina, three family members were killed in a mobile home park. Many residents of the park hunkered down in their bathrooms as the stormy weather moved through. Some of the park residents escaped injury while dozens of others were hurt by flying debris. The widespread damage throughout Raleigh is delaying complete damage reports as emergency crews are still working around the clock to see that everyone is accounted for.
It is estimated that North Carolina was hit by 15 to 20 tornadoes on Saturday which is about the average number the state usually has in an entire year. All of the tornadoes grew out of six to seven super cell thunderstorms. Storm damage assessors spent Sunday and Monday tracking the damage. They found that the tornado that ripped through Roanoke Rapids, N.C. packed winds of about 120 miles per hour as steel beams used in the construction of homes and businesses there were crushed and tangled.
This massive outbreak of tornadoes highlighted the inaccuracy of the conventional wisdom that tornadoes do not hit major cities. Two metro areas were hit – Jackson, Mississippi and Raleigh, N.C. by EF-3 tornadoes. Employees working at the National Weather Service office in Raleigh were forced to take cover themselves at one point as a twister passed by.
Warmer weather is poised to surge back into the south early this week and that can mean only one thing – thunderstorms and severe weather are sure to follow. The National Weather Service says that storms are possible early Wednesday through Kentucky and a large portion of southern Indiana with the greatest possibility of severe weather being along the Ohio River corridor.
