Southern TE'ers: heads up!

[Mr. Bloom]

When I taught school, we'd spend hours in the hallways in "tornado drills." It was scary.

In Birmingham, it wasn't drills! Once, we had 65 kids in a three foot wide hallway in the convent next to the school. No power, no ventilation - FOR THREE HOURS!. The humidity from our breathing was literally condensing and weeping on the walls. Ugh -the memories!

[emily_in_nc]

We're supposed to get this ominous weather Fri. morning here in NC.

[Aggie_Ama]

At the bottom of tornado alley it wasn't a drill either. I grew up in Round Rock, TX. I remember spending 3 hours tucked in the concrete halls of my elementary school while the teachers listened to the radio reports that a tornado had wiped out Jarrell, TX that was the F-5 that leveled the town back in 1989. The aftermath was devastating, the whole area on one side of IH-35 no longer was there when I went to Dallas a couple weeks later to bowl a tournament. I couldn't sleep for weeks if the wind blew.

[Aint Doody]

I said "tornado drills," but it was what we called it when we were under a watch or warning. We spent hours in our positions until the weather had passed. And Mr., I can relate to your description. Being a teacher, we had to try to keep everybody under control. It was awful and terrifying.

[Aggie_Ama]

We called both practice and for real drills Doody so I knew what you meant but also meant we unfortunately got the real stuff more than once.

[sundial]

From the Weather Channel:

3:00 pm ET
Tornado watch OK, KS, MO, AR: A tornado watch was recently issued for eastern Oklahoma, southeast Kansas, southwest Missouri and extreme western Arkansas.

The tornado watch is in effect until 9 pm CT. The SPC warns of hail up to 3 and a 1/2 inches in diamater (larger than baseballs), thunderstorm wind gusts to 80 mph and tornadoes that could become strong (EF3 or greater) and long-lived.

Tuckervill and BabyBlue, looks like you are in the storm now. Be careful and keep your eyes on the skies.

[Tuckervill]

We had some hail while it was screaming through, but it is just raining now. The sky has that sickly green color that always makes me think tornadoes. They all seem to be happening down south, though.

Tulsa is already in the clear.

Karen

[sundial]

From the NWS:

Tornado Watch

TORNADO WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE FOR WT 125
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
720 PM CDT THU APR 9 2009

TORNADO WATCH 125 IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 200 AM CDT FOR THE
FOLLOWING LOCATIONS

ARKANSAS COUNTIES INCLUDED ARE

ARKANSAS BAXTER BOONE
CLARK CLEBURNE CLEVELAND
CONWAY DALLAS DESHA
FAULKNER FULTON GARLAND
GRANT HOT SPRING INDEPENDENCE
IZARD JACKSON JEFFERSON
JOHNSON LINCOLN LOGAN
LONOKE MARION MONROE
MONTGOMERY NEWTON PERRY
PIKE POLK POPE
PRAIRIE PULASKI SALINE
SCOTT SEARCY SHARP
STONE VAN BUREN WHITE
WOODRUFF YELL

Karen, glad you didn't have any damage.

[Tuckervill]

Hope I can say the same for you! Husband and eldest son are in Eureka Springs at a meeting. I hope it dies down before it gets there.

Karen

[sundial]

For KY, IL, IN, and MO

Hazardous Weather Outlook

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
234 PM CDT THU APR 9 2009

ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087-
100-107>112-114-101000-
JEFFERSON-WAYNE IL-EDWARDS-WABASH-PERRY IL-FRANKLIN-HAMILTON-
WHITE-JACKSON-WILLIAMSON-SALINE-GALLATIN-UNION IL-JOHNSON-POPE-
HARDIN-ALEXANDER-PULASKI-MASSAC-GIBSON-PIKE-POSEY-VANDERBURGH-
WARRICK-SPENCER-FULTON-HICKMAN-CARLISLE-BALLARD-MCCRACKEN-GRAVES-
LIVINGSTON-MARSHALL-CALLOWAY-CRITTENDEN-LYON-TRIGG-CALDWELL-
UNION KY-WEBSTER-HOPKINS-CHRISTIAN-HENDERSON-DAVIESS-MCLEAN-
MUHLENBERG-TODD-PERRY MO-BOLLINGER-CAPE GIRARDEAU-WAYNE MO-CARTER-
RIPLEY-BUTLER-STODDARD-SCOTT-MISSISSIPPI-NEW MADRID-
234 PM CDT THU APR 9 2009

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN
ILLINOIS...SOUTHWEST INDIANA...WESTERN KENTUCKY...AND SOUTHEAST
MISSOURI.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT...MAINLY
ACROSS SOUTHEAST MISSOURI...AND FAR SOUTHWESTERN PARTS OF ILLINOIS AND KENTUCKY. AS A WARM FRONT LIFTS NORTH ACROSS THE REGION

TONIGHT...THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP. THE PRIMARY THREAT WITH MOST STORMS WILL BE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS. IF A SEVERE STORM
OCCURS...THE PRIMARY THREAT WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS AND HAIL.

IN ADDITION...MINOR FLOODING CONTINUES TO BE FORECAST FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS NEAR THE CONFLUENCE OF THE OHIO AND MISSISSIPPI RIVERS AS WELL AS ALONG PORTIONS OF THE WHITE AND WABASH RIVERS. PLEASE REFER TO OUR LATEST FLOOD STATEMENTS FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FRIDAY OVER THE
REMAINDER OF THE REGION...NAMELY THE REMAINDER OF WESTERN
KENTUCKY...SOUTHWEST ILLINOIS AND SOUTHWEST INDIANA. DAMAGING
WINDS AND LARGE HAIL WILL CONTINUE AS THE PRIMARY SEVERE WEATHER THREATS.

ANOTHER STRONG STORM SYSTEM WILL TAKE SHAPE SUNDAY NIGHT INTO
MONDAY...BRINGING A GOOD CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS AND LOCALLY HEAVY
RAINS WITH IT. ANOTHER ONE TO TWO INCHES INCHES OF RAINFALL MAY
OCCUR WITH THIS SYSTEM...POSSIBLY LEADING TO SOME FLOODING CONCERNS.

THE NEXT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS AFTER MONDAY WILL COME LATE
WEDNESDAY NIGHT OR THURSDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTERS SHOULD MAINTAIN ALERT STATUS IN CASE THEIR ACTIVATION IS
REQUESTED LATER TONIGHT.

[sundial]

Hope I can say the same for you! Husband and eldest son are in Eureka Springs at a meeting. I hope it dies down before it gets there.

Karen

Looks like it will either hit us in the morning or just slip by.

Just looked--Carrol County (Eureka Springs) has a tornado watch until 9 pm. So far there aren't any cells there--it's around Springdale and Fayetteville.

[sundial]

From the Weather Channel:

Severe thunderstorms will be ongoing this morning across parts of the Tennessee Valley. New severe thunderstorms will likely to erupt this afternoon, from the Ohio River, south, across the Tennessee Valley, into the Deep South.

Some areas at greatest risk for severe thunderstorms today, include Huntsville, Birmingham, and Montgomery, Ala., Atlanta and Columbus, Ga., Nashville, Chattanooga, and Knoxville, Tenn., Lexington, Ky., and Charleston, WV.

Overnight, the threat will extend from southern Virginia, into the Carolinas; impacting cities such as Roanoke and Richmond, Vs., Raleigh and Charlotte, N.C., and Columbia, S.C.

All areas will be at risk for tornadoes, large hail, damaging winds, frequent lighting, and heavy downpours. The greatest risk of severe weather, including a possible tornado outbreak this afternoon and evening, includes northern Alabama, northern Georgia, and southern Tennessee.

[uforgot]

A few years ago I was the choreographer for our school musical. I thought that it was a bit "risque" for high school, but the director disagreed. The superintendent of our district showed up to see the performance on the 2nd night and right before the local "bad girl" sang her awful song, the siren went off. We were in the hall for an hour. Tornado touched down but no damage and no one hurt. Couldn't finish the show and he never saw the song I was so worried about. Divine intervention?

To all of us in tornado alley...be careful out there! Spring is in the air.

[Pedal Wench]

From the Weather Channel:

Thanks SD!

Luckily, I'm not planning to ride until tomorrow!

(In Atlanta)

[sundial]

PedalWench, you're welcome.