Southern TE'ers: heads up!

[sundial]

PedalWench, you're welcome.

[sundial]

From Weather Channel:

Saturday will be more calm but another severe weather event may develop over southeastern Colorado to West Texas Saturday evening. That severe weather could be in the southern Plains and eastern Texas on Easter Sunday.

I'm ready for those lovely spring days again.

[crazycanuck]

I heard about the wildfires in the Southern US

If you're in the area, please please please be careful & if there's a mandatory evac, GO!!!

It's still hard to contemplate what happened in the Vic bushfires

Take care kids!

[uforgot]

I'm ready for those lovely spring days again.

These ARE our lovely spring days. Nothing unusual about this year!

[sundial]

We were at our favorite little diner for breakfast when we got a call that the storm was headed our way. We hurried through our meal and headed back to town when the storm met us. It was a huge wall of darkness with rain and wind. We passed a cyclist who was battling the wind and rain and offered to give him a ride but he declined. No wind damage here but tornados are popping up everywhere.

From the Weather Channel:

9:56am ET
Derecho tearing through KS, MO, AR:

A violent derecho which earlier bulldozed through southeastern Kansas, is now tearing its way through Missouri and northern stretches of Arkansas.
What is a derecho? It's a violent, quickly moving and long-lived thunderstorm complex that travels long distances and produces destructive winds typically on the order of 50 to as much as 100 mph (perhaps even more!). As you can see in the imagery above, it also takes on the form of a curvature shape; sometimes referred to as a bow echo.
So as the definition goes, this complex has had a history this morning of producing structural damage such as tearing roofs off of houses and buildings.

Notable storm reports associated with derecho:

Wichita, KS (4 to 5 am CT): 50 to 60 mph winds, torrential rains, large hail.

New Albany, KS (5:52 am CT): 1 fatality - woman was found in the remains of her mobile home.

Carthage, MO (7:15 am CT): 93 mph wind gust.

Joplin, MO (7:48 am CT): Wind gust to 85 mph. Winds were gusting upwards of 50 mph for close to 40 min. Windows blown out of downtown buildings.

Springfield, MO (8:07 am CT): Tornado was spotted on the ground near Springfield. Winds gusted to 66 mph around 8:15 am CT.

Norwood, MO (9:00 am CT): Norwood post office lost roof and blew across train tracks according to train crew.

Rolla-Vichy, MO (9:04 am CT): Wind gust to 58 mph. Received 2.16 inches of rain from 8 to 9 am CT.

Doniphan, MO (10:30 am CT): Numerous trees down in Ripley County. Two main buildings in downtown Doniphan lost their roofs.

1 mile south of Poplar Bluff, MO (10:50 am CT): Missouri Highway Patrol reported a tree fell on a car. The car then caught on fire and 2 people in side were killed.

4 miles SE of Caledonia, MO (11:29 am CT): Tornado on the ground in the vicinity of Missouri Highways 32 and 21 slightly south of the Washington County line.

We'll be following this derecho event throughout the day and will provide you with damage reports and excessive wind, rain reports. Check back to see the latest. As you can imagine, severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings are popping up left and right as the derecho moves through.


7:44am ET
What's on tap for Friday?

South

A cold front will slide into the Tennessee Valley and stall out this weekend.
Today, the front should extend from southern Kansas eastward to the Virginia coast.
Rainfall amounts of 3 to 6 inches are possible by Monday morning across southern Kansas, eastern Oklahoma, Kentucky, Tennessee, northern Georgia, northern Alabama, northern Mississippi, Arkansas and northeast Texas.

Be careful everyone and keep your eyes on the skies.

[sundial]

From the National Weather Service:

Tornado Warning
SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
156 PM CDT FRI MAY 8 2009

TNC125-147-081930-
/O.CON.KOHX.TO.W.0066.000000T0000Z-090508T1930Z/
MONTGOMERY TN-ROBERTSON TN-
156 PM CDT FRI MAY 8 2009

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 230 PM CDT FOR
NORTHWESTERN ROBERTSON AND EAST CENTRAL MONTGOMERY COUNTIES...

AT 154 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR CONTINUED TO
INDICATE A TORNADO. THIS TORNADO WAS LOCATED 9 MILES SOUTHWEST OF
ADAMS...OR 10 MILES SOUTHEAST OF CLARKSVILLE...MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH.
THE TORNADO IS NOW PASSING OVER INTERSTATE 24.

THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
ADAMS BY 205 PM CDT...
CEDAR HILL BY 210 PM CDT...

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

DO NOT USE HIGHWAY OVERPASSES FOR SHELTER. OVERPASSES DO NOT PROVIDE
PROTECTION FROM TORNADIC WINDS. VEHICLES STOPPED UNDER BRIDGES BLOCK
TRAFFIC AND PREVENT PEOPLE FROM GETTING OUT OF THE STORM`S PATH AND
TO SHELTER. IF YOU CANNOT DRIVE AWAY FROM THE TORNADO...GET OUT OF
YOUR VEHICLE AND LIE FLAT IN A DITCH AS A LAST RESORT.

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 400 PM CDT FRIDAY AFTERNOON
FOR CENTRAL TENNESSEE.

[sundial]

Severe Thunderstorm Warning
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
ILC055-081-199-081945-
/O.NEW.KPAH.SV.W.0109.090508T1857Z-090508T1945Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
157 PM CDT FRI MAY 8 2009

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PADUCAH HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
FRANKLIN COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS...
JEFFERSON COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS...
WILLIAMSON COUNTY IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS...

* UNTIL 245 PM CDT.

* AT 155 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING DESTRUCTIVE WINDS IN
EXCESS OF 80 MPH. THIS STORM WAS LOCATED NEAR WEST FRANKFORT...
MOVING EAST AT 55 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IN THE WARNED AREA INCLUDE...
RURAL EASTERN FRANKLIN COUNTY

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. SEEK SHELTER INDOORS. STAY TUNED TO
WEATHER RADIO OR LOCAL MEDIA FOR THE LATEST SEVERE WEATHER
INFORMATION.

THIS STORM HAS A HISTORY OF PRODUCING WIDESPREAD DAMAGING WINDS AND
WIND GUSTS OVER 80 MPH. TAKE ACTION IMMEDIATELY TO PROTECT LIFE AND
PROPERTY.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 400 PM CDT FRIDAY AFTERNOON
FOR SOUTHEASTERN ILLINOIS AND SOUTHWEST INDIANA AND WESTERN KENTUCKY
AND SOUTHEAST MISSOURI.

[sundial]

Severe Thunderstorm Warning
SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
102 PM CDT FRI MAY 8 2009

KYC047-219-081930-
/O.CON.KPAH.SV.W.0107.000000T0000Z-090508T1930Z/
CHRISTIAN KY-TODD KY-
102 PM CDT FRI MAY 8 2009

...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 230 PM CDT
FOR TODD AND CENTRAL CHRISTIAN COUNTIES IN SOUTH CENTRAL KENTUCKY...

AT 150 PM CDT...TRAINED WEATHER SPOTTERS REPORTED A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM PRODUCING DESTRUCTIVE WINDS NEAR 75 MPH IN
HOPKINSVILLE. AT 159 PM...THIS STORM WAS LOCATED 3 MILES NORTH OF
PEMBROKE ALONG THE TODD...CHRISTIAN COUNTY LINE...MOVING EAST AT 45
MPH.

LOCATIONS IN THE WARNED AREA INCLUDE ALLEGRE...ELKTON AND CLIFTY.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE WARNED AREA. IF A TORNADO
IS SPOTTED...ACT QUICKLY AND MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY IN A STURDY
STRUCTURE...SUCH AS A BASEMENT OR SMALL INTERIOR ROOM.