Tornadoes ripped through the southeastern United States over the weekend

I will start by saying that my sincere thoughts and prayers go out to each and every person who was in any way adversely affected by the powerfully destructive tornado outbreak that impacted Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina over this past weekend. I have heard reports that 3 deaths are blamed on this rare tornadic event that literally wreaked havoc all over the southeastern states. The above graphic offered by the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) (who once again, did an outstanding job of warning of the potential for severe weather over the weekend, having elevated the risk to moderate and later to high and issuing a public severe weather outlook before it all began... kudos to the SPC) depicts the geographic impact of this severe weather event and historic tornado outbreak. You see there that (as of now, that combined with the last I heard) that there were 41 tornado reports during the weekend's monstrous storm. At this time, 14 tornadoes have been confirmed by the various National Weather Service offices. The Peachtree City National Weather Service office really has their work cut out for them, and hopefully other areas are chipping in with damage assessment, as that is a tremendous amount of ground to cover for that already strained area. I have included a link to their website. You can feel free to check their site for damage reports from the storm. Those should include ratings for all the assessed/confirmed tornadoes within their large county warn area.

The Birmingham National Weather Service has published its storm report, where they have determined that 2 EF-2 tornadoes were to blame for damage in Blount and Cherokee Counties in Alabama.

The National Weather Service office in Greenville/Spartanburg, South Carolina, confirmed 2 EF-0 tornadoes, one in Franklin and Hart Counties in Georgia, the other in Abbeville County, South Carolina.

The Columbia, South Carolina, National Weather Service Office, has a preliminary storm report posted, and they have yet to confirm all of the tornado reports, but do have some EF-3's listed on their map of tornado paths through that part of the state.

There is the National Weather Service Office in Charleston, SC, where they have reported 6 confirmed tornadoes, including 2 EF-2 tornadoes in Effingham County, Georgia and one EF-2 in Allendale County, South Carolina.

Then, there is the National Weather Service Office in Wilmington, North Carolina, where they have posted preliminary reports on what appears to be 7 confirmed EF-1 tornadoes and several Ef-0's within their CWA. I think that is all of the tornado reports from the weekend. Feel free to check back with those sites for updates.

In yesterday's post, I described the EF-2 tornado, that swept through downtown Atlanta, which has never occurred in recorded history. This particular EF-2 tornado had a 6 miles track, causing tremendous damage, crumbling parts of high rises, gouging holes in school dorms, blasting out windows in nearby buildings and cars, destroying residences and littering the city streets with debris of all sizes, in it's wake. It was a memorable night and subsequent day for many in that area. Though I wasn't up in the area chasing this event, my heart was in that area during the entire event. Having grown up near Atlanta, I have a large number of family and friends spread throughout the region, and with each tornado warning, my heart jumped up into my throat. Bear with me, as I share my own thoughts and reactions regarding the powerfully destructive tornado outbreak that struck the southeastern part of the United States on March 14 and 15, 2008, this past Friday and Saturday. Of course, I heard about the Dome and the assault on Atlanta when the tornado struck downtown Atlanta shortly after it occurred on Friday night, and it was shocking.

Yes, I am a storm chaser. Yes, I am passionate about weather and truly fascinated by these powerful and awesome storms that are created naturally. Let's not confuse that with a desire for something like this to happen. Tornadoes have in incredible beauty about them... over open land... in the open plains, when they aren't hurting people, animals or property. When a tornado outbreak occurs here, in Georgia, in the southeast anywhere, it loses its striking beauty and becomes a ravenous monster demolishing everything in its path, taking lives, causing injuries, destroying property and livelihoods. That is not to say that tornadoes do not impact lives and property in the plains, those are equally horrific (we saw what the EF-5 tornado did to the city of Greensburg, KS, when it slammed into a destroyed that city), it is only to make the point that when a tornado strikes over here, because of the differences in population density, the impact to lives and livelihoods is generally more likely. When I heard the reports about downtown Atlanta, my heart sank... God's hand was definitely upon the outcome of that scenario. Let's consider a "what if scenario" that Alabama Mike shared with me over the weekend... let's suppose that the 3 point shot that tied up that basketball game, that put the game into overtime at the Dome, hadn't happened; instead of people being in a less than safe, but fortunately almost adequate Georgia Dome for the EF-2 tornado that struck it Friday night, they would have been out dispersing into the streets directly into the path of this destructive tornado, directly in the path large and potentially deadly debris. I think that might have had a totally different outcome... or perhaps consider what if the tornado had been just slightly more powerful? That dome had large equipment rocking over people's heads, imagine if it had been shaken loose falling onto the many fans and players below, or God forbid (thanks to Him for forbidding it, in fact), the roof of the dome had collapsed. God is good. Thank God the "what ifs" are just that and not... "what did happens"...

I was watching a play during the bulk of the outbreak in north Georgia on Saturday. I was getting frequent updates from my dear friends about what was going on in their areas. During the play, my dear friend Jen, in Winder, texted that she could hear tornado sirens twice and that she was under tornado warnings. I instructed her to take her family and get in her closet... but she was letting me know how amazing the sky looked... Grr... we'll have to work on that... Another dear friend, Tracey, in Athens sent me a text saying that she thought she might be in a tornado warning and asked if I could offer information about it... My response, "SEEK SHELTER NOW!!!" Her message was hot on the heels of my dear Clarkesville friend, Roberta, saying that all was well with her, but that a friend and co-worker of her husband's had a tornado near his house in east Athens!! All the while, I was getting advisories texted to me by Alabama Mike who was giving specific updates about where significant rotation was showing up on radar, and I was contacting everyone in my contacts list in the area, warning them to stay vigilant. Thankfully, none were hurt or impacted, except for some significant hail here and there. It was when Alabama Mike sent me the Tornado Emergency message for Atlanta with a large and destructive tornado headed that way that my eyes teared up, and Mini-Dew asked, "Mommy, why are you crying? This is a funny part of the play..." I explained that my friend told me that there were dangerous tornado headed for the Atlanta area, and I was sad for the potential and because we have so many friends and family up there that I couldn't warn. I told her that I was very sad that tornadoes were hitting big cities. It was a humbling, helpless feeling and right there in the middle of the play, I began to beg God for mercy for all those in the path of that dangerous storm. I prayed and prayed and prayed. Now, God be with all those recovering.

Unfortunately, another round of severe weather is expected in the near future, as the SPC has outlined an area of slight risk of severe weather on Wednesday for the same region that was just hit over the weekend. This time, my neck of the woods is included in this area, but I sure hope those areas recovering will be spared. Currently, that system is making its way across Texas and Oklahoma, where a severe thunderstorm watch has been issued. I will definitely keep an eye on this one.

God bless,
~Dewdrop

Tornado strikes the Georgia Dome in Atlanta March 14, 2008 and the Georgia tornado outbreak on March 15, 2008

(CNN photo by Kyle Almond of the debris scattered in front of the CNN building. AP photo below... both link to CNN.) The big story this morning is the (what looks like) tornado that tore through Atlanta, damaging the Georgia Dome (where "the storm struck the 71,000-seat Georgia Dome at 9:45 p.m. during a Southeastern Conference tournament basketball game." Alabama Mike was watching the game as it happened, subsequently calling me to tell me what happened. He actually posted a video of what happened inside the dome... you can actually hear it... cool. SCM was also watching the game at the time.) It also caused damage to the CNN building, where my friend Courtney works, and I have not yet heard back from her. According to the CNN story (they had front row seats for this event.)

Trees crushed a row of houses in Atlanta's historic Cabbagetown district just east of downtown, at least 20 of the historic homes were destroyed by the storm. The top floor collapsed at one building in the Fulton Cotton Mill Lofts. Part of the city's MARTA mass-transit rail system was shut down because of damage east of downtown. A gaping hole could be seen in the 14th floor of a high-rise dorm at Georgia State University in downtown Atlanta. Witnesses compared downtown Atlanta to a war zone Friday night, with glass from high-rise windows littering the streets along with roofing and trees. Virtually all of the windows facing Centennial Olympic Park on the Omni Hotel, which is adjacent to CNN Center, were shattered, leaving curtains flapping in the darkened windows.
-- there were no known deaths and just one life-threatening injury Friday night-- About 30 people -- one of them a firefighter -- were treated at hospitals, mostly for minor cuts, scrapes and bruises.

Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin said emergency officials determined that it was a tornado that ripped through the heart of her city. A tornado warning was in effect when Friday night's storm struck. The storm tracked from the northwest side of the city to the southeast.

Here is a link to CNN's slideshow. I would imagine that damage assessment for a storm like this would be incredibly difficult. Tall buildings, such as what we have in Atlanta already work to amplify winds as they channel through the streets between (which is exactly why you shouldn't sit under and overpass during a tornado, another wind tunnel scenario. Alabama Mike also shared with me a link to James Spann's blog, where some meteorologists have shared their thoughts about the "only tornado (which will likely be confirmed as an EF2 or higher) in history to strike downtown Atlanta"... check out the link.


What's worse is that Atlanta falls under a moderate risk today for severe weather by the SPC... before they have a chance to fully assess their damage, they might very well be struck with yet another severe storm. They have issued a public severe weather outlook.

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER IN NORMAN OK IS FORECASTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS OVER PARTS OF THE SOUTHEAST US TODAY.

Already this morning, some rotation is presenting itself over northern Alabama as the storm complex build, making its way toward north Georgia. Folks in that area should keep their weather radios on! Keep your eyes to the sky, folks.

Update 11:15: Tornado Watch was just issued for most of north Georgia. The dynamics exist for the development of tornadic supercells. Please, everyone be watchful and mindful of what is going on around you up that way.

1:00PM update: There is possibly a tornado near Cartersville, (in Georgia) strong rotation is exhibited on radar... People in Woodstock, Holly Springs, Alpharetta should be ready to take cover... A funnel cloud was already spotted earlier on this same cell. It looks too like another one is firing up right behind it...

1:30 Update, I am hearing reports of tornadoes and fatalities associated with this storm near Cartersville, including damage to Woodland High School. Also, reports of an elementary school in Taylorsville that was damaged. Take those warnings seriously today... those cells are pulsing out of nowhere and quickly going severe. They could seemingly come out of nowhere. Update 5:30: There has been a major tornado outbreak in the northern part of Georgia. So far 12 tornado reports... I was getting all sorts of updates and questions while I was in the play I went to this afternoon, 1 fatality, TVSs everywhere, State of Emergency declared in much of the metro area, reports of baseball sized hail, golf ball sized hail, amazing radar captures. It's phenomenal! Oh, and the one in Atlanta, Georgia that hit the Georgia Dome last night was a confirmed EF2. Here's more on the story... link.

For updates about this and other storms, check out my main page at www.dewdropweather.com

God be with all those impacted.
~Dewdrop