Twisters Across America


Round Up of Tornado Action in USA

May 20-26, 2011

Editor's Note:

Tornadoes are a rather unique weather phenomenon. While tornadoes can occur elsewhere around the world, the vast majority of tornadic activity occurs in the middle portion of the United States from the southern states of Texas all the way up to the Canadian border and eventually on into Canada in the late summer time. We do want to acknowledge that tornadoes also occur with a lesser frequency in Australia during their spring and summer seasons.

There are occasional incidents of tornadoes in England and Europe as well as Africa and Asia, but these are rather rare instances. Most of humanity has little experience, knowledge or understanding of tornadoes, at least compared to Americans living the central part of America. We should also note that many Americans in the New England, the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, Hawaii and the American Southwest have little experience with tornadoes.

Because many of our A-O readers, particularly our international readers, may be unfamiliar with the tornado weather phenomenon, The Alpha-Omega Report website is providing extra coverage of the historic outbreak of tornadoes now being experienced in America's heartland. We hope this additional coverage will help those readers who are unfamiliar with tornadoes to better understand what has happened, because there may possibly be a Biblical Prophecy perspective to this tornadic outbreak in America. We've posted a separate article dealing with the potential, prophetic implications of the events of this past week. It may well be that no other Bible Prophecy website or prophecy commentators have grasped the possible significance of this week's stormy events in relation to Israel and the Middle East. Our separate article looks for such a potential link.

We should however note that May is the historic, peak month for tornado activity in the United States, particularly in what is called "Tornado Alley." This term covers a vast expanse of geography including the states of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, portions of eastern Colorado, western Iowa and western Missouri and western Arkansas. These areas are the heart of tornado alley. Additional bordering states are sometimes considered part of "Tornado Alley." Those states include, the rest of Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, South and North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky. There is also separate "Dixie Alley' for tornadoes which includes the states in the southeastern United States such as: Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South and North Carolina. These states are more prone to tornadoes related to hurricanes and severe storms fueled by moist ocean air, and normally experience the less powerful EF-1 and EF-2 rated tornadoes.

Within "Tornado Alley" the super-tornadoes, the EF-3, EF-4 and EF-5 tornadoes are almost invariably formed from storm cells called "Super-cells" or "meso-cyclone" cells. These are essentially small, isolated storms that are fueled by conditions unique to the "plains" areas of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, the Dakotas and portions of Colorado, Iowa, and Missouri. When a number of the isolated super-cells form - they often interact with each other and eventually form a line of storms. Once they become a line, their ability to produce EF-3, EF-4 and EF-5 tornadoes becomes very limited. Once a line forms, it will often find the center of the line begins to "bow out" and meteorologists call this a "bow-echo" storm. The wind power shifts generally from rotating winds to straight-line winds, more like those found in hurricanes, although hurricanes do often-times spin up tornadoes as well.  This is why the southeastern USA states pick up much of their tornado experiences from hurricane activity as they are located in and along the coastlines.

Be sure to check our Tornado Education section at the bottom of this page for a list of links providing greater insight into this weather phenomenon. You may even want to bookmark the page or download and save this page to your computer for future reference should the need arise.

+++++++++++++

Joplin Missouri Wiped Out By Giant Twister

A nearly one-mile wide EF-5 wedge-shaped, tornado swept throught the city of Joplin, Missouri on Sunday, May 22, 2011. It destroyed as much as 75% of the city by some accounts, killing more than 120 people with about 200 others yet to be accounted.  

Joplin, Missouri is a town of about 50,000 population. It is located in the extreme southwest corner of the state of Missouri near the borders of Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas.  It is located in the very core of what is called "Tornado Alley" in the middle of the United States.

The storm producing the monster-sized tornado sprang up to the west, across the state line in Kansas shortly after 5pm local time on Sunday. The tornado itself formed just before crossing the Kansas border and remained on the ground as it crossed over into Missouri, not far off ot Interstate 44.

Numerous tornado chasers were following the storm along I-44 in anticipation it would produce a tornado because the meteorological conditions was so perfect for such development. These tornado chasers were able to video the storm from its inception all the way to its tragic encounter with the city of Joplin. Hopefully, such video documention will further aid scientists in better understanding the nuances of tornado development.

The storm turned Joplin into something like a bombed out city of World War 2. The tornado made a direct hit on Joplin's large hospital faciltiy which was a multi-wing, multiple stories complex. The destruction was so extensive that the hospital complex will have to be gutted or destroyed and rebuilt. Hundreds of homes were obliterated, leaving nothing but the foundation and rubble. Cars and truckes were tossed high into the air like toys before being smashed back to earth, often times in piles of vehicle upon vehicle.  A local Wal Mart and a Home Depot were also destroyed.

Individual tales of heroism and heart-wrenching tragedy are slowly coming to public knowledge including the winds ripping a baby from the mother's arms, never to be found again. Amazing miracles are also emerging as well as home videos of groups of people huddled in shelters praying for Divine intervention for physical salvation.

We're including several separate segments within this article page pertaining to the Joplin twister, but sadly it is but one of dozens of instances of tornadic destruction across America in a nearly week long tornado outbreak. This page will attempt to provide our international readers, especially the scope and magnificent horror of the outbreak. For an overall understanding of the Joplin event, read a story from the New York Times - LINK HERE.

+++++++++

Joplin Twister Timeline of Events

LINK

++++++++++

Joplin Twister One For History Books
One of Deadliest Incidents Ever

The tornado which struck Joplin, Missouri on Sunday evening, (5/22/11) is already one of the 10 most deadly tornado strikes in recorded history and it is the deadliest since at least 1953. At the time we post this, the death toll stands at 124 killed with more than 200 other individuals still reported as missing. For more on how this disaster compares with other tornadic events, LINK HERE.

++++++++++

Video of Twister Hitting Joplin

+++

Storm Chaser Video

of

Twister Destroying Joplin

LINK

+++++++++

Joplin Destruction in Pictures
National Geographic Photos

LINK

+++++++++

Video: Inside the Joplin Tornado
Hear the Destruction & Chaos As It Happened
You hear the "train-like" sounds ot the twister

LINK 1 During the Twister

+++++++++

252 People Still Missing in Joplin
As of May 27

LINK

++++++++

Tornadoes Hit Minneapolis
Hours Before Joplin Tornado

LINK

++++++++

Weak Twisters Hit Kansas City Area
May 25

LINK

++++++++

EF-2 Tornado Strikes Sedalia, Missouri
May 25

The same storm system that prompted multiple tornado warnings in the Kansas City area was blamed for what is believed to be an EF-2 tornado in Sedalia, Mo.  See and read more at the TV station LINK HERE.

++++++++

Twisters Rip Through Dallas, Texas

LINK

++++++++

Oklahoma Twisters Leave 4 Dead

LINK

++++++++

Video Recap of Oklahoma Twister Outbreak

LINK

++++++++

Twister Wipes Out Denning, Arkansas

LINK

++++++++

Tornadoes Strike Iowa

LINK

+++++++

Twister Hits Philadelphia

LINK

+++++++

Tornadoes Strike California on Wednesday

LINK

+++++++

More Storms Roll Across America
Thursday, May 26

LINK 1

LINK 2

+++++++

ABC News Video Twister Recap

++++++++

Wednesday Round Up of Twister Action

LINK

++++++++

Recap of  USA's Tornado Outbreak #3 for 2011

LINK

++++++++

2011 To Be Deadliest Ever Tornado Year

LINK 1

LINK 2

++++++++

Tornadoes Impacting Metro Areas
It's Not Just For Rural America Anymore

It used to be that tornadoes were primarily a threat to just rural areas of America's heartland, but not anymore. See the LINK HERE.  Also, see LINK HERE.

++++++++

American Red Cross Says
April Alabama Twisters in April
Ranked 6 out of 7 on Disaster Scale

LINK

++++++++

Scientists Try To Explain
Why The Increase in Deadly Storms

LINK

++++++++++++++++++++

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

TORNADO EDUCATION

++++++++++++

What Causes Tornadoes?

LINK 1

LINK 2

+++++++++++

Tornado Information Even Kids Can Understand
Includes What To Do In A Tornado

LINK

++++++++++

What is Tornado Alley?

LINK

+++++++++++

Different Tornado Shapes:
Funnels, Ropes, Wedges

LINK

++++++++++

Measuring Tornado Power
The Fujita Scale

LINK

+++

The Enhanced Fujita Scale

LINK 1

LINK 2 Chart

++++++++++

Tornado Safety

LINK 1 NWS Storm Center

LINK 2 - FEMA Safety Tips

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

-