UPDATE: At least 50 people are likely dead following a tornado in Kentucky, governor says

[BumRushDaShow]

Last edited Sat Dec 11, 2021, 07:59 AM - Edit history (1)

Source: CNN

(CNN) - At least 50 people are likely dead after multiple tornadoes barreled through southwestern Kentucky late Friday, according to Gov. Andy Beshear. "We believe our death toll from this event will exceed 50 Kentuckians, probably end up closer to 70 to 100 lost lives," Beshear said at a briefing Saturday morning, calling the storms that hit the state "the most severe tornado event in Kentucky's history."

Preliminary investigations indicate four tornadoes may have hit the state, including one that potentially stayed on the ground for more than 200 miles, Beshear said. Damage has been reported in at least 15 counties stretching across western Kentucky.The worst destruction was in Graves County, he told CNN affiliate WLKY, particularly the town of Mayfield. "It hit Mayfield as hard as just about any town ... has ever been hit."

About 110 people were at a candle factory at the time the tornado hit, and Beshear said, "We believe we'll lose at least dozens of those individuals." "It is a significant, massive disaster event," state emergency management director Michael Dorsett said, adding that search-and-rescue efforts are ongoing and began even as the storms were in the area.

The tornadoes were among a multitude that spawned in the overnight hours Friday as a line of powerful storms ripped through the central US.Mayfield is a city of around 10,000 people, according to the US Census. Buildings struck include the Graves County Courthouse and adjoining jail.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/11/weather/severe-weather-tornadoes-saturday/index.html

---

That system (a cold front) is headed this way and we still have many in the Philly metro area who are still without homes (or still have damaged ones) after the tornado outbreak and major flooding triggered by the remnants of Hurricane Ida in early September.

Original article -

(CNN) At least 50 people are likely dead after a tornado hit southwestern Kentucky late Friday, according to Gov. Andy Beshear. "We know that we are likely to have more than 50 deaths, if not significantly north of that, from this event," Beshear told CNN affiliate WLKY.

Most of the destruction centered on Graves County, he said, including the town of Mayfield. "It hit Mayfield as hard as just about any town ... has ever been hit."The tornado was one of a multitude spawned in the overnight hours Friday as a line of powerful storms ripped through the central US.

The governor said "two tractor-trailers filled with water" are headed to Mayfield to make sure people have usable drinking water. Beshear had declared a state of emergency overnight, deploying the National Guard.

"We have one factory in Mayfield with a roof collapse that is going to be a mass casualty event," Beshear told WLKY. Buildings struck include the Graves County Courthouse and adjoining jail.

[SheltieLover]

1. Terrible storm!

Blew out half my breaker panel. 😓

But, compared to many, I was lucky. Fortunately, my fridge, hvac, stove, & computer are each on dedicated circuits in a separate panel.

[BumRushDaShow]

2. Oh no!

I am glad you were able to dodge the worst of it and that you even have separate breaker panels for the electric.

I know we are getting concerned here considering the temps are supposed to be record-breaking across the entire local NWS area today before the front moves thorugh, with concerns about strong winds and thunderstorms. In one respect, most of the leaves have finally dropped from the trees (albeit late) so that helps reduce surface area that could cause any strong winds to uproot them, but we still have a lot of weakened trees from the past storms. I have had to use small UPS units over the past 20 years to help protect my electronics (bought a couple new replacements a couple months ago that I have been in the process of swapping in). They are good for at least keeping my internet up for a few hours as long as whatever is out in the street isn't out too.

[SheltieLover]

7. Thx!

I have main computer on a sweet little sine wave UPS. Love it!

Panel is going to be a pain to swap out because it will involve the power company turning power off & back on after inspection.

Building codes are so lax here, panel doesn't even have a main. Mind boggling. Never would have imagined such a thing could exist in our country.

But here we are...

Fortunately, I have an electrician friend to deal with the power company & to sign off on the work. 👍

[bronxiteforever]

3. Glad you are ok!

That sounds like an incredibly powerful storm.
I am happy that your life support systems are working. Stay safe

[SheltieLover]

8. Ty!

Not looking forward to dealing with power company & inspector for panel reppacement though. Who knows how long power will have to be completely shut down? It's only a couple of hours work to swap the panel out - not a big deal, really, except for the coordination & timing, not something these genii excel at.

Life will go on... staying in tge peaceful moment. 😉✌

[Rhiannon12866]

4. Yikes! Hang in there! Glad to hear that you're okay!

We're expecting torrential rains here, but I'm grateful that it isn't snow. And on Wednesday night we had such strong winds, I had to slow way down to avoid the branches in the road. And that was also the night my driver's side windshield wiper broke, so I kept having to pull over to fix it. I stopped at the dealership for a new wiper Thursday just before I went to get my booster shot.

[SheltieLover]

9. Thx!

Glad to hear you are ok, too! That had to be terrifying!

So glad you made it safely!

[LoisB]

5. Terrible!

[Skittles]

6. ...

[Botany]

10. Where were the tornado sirens?

Watch how fast our President says something, gets help to the areas, and visits KY

[AngryOldDem]

12. We (in Indiana) were told that these storms were moving so fast....

….that traditional warnings could come too late and we just had to be vigilant. I was a little surprised, though, that warnings weren’t issued far in advance of the one that was on the ground for 200 miles. I got bad rain and wind around 3 am — the warning for that came just minutes before it hit.

This is scary. The worst outbreak we’ve seen in years and it happened in DECEMBER.

[Botany]

15. How did the storm track? SW to NE? Or was it all along the 250 mile band all at once?

I hope you are OK.

[AngryOldDem]

16. Southwest to northeast.

Started in Arkansas and went up through Kentucky.

I feel extremely lucky — we were right on the northern edge of it. This one had me worried. Power briefly went off twice but that was it. My daughter (who I haven’t seen in person since 2019) was on the road from North Carolina and she stopped at a rest area overnight. That county had two warnings, and she said it was very rocky for awhile. She got here around 6.

[Botany]

19. If it started in Arkansas and moved up to KY they should have had more than enough time ...

....set off the sirens which I hope they did. But it is easy to sit in my warm dry house in OH
and speculate on "stuff." Glad you are OK.

[AngryOldDem]

22. Bill Karins on MSNBC

Mayfield had a 15 to 20 minute warning and a “tornado emergency” (rare) was declared.

I’ve not heard whether sirens went off or not. Really doesn’t matter now.

Maybe the rationale is that authorities don’t want to declare warnings too early because people would likely ignore them, which would make them meaningless. But I’m pretty sure I’ve heard of that being done before.

[BumRushDaShow]

26. When the local NWS or NWS's SPC issues a TOR or TORE

that goes out through the EAS (Emergency Alert System) and hits every broadcast media outlet and also hits any WEA-enabled phone (which is pretty much all of the newer ones).

[2naSalit]

27. I would imagine it goes out to the same network as...

Amber Alerts which means phones would be activated too. I hate it when those go off but they are emergencies.

[BumRushDaShow]

29. Yes - they all use the same standard alert system

You might remember that "Presidential Alert" test thingy back in 2018.

Emergency Alert System

It is used by the NWS for their EAS level alerts.

I know most of us grew up with the old "Emergency Broadcast System" and the "This is a test, this is only a test" stuff.

[2naSalit]

32. Out here in...

We've got too many Senators-ville, we still have the EBS and the monthly tests, I still listen to radio a lot as do many, and we also have the new systems.

I once worked a job where I operated heavy equipment up in the mountains at night in the winter. I had a two-way that went to central dispatch which had just installed the GOLD system where we were connected to all comm systems in the area for about a hundred miles. When something went wrong, we called for help and whomever was designated to come and assist would be activated, but you still had to wait for hours for them to get there, could be twenty or more miles out from the nearest rescue unit. We had to announce our departure, route and return shelter on the two-way every night. It was a crazy job but it was amazing and fun too.

In the mountains, you don't always have signal for one or another dispatch, it's complicated.

[BumRushDaShow]

35. Well the EBS is deprecated and replaced with the EAS

and there is still statewide testing, but using the new system (first turned on in 1997 with the requirement that all broadcast outlets have receivers by 2012). The messages are similar but the system name is different when they run their recording.

And yeah it can be an issue in places that lack line-of-sight to some kind of broadcast signal although that is nothing new and I think about the best you can do is use AM radio, which can travel literally hundreds of miles, and hopefully have a good antenna and/or HAM capability (and an EAS alert would break into the AM radio if you can pick up any local stations).

They have recently tried to narrow the areas (using a parallelogram) where you have a Watch or Advisory or Warning or Emergency so that people who might live 50 - 100 miles away from an impactful event like a tornado, aren't getting what would be a false alert for them.

[2naSalit]

39. I don't catch the details when they identify so I could have

Misidentified the system. In the canyon up around 8,000ft, it's an interesting communications situation.

The weather alert systems out here in the boonies is crucial. I don't go outside without checking the weather conditions and forecast.

[BumRushDaShow]

42. I hear you!

The other system was around so long with their standard message (that I rarely experienced actually being used here locally for any "emergency" ), that I still miss it for some reason when I hear the tests every month.

Now the alerts are much more common for all kinds of things the old system should have been used for. The NWS recently started doing Snow Squall Warnings through an EAS alert and people were freaking out about why that was even "a thing", not realizing that some of the biggest multi-car/truck pile-ups (often in the dozens upwards to over 100) usually happened during snow squalls on the major highways.

[mvd]

69. Yes it has been perfected pretty well

This past summer, here in Montgomery County PA there were tornado warnings in the southern and eastern parts of the county, but I did not get alerted. In early September with Ida there was a day I got constant flood emergency alerts, though.

[BumRushDaShow]

71. I'm literally a couple blocks from the Montco line

and shop there (plus have a sis living there) and I got a couple EAS alerts - a TOR and a TORE, both on my phones and on my weather radio.

A few years ago, the NWS implemented a way to narrow the areas for Warnings/alerts so that they weren't forced to do county-wide alerting where the hazard is only affecting a small geographic area. So you may have been just outside of the TOR & TORE warned areas. I had been hunting for how they characterized the way they designate their alerted areas and just found it - they use "polygons" to narrow the geographic boundaries of the alerts.

They also have tweeted out their alerts - e.g., this was one of the Montco ones (that also included a small portion of Philly) that I got an alert for here in NW Philly -

Link to tweet

NWS Mount Holly
@NWS_MountHolly
Tornado Warning including Willow Grove PA, Glenside PA, Doylestown PA until 6:00 PM EDT
Image
5:34 PM · Sep 1, 2021 from Pennsylvania, USA

I did get a TORE on the phone but am not seeing a tweet for it (they were doing multiple alerts at the time including eventually doing Flash Flood Emergencies).

[mvd]

72. I'm in the Upper Providence/Limerick/Royersford area

So yes, I was correctly left out of that one. Those Ida remnants caused scary times in the region

I was a few miles away from the 1994 Limerick tornado. Back then I got alerted and went to the basement. I live even closer to the location today - a couple miles.

[BumRushDaShow]

73. I know on my weather forum

I had posted videos taken of that 1994 tornado that went through Limerick.

My concern there has always been that nuclear plant.

I remember back in '79 as a senior in H.S. when my Physics class took a field trip to the Limerick plant (it wasn't operational yet but they had a cooling tower constructed). Back then the PECO folks giving us the tour told us that once it went online, that electric bills would drop to $3/month!

[mvd]

74. Cool, thanks for the footage

It was an F3 back then. I wonder what it would be on the EF scale.

[BumRushDaShow]

75. Here is a link to the old and new scales for classifications

https://www.weather.gov/oun/efscale

A good graphic of that -



So it would have pretty much been the same - an EF3 or EF4 today (I think I saw a report where the winds may have been upwards of 200 mph).

[mvd]

76. Yeah the best I found though a search was..

the standard F3 range of 158-206. I don’t know if you can directly correlate based on the wind chart due to the change in criteria, but I assume it would at least still be an EF3.

Thanks for the discussion. Since that tornado, it seems tornado frequency has only increased around here.

[mvd]

77. Just after I typed that, a severe thunderstorm warning was issued

Severe weather in December is unusual here. November is often the end of severe season - it can start up again as early as late Feb.

[BumRushDaShow]

78. You are welcome

and as a note, the area is now under a Severe Thunderstorm Warning (I got all the Ready.gov alerts that were blasting) as that same line that produced the tornadoes south and west of us, has arrived. Hoping the power holds!!!

Link to tweet

NWS Mount Holly
@NWS_MountHolly
Severe Thunderstorm Warning including Bethlehem PA, Wilmington DE, Norristown PA until 10:00 PM EST
Image
9:02 PM · Dec 11, 2021 from Pennsylvania, USA

[BigmanPigman]

79. Did Bryn Athen get nailed?

That's where I grew up. There was a small tornado in 1978 or 1979 and it was creepy. I was home alone and the barometer kept dropping and dropping then the colors outside started to change. I had never seen the sky and grass with such odd tints.

[BumRushDaShow]

80. Since there was a tornado that eventually formed near the Burlington-Bristol Bridge

which isn't that far away from there, they most likely did get nailed with some wind/flooding during that September outbreak. Montco had a bunch of webpages on recovery including one that had a map of areas that had submitted damage reports through the county - https://www.montcopa.org/3878/Hurricane-Ida

Key

Green icons: Wind/severe weather/tornado damage
Blue icons: Flood damage

This is where the tornadoes in the September outbreak occurred (7 confirmed) -



At the end of July, there was a confirmed EF3 that barreled through Trevose (which is even closer to Bryn Athyn). We used to go to the drive-in in that area back in the day.

[yellowdogintexas]

49. a 15 minute warning is not a very long time and it was night

When the first reports /warnings came up from Arkansas, it would be difficult to predict where it would go. Tornados are weird with damage on one side of a road and nothing on the other.

these are also fairly small towns. I talked to my sister this morning - they are 40 miles south of Bowling Green- spotty power outage was all they had there.

It hit Christian co, skipped Todd completely and skirted Logan on the way to Bowling Green. The mail line of the storm though plowed straight through - the map of the front is very clear

I have Gov Beshear's press conference from last night and he showed that map. .

Lots of videos on You Tube.

[BumRushDaShow]

33. "they should have had more than enough time ... ....set off the sirens"

Sirens are old-school now although fire stations will usually sound them (and they do periodic testing of them).

They usually send out EAS (Emergency Alert System) alerts for the emergency (in this case TORE or "Tornado Emergency" which is the highest alert above the "Tornado Warning" ) that literally breaks into every media outlet and is broadcast across all weather radios and cell phone networks (sounding on the newer phones that are WEA-compatible).

Link to tweet

NWS Paducah, KY
@NWSPaducah
Tornado Emergency including Mayfield KY until 10:15 PM CST
Image
10:27 PM · Dec 10, 2021 from Mayfield, KY

Link to tweet

NWS Paducah, KY
@NWSPaducah
Tornado Emergency including Benton KY until 10:00 PM CST
Image
10:45 PM · Dec 10, 2021 from Benton, KY

Link to tweet

NWS Paducah, KY
@NWSPaducah
Tornado Emergency including Princeton KY, Cedar Bluff KY until 10:30 PM CST
Image
11:17 PM · Dec 10, 2021 from Princeton, KY

Link to tweet

NWS Paducah, KY
@NWSPaducah
Tornado Emergency continues for Princeton KY, Cedar Bluff KY until 10:30 PM CST
Image
11:23 PM · Dec 10, 2021 from Princeton, KY

Link to tweet

NWS Paducah, KY
@NWSPaducah
Tornado Emergency including Dawson Springs KY, Saint Charles KY, Beulah KY until 11:00 PM CST
Image
11:32 PM · Dec 10, 2021 from Kentucky, USA

Link to tweet

NWS Paducah, KY
@NWSPaducah
Tornado Emergency continues for Dawson Springs KY, Saint Charles KY, Beulah KY until 11:00 PM CST
Image
11:40 PM · Dec 10, 2021 from Kentucky, USA

Link to tweet

NWS Paducah, KY
@NWSPaducah
Tornado Emergency including Madisonville KY, Earlington KY, Nortonville KY until 11:15 PM CST
Image
11:44 PM · Dec 10, 2021 from Kentucky, USA

Link to tweet

NWS Paducah, KY
@NWSPaducah
Tornado Emergency including Sacramento KY, Island KY, Bremen KY until 11:15 PM CST
Image
11:59 PM · Dec 10, 2021 from Kentucky, USA

Link to tweet

NWS Paducah, KY
@NWSPaducah
Tornado Emergency continues for Hopkins County, KY, Muhlenberg County, KY until 11:15 PM CST
Image
12:04 AM · Dec 11, 2021 from Kentucky, USA

This is basically what these EAS alerts do to phones -

[Botany]

34. thank you!

n/t

[BumRushDaShow]

37. You are welcome!

I have heard enough of those alerts this year and am hoping I don't hear one this evening when that complex gets over here in Philly metro!

[LeftInTX]

55. I'm sure the alerts prevented many deaths

We have flash floods here and get the alerts.

[BumRushDaShow]

58. I get all kinds

(weather hobbyist with a weather radio too) including the Flash Flood Warnings Tornado Warnings, and yes, even a Snow Squall Warning.

The last EAS alerts on my phone were September 1st for a pair of Flash Flood Warnings but more importantly, for a Tornado Emergency. An EF2 was confirmed on the ground about 5 miles from where I live but was headed north and east further away from my area. I and my weather buddies were radar tracking the tornadoes at the time. I think there were like 7 of them confirmed in the area between PA, NJ, and DE that day - all associated with the remnants of Hurricane Ida.

[BumRushDaShow]

13. In this case

it seems the "mass casualties" may have occurred in factories and warehouses where people were working and the building collapsed and was torn apart.

Chaser footage of aftermath (I usually follow those guys during hurricane season) -

[AngryOldDem]

17. Flat-roof warehouses are deathtraps in storms like these.

Terrible.

[BumRushDaShow]

24. Exactly

I follow various storm chasers and they have driven around during and after storms to film the result, and most dramatically is what happens with those sheet metal buildings - they basically rip apart and collapse.

[TexasBushwhacker]

52. Peel 'em like a tin can n/t

[BumRushDaShow]

53. When you have something like this happen

(Mayfield's Graves County Courthouse)


sheet metal is no match.

[TexasBushwhacker]

56. Oh yeah. I've been through 2

The first time I was in college. We'd lost power because of the storm and I was studying for finals by candlelight. It suddenly got very dark and noisy. I looked out the window and a vacant lot next door with chest high weeds looked like it had been mowed. I got away from the window and after a few minutes it got quiet, then I started hearing sirens from fire trucks. I went outside and several homes lost their roofs and a mobile home was turned upside down.

The second was when I was teaching. I had stayed late doing some grading and was walking out to the parking lot with another teacher. We we're the last 2 cats in the parking lot. The wind was picking up and the sky looked dark. I commented about it and they other teacher said "Yeah, like twister weather" and I said "but it's February". Tornadoes are usually during the summer in Texas, during hurricane season.

I got about a half mile away from the school and it started pouring and my car was being pummeled with hail. I couldn't see any wear, but I knew the road had a ditch on either side, so I just stopped and turned on my hazard lights, hoping I wouldn't rear ended. After a few minutes, the storm passed.

I drove back to the school to see if there was any damage. The bleachers by the football field were twisted like Tinker Toys. The one side of the library
that was all glass was sucked out and there were books everywhere. We were very lucky though. Had the storm come through 30 to 45 minutes earlier, the concourse would have been filled with hundreds if kids waiting for their buses.

[BumRushDaShow]

59. Luckily this one was headed to the NE

but the below one was about 7 miles from where I live -

[uppityperson]

60. So glad it missed you

My heart breaks for all affected.

[BumRushDaShow]

61. Tell me about it

I am grateful and I am just heartbroken about the people who were in the path of these tornadoes.

In many cases, these storms also damage rentals - particularly the apartment complexes, and that throws a large number of people out of their dwellings with little or no recourse, particularly trying to find alternate affordable housing/rentals.

[2naSalit]

30. That's bad.

Good grief. I saw Greensburg, KS when they had what was considered the first F5 about twelve years ago, I didn't see anything that looked that bad. There are cars, semis and building parts all stacked up, what, 30ft or more! I have never seen anything like that except in tsunami aftermath videos.

Dang.

[BumRushDaShow]

51. I found a later video that makes me wonder if this was an EF5 that hit Mayfield

if not, at least an EF4.

When you have masonry damaged like what is shown in the above in Mayfield, that is extreme. A clock tower literally ripped off the top of that building (just identified it as their courthouse) -

[2naSalit]

62. I agree.

That kind of damage to masonry like that is probably an F5. Doesn't look like any trees survived. In Greensburg all the trees in affected areas looked like each had been visited by a giant, crude pencil sharpener, whatever was left of the trunks, nothing over 6 or 7 feet, were peeled to the ground as well. I saw stuff I'll never forget.

[BumRushDaShow]

63. I just heard on the radio ago that Pres. Biden is supposed to have an address about this catastrophe

Scheduled for 4:30 pm EST (but I know how the actual timing can slip) -

[2naSalit]

65. Thanks!

[BumRushDaShow]

66. He's speaking/answering questions right now - about done

(early believe it or not! )

Am watching!

[SunSeeker]

64. Wow. Stunning pictures. nt

[bucolic_frolic]

11. Gonna create some supply chain issues

[Bernardo de La Paz]

14. Not to make light, ... do Kentuckians believe the weather is energized by climate warming?

I heard on the radio that the primary tornado cut a 200 mile long path. I think it was Gov Beshear speaking, who said that had never happened before in Kentucky. Kentucky has hundreds of years of written history.

So, a once-in-300-year storm, perhaps more? Do climate change deniers in Kentucky laugh at "coastal elites" worrying about sea level rise and hurricanes?

All the same, I am shocked at the loss of life and injuries and property destruction.

[AngryOldDem]

20. I hope this makes people stop and think.

This is what you expect in spring. Yes, bad weather can happen in early winter but typically it’s thunderstorms with weak tornadoes. Nothing like this.

I’m afraid, though, that people won’t start asking questions until this is a “typical” event for this time of year. Extreme weather IS here, whether it’s acknowledged or not.

I’m stunned by what I’m seeing on the news.

[2naSalit]

31. Check out the videos in Post #13.

[onenote]

41. Kentuckians elected Bashear.

So maybe less of a generalization ("do Kentuckians believe the weather in energized by climate warming)?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

45. Good point. . . . nt

[johnthewoodworker]

18. Republicans are working hard to blame tornados on Antifa and 'libtards'.

[Traildogbob]

21. Heartbreaking

Never seen this much damage. These people will need so much help. Maybe McConnell will not Block spending to help these poor people. These images bring tears.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

23. What a terrible situation.

Tornadoes and strong winds at night are particularly frightening. It's very hard to see it coming your way. Perhaps a flash of lightning will briefly reflect off the funnel cloud.

[myohmy2]

25. my heart...

...and prayers go out to the families and people of Kentucky who have experienced what appears to be a terrible and horrific loss...

...but that's it...don't use my federal tax-dollars for Kentucky...

...the turtle votes against and opposes needed government help for everyone else...

...want a helping hand, you've got to give a helping hand...

...but then again, if governor Beshear asked nicely, I'd say okay...

...

[marie999]

67. Really, you don't want to help the people in Kentucky?

[MarineCombatEngineer]

81. Ya know,

that's pretty heartless towards the citizens of Kentucky.

[myohmy2]

82. there...

...are a lot of people out here today that need our help not just Kentuckians...

"that's pretty heartless..."

...tell that to the turtle and pukes...

...

[MarineCombatEngineer]

83. I stand by my post.

Why don't you go to Ky and tell all those that lost loved ones or those that were injured that they shouldn't get help because of their Sen.?

As I said, your statement is pretty heartless towards the citizens of KY.

[myohmy2]

84. sorry...

...you feel that way but I don't think so...

...817,955 COVID dead...

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/

...as much as I feel for the people of Kentucky I mourn the 817,955 COVID dead more, many deaths were/are preventable...

...I have no numbers but my guess is half the deaths might have been preventable if it wasn't for trump, pukes and their lies...

...nobody is getting bent out of shape over the loss of 817,955 dead Americans, but as tragic as the unpreventable damage and deaths in Kentucky may be, we seem to be...

...perspective...

[MarineCombatEngineer]

85. So, basically, you would tell the citizens of KY to fuck off?

That's mighty generous of you, although hardly the guiding principles of the Democratic Party.
Oh well.

[myohmy2]

86. let's be friends...

...and compromise...

...I'd like to see local friends, relatives, neighbors, charities and the private sector in Kentucky do the bulk of the heavy lifting...

...I'm willing to chip in a little of my federal dollars but all those elected federal creeps from Kentucky refuse to help me with my non-Medicare covered root canal and crown I desperately need...

...there is a limit to my generosity...

[MarineCombatEngineer]

87. That's fair.

[catbyte]

28. I was watching Ryan Hall (Y'all) on his YouTube channel last night and it was horrifying

watching it all unfold in real time. That guy was online live for 11 hours last night. The radar signature of that monster was unbelievable. It was potentially on the ground for over 200 miles and rivals the Tri-State Tornado in 1925.

Here is his channel. He does great work:

https://www.youtube.com/c/RyanHallYall

[LeftInTX]

54. I was watching him too.

[malthaussen]

36. Wow, if I were still in Kentucky, I'd have been right on the edge of that tornado.

Now I'm safe in Jacksonville... wait, is that seawater I see?

-- Mal

[BumRushDaShow]

38. There were a bunch of tornadoes overnight

including the one that apparently traveled along a 200 mile stretch... So you might have been under one if you still lived there. This post has where the TOREs were issued - https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=2839189

[yellowdogintexas]

47. the 200 mile tornado is the one which destroyed Mayfield

started in Arkansas and moved roughly northeast.

Seven killed in Bowling Green. Missed St Louis, Louisville, Nashville, Memphis and Evansville.

[BumRushDaShow]

50. Yeah that is what i have gathered...

It was traveling the distance of what they define as a "Derecho', but in this case, instead of a thunderstorm complex, it was a tornado (or tornadoes).

We had a tornado cluster here in Philly metro where an EF2 touched down literally about 5 miles from me around September 1st (and I was under a TOR) -

The people's whose homes were destroyed or damaged are still without any place to live.

[llashram]

40. at least dozens?

were those "dozens" given a chance to take cover? Profit is king in this country and greed is the queen in this country, so I'm suspecting...not.

[BumRushDaShow]

43. They were in a factory and the building was destroyed

It's just like what happened to Joplin, MO, which was 10 years ago this year.

Here is Bowling Green, KY this morning (the town where Rand Paul had set up his practice as I understand) -

This is the biggy - Mayfield, KY -

[llashram]

44. I think we

are just beginning to see the formation of widespread super storm cells. Covering large areas. And on and on the wheel of fortune or misfortune turns for us here on the ground.

[BumRushDaShow]

46. This was the type of extreme events that were foretold when people warned about climate change

I'm still trying to recover from seeing a a multi-lane interstate that runs "river to river" here in Philly (that I used to use daily to get to work before retiring), completely underwater after the remnants of Hurricane Ida came through here in early September.

I mean, this was just NUTS!!!!!!!! Looked like a canal. And that happened just a little over 3 months ago.



This is what it normally looks like -

[Bayard]

48. Too close for comfort for us

We got some serious thunderstorms, but Bowling Green is 45 minutes south of us. Casualties and tons of damage:

"tornado damage in Bowling Green was categorized as EF-3, with estimated wind speeds of 150 miles per hour."

Read more at: https://www.kentucky.com/news/state/kentucky/article256511671.html#storylink=cpy

We dodged a bullet.

[IronLionZion]

57. WaPo reporting over 70 dead now, could be up to 100

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/12/11/live-updates-authorities-assess-damage-tornadoes-that-killed-least-4-people-5-states/

[ananda]

68. In December!

Must be an act of god, a true miracle punishing
KYans for Mitch McConnell.

[Skittles]

70. wishing the best for the people of Kentucky

time to put politics aside, this is just terrible