March 3, 2008Lebanon, Tennessee Photographer states :: A strong cold front is approaching middle Tennessee this evening. No tornadic storms reported but plenty of rain and interesting lightning. It was spring like in the 70's today. The wild swings continue this winter with snow showers forecast tomorrow afternoon.
This NOAA satellite image taken Monday, March 03, 2008 at 01:45 AM EST shows a strong frontal system extending from the Upper Midwest and Upper Great Lakes southwestward through mid-Mississippi Valley and Southern Plains. Widely scattered moderate to severe thunderstorms are developing along and ahead of the southern portion of the front. Snow is falling in the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes as well as the southern High Plains and Rockies. (AP Photo/Weather Underground)
Severe weather and tornadoes ripped through the South Tuesday night resulting in significant damage to communities in Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi. The tornadoes left more than 45 people dead and injured hundreds. The Red Cross immediately responded to the tornadoes, providing shelter, feeding victims and search and rescue workers, and lending emotional support to all. Members of the Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program helped ensure the Red Cross could be there immediately to rush relief to the affected residents, but the need for additional donations is still great due to the devastation caused by the tornadoes throughout the South.
Snow, Tornadoes Hit Southern Plains (click here)
By MURRAY EVANS – 1 day ago
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Snow fell across parts of Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle on Monday, part of a storm system that produced at least two weekend tornadoes and hail as big as softballs.
The National Weather Service posted a snow and blowing snow advisory for parts of Oklahoma and a winter storm warning for sections of Arkansas, where 3 to 6 inches of snow was possible. In the Texas Panhandle, ice and snow covered local roads in western areas of the Panhandle but no problems were reported.
Up to 4 inches of rain had fallen by midday Monday in parts of Arkansas, the weather service said. Winds gusted as high as 61 mph in southwest Oklahoma, according to the Oklahoma Mesonet, a network of weather monitoring stations.
A cold front triggered damaging winds in the northeastern corner of Texas and a chance for rare snow in the Dallas-Fort Worth area Monday.
Tornado warnings were posted in Bowie County, where strong winds downed trees and damaged property. In Hooks, about 160 miles northeast of Dallas, there were reports of damage but no injuries, said Police Chief Keith Schutte.
On Sunday, two tornadoes were spotted in rural areas of northwestern Oklahoma. Television footage showed one twister passing the communities of Carleton and Southard in northern Blaine County.
No fatalities or severe damage were reported, but downed power lines caused scattered blackouts. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said one highway near the Kansas state line that was closed because of fallen power lines had been reopened early Monday.
Sunday's storm system also produced wind gusting up to 70 mph, lightning and hail as large as softballs that caused scattered damage, said weather service meteorologist Chris Sohl in Norman.
Such a storm system "is not all that odd, but this early in March sometimes it's a trick to get enough moisture up here for (atmospheric) instability," Sohl said.
The stormy weather formed along a cold front stretching across the middle of the nation. Radar showed rain falling along the front from Texas to Michigan on Monday morning with snow in parts of Michigan and Wisconsin.Anheuser-Busch Foundation Donates $100,000 to Aid Victims of Southern Tornadoes (click here) Company Also Donates More Than 154,000 Cans of Drinking Water
ST. LOUIS.– The Anheuser-Busch Foundation announced today that it is donating $100,000 to the American Red Cross to aid relief efforts for victims of last week’s Southern tornadoes.
The devastating line of thunderstorms and tornadoes swept across the midsection of the United States last week, leaving a widespread path of destruction in its wake. The storms killed at least 55 people, making it the deadliest tornado outbreak in the United States in more than 20 years....
March 4, 2008, 11:33AM
US Senate Gets Mobile Home-Radio Bill (click here)
By TOM DAVIES
Associated Press Writer © 2008 The Associated Press
— An effort spurred by a deadly tornado that struck southern Indiana to require weather-warning radios in many new manufactured homes has moved to the U.S. Senate.
Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., said Monday he was introducing a bill that would mandate the installer put the radios inside any manufactured home that does not have a permanent foundation.
Backers of such measures say they would help prevent deaths from tornadoes that disproportionately occur in manufactured housing, including mobile homes. The radios, some of which retail for $20 or less, pick up direct broadcasts from the National Weather Service, including official storm warnings and watches 24 hours a day.
"This seems to me as a fairly modest step we can take that could have major impacts in terms of saving people's lives," Bayh said.
The bill is named for C.J. Martin, a 2-year-old Evansville, Ind., boy who was among 20 people living in a mobile home park who were killed in a November 2005 tornado that struck about 2 a.m. as most people slept. His mother, Kathryn Martin, helped push through a state law in Indiana and has lobbied Congress to adopt a similar measure, which passed the House last year.
"This isn't going to stop the tornadoes and it's not going to stop bad weather," Martin said Monday. "We just need to be able to give people the warning."...
