Tornadoes Hit the South, Hundreds of Dollars of Damage Done

[Tannhauser]

Anyone else get zapped by a tornado last night?  I remember it like it was last night.  House shaking, lightning going off like flashbulbs, me racing for the basement as my sunroom was sucked into the night.

Seriously though, had at least two folks die about 2 miles from my house. I live in east TN btw. I have no electricity and fewer trees.
My plum trees, which have never had more plums, are badly damaged as is part of my roof.   I've been cleaning all morning.  I just wanted to do something normal, to get my head out of what has been an eventuful 16 hours or so.
So I post my 'humorous' snark on f13.

I hope everyone in the path yesterday and last night is doing OK.

[WayAbvPar]

The more I read about this, the more amazing it sounds. Like possibly bigger than the 1974 outbreak that still has people pissing down their legs almost 40 years later. Very scary (but infinitely fascinating).

[Yegolev]

Did something happen?

[Morat20]

Did something happen?

God registered his general disapproval of the South, in the form of violent funnels of wind.

[Slyfeind]

Man! Glad to hear you're ok. I have family down in The Bible Belt. If only we could have had some warning, some method of predicting problems with weather...or climate...changes....

http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/573674/insane_storms:_science_saw_it_coming,_and_yes,_it's_part_of_climate_change/

 

[Yegolev]

Did something happen?

God registered his general disapproval of the South, in the form of violent funnels of wind.

Yea, I live in the path of that monstrosity, I was being flip.  Fortunately the supercells went north and south of me, just barely though.  The coverage on this stuff was frightening, like the hail core that rose to 45k feet and the 80mph winds at 3 miles.

[HaemishM]

Just posted this video in the Useless Conversation thread but figured this is as good a place to repost it as any. Some crazy fucker took this in Tuscaloosa yesterday.

[Yegolev]

Yeah, I like how Bill Paxton there is driving his car toward it.  Geez.

[Hawkbit]

Gamestop going to get demolished at the 2:45 mark - Think of the games!!

My parents had one last year in Wood County, Ohio that destroyed the high school I went to in the 90s.  Four houses down from their house (less than 50yds) were simply gone - slabs and basements only.  I can't explain how utterly surreal it is to drive through there now, seeing how things changed in a moment.  Houses and trees gone; mother nature doing her thing.  They made it out okay with about $30k damage total, but there are people that lost everything, including family.  

My dad found some weird stuff while walking around, like hard drive platters and the circutboard from the inside of a 360 controller.  How much force is needed to strip away the casings from those things?  Happened in the middle of the night, no warning.  They said that people are right - it sounds exactly like a freight train bearing down on you.

Hoping all make it out okay.

[01101010]

Just posted this video in the Useless Conversation thread but figured this is as good a place to repost it as any. Some crazy fucker took this in Tuscaloosa yesterday.

Not at all making light of this weather, but this is the type of shit I love. I'd be a stormchaser in a heartbeat if it paid well and would not have to go back to school to be a weatherman. I am kinda warped when it comes to disturbed weather, I like being in it - the more insane the more excited I get. Hurricane Wilma while living in South Beach was my high water mark so far.

That said, I do feel for the people that had to go through this. The storm and aftermath is fucking horrible. Weather is exciting, property damage and casualties complete opposite.

[Paelos]

Alabama just said fuck it and shut down the University. If you like your grade, keep it. If not, take exams later.

Students rejoice with booze if they can find any.

[WayAbvPar]

Sounds like their AD exported the standards for the football team to cover the rest of the student body 

[Sheepherder]

My dad found some weird stuff while walking around, like hard drive platters and the circutboard from the inside of a 360 controller.  How much force is needed to strip away the casings from those things?

Impact damage.

[Fabricated]

I dunno I drove through Alabama a few years ago I bet I wouldn't notice the difference.

[Merusk]

There was a fucking amazing story on ATC earlier today about a boy who was literally sucked out of his father's hands as a tornado ripped apart their house, but was deposited safely in their driveway.  Goddamn lucky kid.

http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=135812706&m=135812675

[Strazos]

Why the hell were there still so many cars in the parking lot in the twister video?

[MahrinSkel]

Why the hell were there still so many cars in the parking lot in the twister video?

Because driving away from a tornado is generally a losing proposition, especially in a supercell.  Hunker down in the most solid and/or underground structure available, and cross your fingers.

--Dave

[Merusk]

Why the hell were there still so many cars in the parking lot in the twister video?

To elaborate on what Mahrin said.  They're moving faster than you ever will in your car and will pick up and crumple said car as easily as you do whatever piece of mail is lying near you.  Sheet metal and glass aren't an effective defense.   Those storm chasers? They're fucking crazy.

[LC]

Tornado damage near me:

http://kennethboone.smugmug.com/News

I have heard of several looters being arrested so far. They were mainly stealing copper and electronics from abandoned/destroyed homes.

[Thrawn]

If most US news I've watched today is any indication hundreds dead isn't as important or interesting as some couple getting married a thousand miles away.  

[Merusk]

That's because it was only rednecks in flyover states. 

[HaemishM]

If most US news I've watched today is any indication hundreds dead isn't as important or interesting as some couple getting married a thousand miles away.  

Don't get me fucking started. 

[Yegolev]

If most US news I've watched today is any indication hundreds dead isn't as important or interesting as some couple getting married a thousand miles away.  

Don't get me fucking started. 

*phone rings*

Hello?  Japan?  Sure, I'll put them on...

[Paelos]

Pfft, Japan. So they got a little wet.

[Tannhauser]

I'm still without power but the power company is right down the road so maybe in a day or so. 
Our county lost six total including a husband and wife.  As bad as it is here, Alabama is worse. 

Cops and firemen are keeping the fucking disaster tourists out of the hit communities thankfully.  Our supply chain manager drove almost an hour down to my area to 'rubberneck' as she said.  I guess folks are curious since this area almost always has mild weather, but it pisses me off since I can look out of my front window and see part of my house across the road.

[WayAbvPar]

Our county lost six total including a husband and wife.  As bad as it is here, Alabama is worse. 

True, since in Alabama the husband and wife would have also been siblings. 

Too soon?

[Tannhauser]

Let me reply as Chandler Bing;  "Could it BE any sooner?"
/Ok, I Lol'ed

[sigil]

I lost one friend of mine, confirmed. Another is missing.  I'm not hopeful.

I'm going to bite my tongue at some of the  jokes. Snark loses some of its pop when you get affected.

[Merusk]

I'm sorry to hear that, Sigil.

[Selby]

60% of my family lives in the affected areas and we still haven't heard back from them.  Just hoping.

[taolurker]

I lost one friend of mine, confirmed. Another is missing.  I'm not hopeful.

I'm going to bite my tongue at some of the  jokes. Snark loses some of its pop when you get affected.

Not sure because I only know him through forums, chat and Private messages on occasion, but Dark Vengeance (long time Lummie, h20, and Corp person) who might have been near the tornado bullseye.. He lives in Huntsville, which is in the blue circle on this map:He worked in Huntsville.



Haven't  seen posts from him in a couple of days, but I had seen a local paper near him about the jiu jitsu medal a friend of his got and their front page story is now talking about the downtown area there being demolished... Downtown torn apart.

Although I am in pain and sort of nearing disability, at least I'm not dealin' with that. I hope DV is ok, and a part of me almost thinks his name is Lee, which was a guy interviewed in the story (although I might be thinking of some other internet forum person I know who was named Lee).

I hope we see a post from DV that he's ok.

[MahrinSkel]

Lots of people still without power.  Friend of mine there managed to post to FB Thursday from his iPhone that he wasn't going to have electricity for at least 7 days.

--Dave

[Merusk]

When Ike blew through Kentucky back in '09 he knocked out power for several areas in Cincinnati for 2-3 WEEKS.  Some households went for as long as a month and a half, because lines that went from power poles to individual houses were last priority.  (Another reason to live in a suburb  )   I imagine the same thing is going to be the case in Huntsville.

It could be even longer than that time frame if the tornadoes destroyed any high tension towers.

[Soulflame]

I just checked Steam, DV was online as of 3 hours ago.

I'll try to remember to chat with him tonight if he's around.

[01101010]

When Ike blew through Kentucky back in '09 he knocked out power for several areas in Cincinnati for 2-3 WEEKS.  Some households went for as long as a month and a half, because lines that went from power poles to individual houses were last priority.  (Another reason to live in a suburb  )   I imagine the same thing is going to be the case in Huntsville.

It could be even longer than that time frame if the tornadoes destroyed any high tension towers.

When Wilma blew across FL, South Beach got a good slap down in the wind dept. I was without power for 8 days. Charged my phone in the car when I could, beach was closed for the first 2 days for dmg assessment so travel around was pretty much paralyzed as well as having huge cypress trees down. However, for the first time, you got to see pretty much everyone in your apt building since we were all grilling out trying to eat our refrigerated stuff first then frozen. But yeah, no one died or was hurt that I knew, but I fully feel for anyone having to go without power for more than a day or two. Good luck to everyone without power.

fake edit: now that I remember it, the apartments across from mine got power a day before my block. It was rather amusing to all the sudden hear cheers from that part of the beach while my part had a collective sigh. Also was a bit creepy walking from there to my block... we were literally the wrong side of the road.