Just Can't Get Enough Of Those Storm Videos

Maybe this is becoming too much of a habit, but I've got more videos to share.

The first is the most dramatic. It shows people frantically trying to get off a boat in a severe storm. Suddenly the entire marina next to them goes flying as an apparent tornado hits. It looks like the debris somehow missed the people in this surveillance video:



The first part of this video is pretty impressive. It shows a supercell thunderstorm moving into Charleston, West Virginia on Monday. That wall of rain and wind is impressive. This storm did produce at least one tornado.



I'm sure the store manager in this video is having a bad day. A storm and flood caused roof damage at a Tesco Supermarket in Scotland a few days ago. Here's the scene inside the store:



Finally, lots more drama. Dash cam video from a guy in a car caught in a tornado that hit the Dayton, Ohio area a couple weeks ago. Surprised he wasn't hurt, with the trees flying and the roof of the nearby house appearing to disintegrate:

Winter Karma Hits Snowman Vandals

Somebody drive a truck into this nine-foot tall snowman in Kentucky,
hoping to topple it, but they didn't realize there was a giant
tree stump hidden under it. Somebody has a wrecked truck now. 

Earlier this month, some people in Kentucky celebrated a bout of winter weather by building an eight-foot tall snowman and named it Frosty.

Some idiot decided it would be fun to wreck it by driving their truck into it, says television station WLWT. 

Little did the pickup truck driver know, but the couple who built the snowman supported its base with a huge tree stump. The stump was hidden beneath the snow at Frosty's base.

The result, of course, was karma.

The people who live in the house where Frosty was came home from work to find tire tracks leading to the snowman. The stump beneath Frosty exposed, with an imprint of a bumper stuck into the remaining snow. Plus, Frosty remained standing, tall and proud.

There was surely damage to the pickup truck, but nobody knows who's it is.

Severe Weather Ongoing In Eastern Half Of The Nation

Large tornado near Washburn, Illinois Tuesday

Just a quick update to sum up the ongoing outbreak of severe weather in the eastern third of the nation today.

A very, very strong squall line has been going through the Ohio and Tennessee valleys this morning, with numerous reports of very damaging winds. 

There are a number of reports of roofs blown off homes in Kentucky and Tennesee.

They'll have to investigate whether any of these are tornadoes, but most of damage reports look like they come from straight line winds from very intense thunderstorms.

Winds reportedly gusted to 79 mph in Carrollton, Kentucky and 76 mph in Paducah, Kentucky this morning.

Super strong thunderstorms can be as dangerous as tornadoes, so Kentucky and Tennesee this morning prove the point.

Today's bad storms come after an even worse day Tuesday.

Several tornadoes touched down, mostly in Illinois,  At least three people have died in Tuesday's tornadoes, the Weather Channel reported.  There were nearly two dozen reports of tornadoes Tuesday.

In what must have been a terrifying case, a very strong tornado crossed Interstate 55 near Perryville, Missouri after dark, hurling cars quite a distance and mangling them. Police there reported one dead and 10 injured.

Tornadoes, even big ones, are usually very hard to see at night. During the day, if you're traveling down a highway, you can often see a tornado getting ready to cross the road ahead of you.

Tornado damage inside an Illinois nursing
home on Tuesday

So you stop and let it by, or turn around and go the other way if necessary.

At night, motorists blindly drive right into the tornadoes. It had to be so terrifying to suddenly be in the midst of such a strong tornado.

To make matters worse, the tornado also blew tons of debris from a nearby salvage yard onto Interstate 55 as the trapped motorists got caught up in the twister, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Another large tornado in Ottawa, Illinois smacked into a nursing home. Some residents were injured, but none severely.

For the remainder of today, the threat of severe thunderstorms and possibly a few more tornadoes continues from northern Alabama to around the New York City area. The greatest threat for the most intense storms and tornadoes runs from the Gulf Coast states to southern Pennsylvania. 

Probably the greatest threat of tornadoes today will be over northern Alabama and Mississippi.

All the severe storms will have swept off the coast tonight, and forecasters don't anticipate more severe weather for the next few days after today.

The parent storm's strong cold front will cross the eastern seaboard tonight, ending another spate of record warmth.

In New England, it will actually turn briefly bitterly cold Friday and Saturday.

I'll have a review of Vermont and New England's extreme winter weather in a post later today.

More Tornadoes, More Tornado Videos And A Great Tornado News Interview

These two people being interviewed by a reporter
from television station WPSD in Paducah, Kentucky
is wonderful. Video of this post-tornado interiew is
lower down in this post.  

As expected, severe weather continued across much of the central part of the nation Tuesday.

The most violent of Tuesday's tornadoes was around Mayfield, Kentucky, where about 10 people were injured and numerous buildings were damaged.

NOAA's Storm Prediction Center received 21 tornado reports Tuesday, on top of the 29 reported Monday.

Today, a zone from northern Texas up to Iowa is under the gun for severe weather. The highest risk for bad storms is in northern Texas into Oklahoma. Although there might be a few more tornadoes, the biggest threat is from giant hail and strong winds.

After today, the threat for severe weather, especially in the central and southern parts of the country, will diminish, but not go away entirely.

Below are some more great storm videos from the past couple of days. The post-tornado news interview from Mayfield, Kentucky in this package of videos is a must-watch.

Here's a tornado spinning through Mayfield, Kentucky and causing damage



Going back to Monday's tornadoes, the ever reliable storm chaser Pecos Hank caught this violent tornado in Wynnewood, Oklahoma:



Finally, I'm not trying to make fun of people, but I love this news interview in the aftermath of the Mayfield, Kentucky tornado. The woman is obviously and understandably relieved that she's OK:

Kentucky Deaths Tragically Point To Power of Flash Floods

A house washes away in this week's Kentucky flood. 

When extreme rains hit hilly or mountainous terrain, the water rushes down the slopes with incredible power.  

This was once again demonstrated in eastern Kentucky, where at least four people died and others are missing after water from incredible rains roared off the hills and down a narrow mountain valley.

At first glance the video below shows a drive down a sunny Kentucky road. There's little sign of water anywhere. But then you see the smashed houses, or the missing houses, and the debris hung up in the trees.

The video is overlayed by the sound of a press conference right after the flood, and ends with a look at the anguish of victims.

Truly a scary looking scene in Kentucky:

My Nominee For Worst Weather Place In The World Is Kentucky

Simone Wester and her seven month old son Jeremiah
flee their flooded Louisville apartment on Friday
Photo by Timothy Easley/AP  

Oh, it must have been SO much fun living in Louisville, Kentucky on Friday. There were flash flood warnings, flood warnings, a tornado watch and a shelter in place warning for heavy smoke.

This pretty much seals the deal for Kentucky: It's the state with the worst weather in the nation.

Oh, sure, California is hogging all the headlines with its epic drought. And New England got lots of attention for its brutally cold winter and record snows.

(News flash: As I wrote this Saturday morning, it was snowing outside my Vermont window. Again. Just a day after I was teased with a sunny day with highs in the 60s.)

Anyway, my April snowfall is still a lot better than the conditions in Kentucky so far this year.

Let's review:

In February, Kentucky got near record snowfalls, some of the coldest temperatures on record in the state, a damaging ice storm, and some flooding.

On March 5, parts of Kentucky had their biggest snowstorm on record, with up to two feet of powder falling. Some people were stranded by the snow on Interstate highways for up to 12 hours.

This snow was followed by the coldest temperatures on record in a good chunk of Kentucky.

Then the snow melted in mid March. Along with some rain, flooding hit the state. The Ohio River along the Ohio-Kentucky border went well above flood stage. 

Then yesterday hit. Repeated torrential thunderstorms in Louisville and much of the rest of the state caused some huge flash flooding, requiring hundreds of rescues of people stranded in flooded homes and cars.

Many areas received four to seven inches of rain in just a few hours.

Sadly, a mother and child were swept away in a flooded car and are presumed dead.  A camper in a tent died in Kentucky and her husband was critically injured when a large tree branch fell on them during a severe storm.

Damage was widespread, to say the least.

Then, a massive GE warehouse caught fire. It's unclear if the fire was at all weather related, but the thick smoke prompted a shelter in place warning for people living nearby. They had to shut their doors and windows and stay inside because of the possibly toxic smoke.

On top of this, most of Kentucky was under a tornado watch Friday afternoon. Luckily, there were no reports of tornado touchdowns, but strong thunderstorm winds caused scattered damage, and the new afternoon thunderstorms worsened the flooding.

For tonight and tomorrow morning, frost and freeze alerts are up for much of Kentucky.

I'm not sure what's next for Kentucky in the weather department. We do know there's the possibility of more heavy rain and severe storms in Kentucky later next week.

After that, locusts?

Winter Storm, Cold Breaking More Records. Spring Still Coming For Some

WKLY posted this gloomy image
of stranded vehicles on I-65 in Bullett
County, Kentucky.  

For people in the southern half of the United States, the current winter storm creating havoc all over the place is probably the last one of the season.  

Still, it's going to take a lot to get through it.

At least 3,000 commercial flights were canceled nationwide because of the storm, so that will have a ripple effect across the country.

Some areas got a rude awakening with this storm. In parts of the Southeast, areas like northern Mississippi and Alabama, temperatures soared well into the 70s yesterday ahead of the cold front.

Which meant some cities had people outside in shorts and t-shirts at the exact same moment these cities were under winter storm warnings. In Tupelo, Mississippi, it was a rather humid 75 degrees at 2 p.m. Wednesday. By 3 p.m, it was down to 55 degrees. Early this morning, it was snowing and 25 degrees in Tupelo.

In Jackson, Mississippi, yesterday's high temperature was a toasty 82 degrees. At dawn today, it was 32 degrees with freezing rain.  

Buried car in Rineyville, Kentucky
this morning. Photo from Twitter,
@EmilyGelaps.  

Kentucky is pretty screwed this morning, that's for sure.

The National Weather Service in Louisville, Kentucky said 12 to 20 inches of snow is expected in central Kentucky.

The NWS noted that roof collapses are possible in that area as Kentucky is unaccustomed to such heavy snow. Some buildings aren't designed for nearly two feet of heavy, wet snow.

Already, a full two feet of snow has been reported in Grayson County, Kentucky, and several towns report about 20 inches. It was still snowing early this morning as these reports came in.

WLKY-TV in Louisville says large chunks of Interstate 65 are shut down and many drivers are stranded out there. The Weather Channel says some motorists have been stranded on the highway for as long as 12 hours.

The National Guard is deploying to help those who are stranded. A photo posted on the WLKY web site shows

This is coming after heavy rain and snowmelt earlier yesterday produced flooding. Imagine getting a foot of snow during a flood. Ugh.

Tonight, temperatures in Kentucky could reach all time lows for the month of March.

It's almost as bad in West Virginia. Almost the entire state is under a flood warning as rivers are over their banks from yesterday's steady rains. Now it's snowing across all of West Virginia, in what the National Weather Service in Charleston, West Virginia is calling "a good ole Appalachian snowstorm" of six to 14 inches today.

The snow has moved into the East Coast. Conditions deteriorated rapidly around Washington DC, just in time for the morning commute. Snowfall rates of one inch an hour or more are likely in that area.  

Highways were glare ice in Fort Worth, Texas early
this morning and few motorists dared to drive.
Sunshine should melt much of the ice
off highways later today.  

A band of very heavy snow was also pushing into the Philadelphia area, and the southern half of New Jersey this morning.

The storm will brush southern New England, but it's unclear if Boston will get as much as two inches of snow. That amount would break the record for the most snow in one winter.

The snow will entire miss northern New England, but it will be cold there. Below zero readings are due in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine tonight.

Northern New England will also get a bit of light snow over the weekend, but it won't be extreme.

Even if Boston doesn't break its snow record with this storm, don't worry, there will be more chances.

Everybody has been talking up a spell of warmer, drier weather in the Northeast that would melt some of the snow and give people hope for spring.

That warm spell probably will happen to some extent, but to me, this upcoming break in the cold and snow is a temporary blip in a persistent weather pattern that has lasted for the most part for two years and for some reason has become semi-permanent.

Signs point toward more winter cold and possible snowstorms from the northern Plains to the East Coast after about March 19 or 20.

That's all pretty iffy, and I can't give details as to how much cold will return and when snowstorms will hit and how big those will be.

But for you last three winter lovers left in the northern United States, even if there's a thaw next week, it ain't over yet.

Climate Change Doesn't Exist Because Earth And Mars Temperatures Are Identical, Says Wacko "Politician"

Public officials now seem engaged in a competition on who can appear the most incredibly stupid when talking about climate change.

Vacationland in Mars? He says the Red Planet's
temperature is the same as ours and therefore
there is no global warming on Earth.
I don't follow it either.  

My nominee for the STOOPEDEST goes to Kentucky State Sen. Brandon Smith, a Republican, who said climate change caused by the burning of fossil fuel doesn't exist here on Earth because the temperature on the Earth and Mars are exactly the same.

Here's what he said: "I will simply point out that I think in academia we all agree that the temperature on Mars is exactly as it is here. Nobody will dispute that."

Cue NASA, which, together with a zillion scientists, "disputes that." 

According to NASA, the average temperature on Earth is 57 degrees above zero, while the average temperature on Mars is 81 degrees below zero. 

Um, I think there's a wee bit of a temperature difference there.  But maybe I'm being too picky. The temperature difference between the two planets is only 138 degrees. It's just a rounding error. 

Maybe NASA is involved in some liberal plot to lie about the temperature on Mars? I wish I knew where our Esteemed State Senator got his information. I'd love to read more. Sounds fascinating. 

No matter what the temperature is on Mars (bundle up if you're headed up there!) I'm a little confused about how a weather report from Mars has to do with global warming on Earth.

I can't wait for another hearing for Brandon to enlighten us on that one. 

Our Esteemed State Senator from Kentucky goes on to say there are no mines on Mars, no factories on Mars, so that's another reason climate change doesn't exist on Earth.

Well, I give him this much. He's right that there are no mines or factories that we know of on Mars.  But just for fun, I'd like to know how the (alleged!) lack of factories on Mars tells us there is no climate change on Earth, which I can tell you does have factories. 

Since we're learning so much from Sen. Brandon Smith of Kentucky, I have a proposal. Since he's so interested in the weather on Mars, let's send him there!  He can verify there are indeed no factories up there.

And since the temperature is the same as ours, he'll be quite comfortable. 

The expected high temperature today in Frankfort, the capital of Kentucky, is 85 degrees. Since the temperature is the same on Mars, at least in our Esteemed State Senator's mind, all he has to do is pack shorts, a t-shirt and flip flops for his excursion to Mars. 

I wish him a warm, happy trip to the Red Planet.