Massive tornado outbreak many States, Iowa hard hit

Source: http://kdka.com/national/severe.thunderstorms.minnesota.2.732680.html

It is not over yet - many states under warnings this pm and evening - one long track tornado on the ground in Iowa for at least 65 miles - Hugo, Parkersburg, Dinkerton, virtually destroyed. People wandering the streets in Parkersburg. Simply awful.

http://wcco.com/slideshows/hugo.tornado.damage.20.732675.html?rid=19

Unbelievable images. May god help them - looks like a loooonnng night

No link yet.

I hve very good friends in Des Moines

Severe TS warnings already in Oklahoma; I fear this day won't be good either. Let's keep praying for all those in the path.

They are saying on a weather site I looked at that long term models show a possible Hurricane forming in the Gulf off Florida in the 6/1 to 6/5 time frame. Hi ho, here we go.

Probably would struggle to become a moderate tropical storm.

off Florida's coast in that time frame. Looks like something might cook up early....... we could sure use the rain in Georgia, although we've been getting a lot.

The resolution is not high enough.


Well, two of the models have high enough resolution (GFDL and HWRF), but they don't run until an invest is declared.

"verify". I think it would be "Albert".

Or some such crap.

Seriously My wife and I send good thoughts to those hit by the tornado.

I was outside when they were getting hit up north of us. I could feel the energy in the air. It makes the hair on my neck stand up.....literally.
I went inside alittle later and saw this on the news.

After it passed it felt much better......I just came inside again and can feel the energy rising again. Someone is going to get it....I wish them much luck!!

Your right....it's going to be a long night!!

BTW.....that one town is spelled Dunkerton.

I've watched that storm for the past five hours on and off - unbelievable tornado producer - probably one of the historic ones - first damage reports look like an atomic bomb went off in Parkersburg - virtually nothing left....................and still more warnings happening in a large area of the U.S. More to come tomorrow, possibly.

My niece might still be there if she hasn't left for Costa Rica yet.....

I'm 30 minutes north of there.....the line looks to be at least a couple of hours to the west.........and moving our direction.

...that Debi posted, it looks like there is a line of storms that could possibly be moving
into Iowa City.

http://www.kcrg.com/news/streaming/10476432.html?video=pop&t=a\',\'video\',\'scrollbars=yes,width=800,height=630,screenx=15,screeny=15\'

I'm sure she's taking proper precautions. Because of the other tornadoes in Iowa, people
are paying attention.

We missed the bad stuff.

Glad you and your family are safe!!!
It looks like a lot of damage up there.

I notice on the radar I'm watching.....another cell is building fast to our west. I think south of you......and maybe north of me. I live on the north end of CR.........

I rarely drink and I had to grab a beer left over from a graduation party...

I'm holding my breathe here......

are a mess - all we have is stuff gone - no big deal. I hope you stay dry and safe!

...are ok!

I just read your thread, and I'm sorry about your garage and car.

I think this is going to be a long night. I'm in Ankeny, but a lot of it
has missed us--going north and a great deal happening South of us. Ames
seemed to have a lot of activity as well.

We had golf-ball sized hail here. I snagged some off the lawn and it's in the freezer. I've never
seen hail like that.

Stay safe and glad you're ok.

That's so sad about Parkersburg and the other towns.

fell asleep around midnight just to be back up at 2:00, back down at 4:00 and now up for the day - folks coming by already to see the mess and check in. Hope you and yours are safe!

...to have lots of activity through the night! After the tornadoes, it would be difficult to go back
to sleep. And you lost power, too?

I listened to that KCRG live stream for a while. You posted that link, and that was really informative.
We need that in the Des Moines area. The CR/IC area seemed to get a lot of activity.

We did fine. Des Moines seemed to be in a bubble--with everything passing around us, to the north and south.
We had some heavy rain and golf-ball sized hail, but that's it. We were lucky.

I was up until 1:00 a.m. though. It's hard for me to sleep with bad storm in our area. I worry about the kids.

I'm glad you are ok. So, I suppose the clean-up starts today for you? Sounds like you'll have lots of neighbors
helping. Did the car inside the garage get damaged?

Let's hope tonight is quieter!

Carpenter was out to check the damage on the roof and windows and shake his head at our garage.

We have no idea what we're gonna do about the car in the garage - can't get anywhere near it - the photo I took was done by reaching my hand through the window and blindly shooting. I hope somebody comes up with a plan....

Nothing like stumbling across this news before even checking my local news.

I'm in Davenport, Iowa, which isn't too far from Iowa City.

If the storm travels North it will miss the Quad Cities, but if it travels down the I-80 corridor, then I'm sunk.

Been watching light entertainment on the satellite.

Shit ... guess I better get my head out of my ass and check the weather.

Thanks for the thread!

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED TORNADO WATCH 368 IN
EFFECT UNTIL 3 AM CDT MONDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING AREAS

IN IOWA THIS WATCH INCLUDES 3 COUNTIES

IN EAST CENTRAL IOWA

CLINTON JACKSON SCOTT

THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF...ALEDO...BETTENDORF...CARTHAGE...
CLINTON...DAVENPORT...FREEPORT...GALENA...HENNEPIN...KEWANEE...
MACOMB...MAQUOKETA...MOLINE...MONMOUTH...MOUNT CARROLL...
OQUAWKA...PRINCETON...ROCK FALLS...ROCK ISLAND AND STERLING.

Live Weather Radio stream for the Quad Cities:

http://audioplayer.wunderground.com/bettwx/Bettendorf.mp3.m3u

============================

Doesn't seem like anything big is predicted to hit the Quad-Cities. Whew.

I hope anyone effected by these storms will make it through okay.

Find and listen to your local weather radio

http://www.wunderground.com/wxradio/index.html

...and a man in Parkersburg was just interviewed on the local news.

He said that he heard the sirens, told his family to go to the basement, and then he went out on the deck.

He said everything got dark and he heard the "freight train" and he tore down into the basement. They
then heard total destruction above their heads and 30 seconds later they emerged from downstairs to
sunlight.

All that remained of their house was two partial walls. The rest was completely gone.

It's thundering and lightning here and we have storm warnings. I'm just north of Des Moines, and it
looks like we might be ok.

I never sleep until stuff like this passes. With young kids in the house, I watch the radar all night.

Thoughts and prayers to those enduring the aftermath.

in Tornado Alley? Is that what the local building codes approve?

Wouldn't something along the lines of concrete dome houses be better? I'm no engineer, but it does seem like they could design much better homes for the new builds at least.

I feel so badly for those poor folks out in the mid-west. I can't imagine the hell they must be going through.

Wood Stick homes?

It wasn't that long ago that I remember hearing about a tornado that touched down in downtown Miami.

Nothing fires me up than hearing someone start off tripe w/ Tornado Alley, Hurricane whatever, etc.

It comes down to trying to dismiss the devastation and to somehow make it the fault of the homeowner.

Somehow they should have known not to live there, or if they choose to live there then they need to build a place that can with stand ANYTHING.

WTF?

Ya know, I don't exactly think of the Quad-Cities as earthquake prone, but the New Madrid fault line had a small quake not long ago. A really big one would fuck up everything along the fault line and would be felt for hundreds of miles.

Guess I need to rebuild my house for that?

What about a flood? I don't live in a van down by the Mississippi River, but my house could be flooded if a wrath of pretend deity came along and rained for 40 days and 40 nights. The creek that's numerous blocks south of me could rise to record levels and it could flood out my house.

Guess I should have planned for that ... I do live within reach of a creek, even if it did take a calamity.

Look pal ... you might think of Iowa as Tornado Alley, but it doesn't get hit by anymore Tornados than Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma, or Tennessee.

I don't know if there's anywhere in the continental United States where a person can be perfectly "safe."

So, before you go insinuating placement of blame on homeowners, just shut the fuck up.

Wood stick homes ... you need a fucking wood stick shoved up your ass!

... oh yeah. In case you're wondering if you'll be safe from the storms and if your wood stick home will endure, here's a map for ya.



It's supposed to be what the U.S. will look like in the future after some weather prophet dreams come to pass.

So, if you live in a section that has water covering it, you might want to reforce your home so people won't make fun of you and ask you why you built your house out of something that wasn't ready for the weather.

Good luck to you, keyboard warrior. You're now on record as having threatened me personally. BTW, I have no intention of "shutting the fuck up". So you don't believe in the First Amendment. Are you really a democrat?

The Kansas tornado of a year ago showed a grain silo that, if it was damaged, had very minor damage. (Photo #7 in this photo album). That is likely steel-reinforced concrete, and it stands much higher than most homes that did surround it before the tornado.

Say, are you on a local or state building code board? On the take? Selling timber? Own a hardware store that benefits from disasters such as this? How about insurance? I'd be surprised if you're not somewhere in that business chain, or advocating for some entity who is.

You asserted I was making something the fault of a homeowner, when I specifically noted "local building code", which is undoubtedly related to State building codes. That has very little to do with any homeowner, but is instead comprised of government leaders and influenced excessively by chambers of commerce instead of scientists.

Here's a map of Tornado Alley (according to Google images) . Looks like at least half of Iowa is in the map's yellow zone, and the rest in a beige zone. http://www.tornadochaser.net.nyud.net:8090/images/frequency.gif

If code required the building of homes that could withstand tornadoes like that grain silo in Kansas did, there'd be a LOT LESS heartbreak when one of these storms comes around.

Its interesting that you choose to compare a yearly repeating weather phenomenon with something that might happen once or twice every glaciation cycle (that's hundreds of thousands of years). Building wood stick homes in such an area is a planning problem composed of either incompetent leaders, or leaders who can falsely cry incompetence when the chips are down and they're caught with their fingers in the cookie jar (its a metaphor for you literalists).

Somebody's on the take, and if I was a betting person, I'd bet you're in on it, judging from your tantrum and threats.

I saw some fearful damage in the South a year or so ago. And NYC had a hurricane last autumn was it not? I think the old weather patterns might be changing a bit due to global warming. I dislike the new unpredictability as to where one of these storms might suddenly appear. I have lived in IA/MN for 60+ years and have never seen a tornado though an uncle lost a farm building due to a quite high wind (the roof blew off and the structure was not worth salvaging).

They LOOK so much sturdier, but looks aren't everything.

How far from the tornado's was the grain silo? Was it directly in the path of the tornado? If not, how far from the path was it?

What force was that tornado that this grain silo survived? Y'know, they come in different sizes.

Were there any large heavy objects, ie vehicles, that were thrown at the silo by the tornado, and the silo survived the impact? Y'know, I've seen a truck shoved through the front of a brick home by a tornado.

Are you aware of the incredibly bizarre forces that structures are subject to, in a tornado? How a flimsy garden shed can be untouched, twenty feet from a flattened home? I've seen photos of barns torn off their foundations, leaving the animals within untouched.

Who paid to build this structure? Was it a corporation with millions in assets, or a local home owner? Who would have more resources to build a tornado-proof structure?

So, let me get this straight: you're holding up a single structure, not built for human habitation, as evidence that there is indeed a way to build an affordable home that can survive a tornado, without considering a myriad of factors? Mmmmm-kay.

I think you'd have a brilliant career in a Republican-infested National Weather Service or FEMA, my friend.

And on top of it, the mere fact that they're still building homes susceptible to forces of nature leads you to believe that it must to be some kind of conspiratorial scam? Guess that means that every single zoning board in every state in "Tornado Alley" is in on the take. Throw in every single state zoning board along the eastern seaboard, because they're not necessarily built to withstand hurricanes, either.

Fine work, you've cracked the case.

steel reinforced concrete poured in place is one of the strongest building constructions. Don't believe me, do some research. It's what skyscrapers are built from. Its what water-reservoir dams are built from. Grain silos too.

non-reinforced brick is only slightly better than wood construction, and is not as good in an earthquake. Steel reinforced brick is stronger. Poured in place steel reinforced concrete is even better, but is labor intensive to place the molds then remove them. The costs are somewhat open to debate. Retail Portland cement inflated about 600% since 2000, before the oil-price bubble. Buildings that do survive tornadoes don't have "re-building costs" implied but hidden in cost-per-square foot estimates.

A picture of a surviving grain silo is worth thousands of shills.

At the same time, I realize that surviving grain silo has a significant foundation below ground, others may not realize that. There are honest questions that can be asked, and answers investigated and debated honestly.

Yes, I do "believe" most permit boards are on the take. We live in a civilization where corruption and greed have reached monumental levels of sophistry and denial. Hey, the cities get the permit money, but often take no responsibility when what they dictate falls apart, catches on fire, ... designing structures to burn excess energy beneficial to the power companies, not enough wind flow without "forced air" etc., not enough natural sunlight requiring expensive lighting, remove the septic tanks and connect to sewer beneficial to the local sewer service, ad nauseum,...



Whether monolithic domes (monolithic.com) would survive a typical strong tornado is a good, honest question to ask. They don't have roofs per se, eliminating one of the first structural weak points often evident in photos of tornado building damage. I understand they are sometimes built partly or wholly underground (but there are additional waterproofing steps required to prevent mold growth.

http://static.monolithic.com.nyud.net:8090/thedome/thedome/cutawayx.jpg



It's very interesting to me to look at this thread, and the timeline of evolving events and predictions. On the night of the tornadoes, hype, destruction, danger, fear! Multiple threads were started.

Then somebody points out the fallacious 'security' of building codes, and watch the conversation shift to how little damage tornadoes cause, how 'non-reinforced' "brick" construction isn't adequate, how infrequent tornadoes really are, how wood homes are fine, how emergency personnel reacted well. It's like watching Dr. Jeckel and Mr. Hyde.

I am happy to read that this storm series wasn't as bad as the fear-masters projected. It is good that people were warned in advance so they could get into their basements and shelters, and death minimized as much as possible. It is nice to read reports that emergency personnel and their responses as teams worked well for a change.

That matters to people that have to work for a living. Yes, they are code compliant, or they wouldn't be built in the first place. Tornadoes are totally random and aren't all THAT destructive in the grand scheme of things.

That is why you build basements in tornado alley. The only safe place in a tornado is underground. Here in the mid-Atlantic, we get tornadoes too, but the water table is too high for building basements. If we had an outbreak like that one, there would be numerous injuries/dead.

:bounce:

I remember my friends from Iowa being surprised when they came to visit me in St. Louis and there was so much brick here - I went to school at Iowa State and most of the homes are wood.

I would imagine it's because there is so much clay soil here and not there. I would think most of the homes were built in the materials that were readily available at the time the community was built.

There's nothing wrong with a wood house.

Meg

I assume you really mean wood frame homes.

I find this question rather odd. I hope you aren't insinuating that tornado victims are somehow responsible for their woes, like the two little pigs who built their houses of straw and sticks.

Tornado spotted in Marion...........5 minutes away...

Hopefully a false alarm......

I'm listening to the KCRG live link that Debi posted...there is a tornado in that area...
in Northern Cedar Rapids. That was just said!

Please take cover if you are in the northern part of CR or in Marion!

The live link said that if you are in North eastern Linn County to take cover NOW!!

The siren is now off.......I am in the very north part, but this was to the east of me and moving east.........haven't heard anything else yet..

...in Bowman Woods.

Hope you're doing ok!

I know that area. I have only lived here about a year. If you headed straight west of there on Boyson......and went to the end of that street....you would be awful close to me!!
Everything is fine here...

:hi:

We lived along Boyson...in Bowman Woods III. Small world!

There is a tree down on 380.....can't figure out where that came from. Had to be alittle ways away.
We have some street flooding......but for the most part we came out luckier than alot of people tonight.
This thing is suppose to flare up again tomorrow....insane...

is the flooding continuing? d.

I know you guys got much more rain and then in the southern part of the state they have higher levels of flooding too.
We talked to my wifes uncle this morning. He lives on the family farm (Century Farm). Just 3/4 of a mile south the farmstead got wiped out....just happened to be in the way of that monster....No one injured there though thankfully. They got out before it hit.

We get hurricanes here and blizzards, but with those we have time to prepare at least.

and the child's sibling was critically injured and taken to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Washington County Sheriff Bill Hutton said. The children's parents also were hospitalized with injuries sustained in the family home.

"It's horrible," Hugo City Administrator Mike Ericson said. "The citizens are very shook and scared."

Residents reported a tornado touching down in the area. That has not been confirmed by the National Weather Service, but "it certainly looks awfully likely," Meteorologist Todd Krause said.

Dozens of emergency crews descended on the town to look for those who have not been located and assess the damage. At least 20 people in the area remained unaccounted for, but many of them could be out of town over the long holiday weekend, Ericson said.

Hugo Public Works Director Chris Petree said his family took shelter in the basement before the storm lifted his house off the ground and completely wiped out the second floor of the home.

"I put my daughter down first, my wife on top of her and then I bear-hugged on top of them," Petree said.

Roughly 300 to 400 homes were evacuated in the storm-damaged area because of concerns over hazards including downed power lines and leaky gas lines, Ericson said. The city set up a shelter at Oneka Elementary School for those displaced by the storm, but American Red Cross spokeswoman Courtney Johnson said all but one of the families was able to find a place to stay with friends or relatives. The Red Cross put that family up in a local motel.

http://wcco.com/local/severe.thunderstorms.minnesota.2.732463.html

to disaster promptly and efficiently????

On April 8, 1968, when I was 10 years old, I had an experience that made me think hard about what things would really be like in a geographically widespread natural disaster.

http://www.data.scec.org/chrono_index/borrego.html

If an exact repeat of the Borrego Mountain Earthquake happened today, there would probably be people killed in San Diego and Imperial County, also northern Baja California. Services would be interrupted. People would be without running water, working sewer lines, electricity, phone service, or even (gasp!) cable TV for possibly several days. Not only is that possible, it is inevitable that another quake like that, or much stronger, will happen. I think it is likely to happen in my lifetime. So many other historically significant things like space flights, an unpopular war, and political assassinations were going on around that time, that most of the people who are old enough to remember that earthquake have forgotten about it.

My family was always into camping, and we always had good supplies of non-perishable food on hand for that purpose. As an adult I have always been cognizant of the fact that your mama, the government, is not always going to be able to bail your ass out of a disaster situation. I keep about 50 gallons of good drinking water plus enough food for 3-4 weeks on hand at all times. I also have camping equipment and fuel. I have enough bolt-action military rifles in my safe, and ammunition, to arm every house on the block in case of looting. If my house is still standing, I will be not only safe but actually comfortable.

Goverment cannot be relied upon to save you in every possible situation. Anyone who thinks otherwise is just plain naive. Or maybe blindly religious like the people who say "God will take care of me." To them I say God gave you a brain. Use it.

all out our road w/in 1/2 hour of the tornado. there are only two homes and a barn/recreation building in close proximity of each other. The guy with the barn/building ran over (they were actually outside and took cover in the ditch) and we couldn't get in contact w/our neighbor who's pole-barn was completely demolished. The Sheriff went in there house and nobody was there (we found out about an hour later that as soon as they heard the tornado touched down in Parkersburg they threw their kids in their van and took off).

The Sheriff stayed until the utility company could get the road blocked off (power lines in the road). Then the utility company stayed until we had power (and kept us alerted on more storms coming through). The firefighters sawed branches from trees that were on top of our house so our son, who uses a wheel chair, could get out of the house. AND two of our five County Supervisors stopped by to make sure everything was okay and if they needed to do anything to help.

I'd say our local government did a great job.

I was thinking of you last night.

We had our tornado a couple of years ago.

which is why I live here.. my area has the same "helping each other" creed
I have been used to most of my life.
I watched linemen struggle to put up power lines in heavy rain and lightening.
I saw 20 miles of power trucks from 3 states lined up on our 4 lane, waiting to come into the state as soon as the hurricane wound down.
( memory of that sight always makes me teary-eyed)

Local government I trust to help.

The Feds...that's another story. x(

You have "community" from the sounds of it..
becoming more rare, we are blessed to have it.

And I pray for the victims.

Good to hear someone's thinking and praying for our fellow Iowans, out here.

And, welcome to DU!

:hi:

and the rest of us in tornado alley?

If EF4 or higher damage is suspected, they will fly in a group of specialists unless they have one in Iowa already.

possibly F5. At one point the base was a mile wide, with winds at 140 Knots over 10,000 feet. On the ground for 75 miles I believe, over two hours. Amazing set of super cells, and it just kept going and going.....................reminded me of the F5 Oklahoma Twister in 99 that started south of OK City and went almost to Tulsa.

F5 nontheless. Geesh - can you imagine 205 mph being "low end?"

Images of that place right now...man.