Tornado touchdown, Salinas - Kansas

The National Weather Service issued a report showing that there were 124 confirmed tornadoes that caused havoc on April 14th, 2012.   The image below was posted with the damage information from www.weather.com website.

 I participated with a storm chaser group online to help post storm alerts through the day from the NWS.

Tornado radar signature from 9:27 pm to 10:41 pm CDT Saturday April 14, 2012. Conventional radar reflectivity is at left, storm-relative Doppler velocity is at right. Tornadic circulation is denoted by yellow circle at right.as it passed over west side of Woodward, Okla.
Images credits: Gibson Ridge/NWS-Wichita, Kan

The outbreak involved several states, in Woodward OK there were 

5 casualties, 29 injured and 89 homes destroyed.

If you remember who Tim Samaras is, he was featured in the TV show "Storm Chasers' on Discovery.  Below is a video I found that shows a lot of detail and an impressive close up shot of a tornado.

Please note, that this type of filming should only be done by the experts, who have spent years studying storms . 

Destructive Tornadoes in Dallas

The most recent reports say that there was no loss of life in the Dallas, Fort Worth area. The Red Cross began to mobilize into Northern Texas to help those in need, so today as you all probably know there were multiple tornadoes that struck Texas today.  I wanted to share this incredible footage by local TV and then rebroadcasted by The Weather Channel today.  You can see trailers pulled about 180 feet into the air, an incredible display of the forces of nature.

Here is a good overview by CBS News of the Damage

Tornado - Dexter, Michigan

A tornado touched down this afternoon right outside of Dexter, MI today.  An unconfirmed report stated that it was an EF3 and the NWS continued to report golf ball sized hail and severe thunderstorms and heavy rain for the area.  Thankfully they had storm sirens so an early warning helped ( Per CNN).  The Weather Channel reported that, so far there were no reported deaths or injuries.

I just spoke to a fellow photographer that lives an hour away from Dexter, and he said it missed his area..  He kindly shared a video he found online of the damaged area.. (Thanks John)

Here is another video, if you don't want to hear colorful language then turn down the volume first :)

I suggest everyone be weather aware, check your daily news for weather reports..

Better yet, buy a NOAA Weather Alert Radio..

 Be prepared for bad weather.

WDRB reporter provides first-hand account of riding out tornado - WDRB 41 Louisville - News, Weather, Sports Community

Here is another video I found showing a reporter filming inside of a mini-mart in Louisville Kentucky. All I have to say is that theses folks are really lucky.

Please click on the link below to see the article and the video..

WDRB reporter provides first-hand account of riding out tornado - WDRB 41 Louisville - News, Weather, Sports Community

Stormchasers Tornado Handbook!

I wanted to share this great tornado simulator that is provided by STORMCHASERS at discovery.com

If you are curious as to how tornadoes are formed then you must click this link below for the Tornado Handbook.
http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/storm-chasers/handbook/handbook.html#mkcpgn=fbdsc22

 There are three tabs in the lower portion of the window, be sure to click on each one.

Enjoy !

Asteroid 2005 YU55 - twisters & tremors in OK

As I wrote before on October 30th, about the near fly by of the Asteroid 2005 YU55 and how it will pass very close to the Earth tonight.

Here is a video from Nasa explaining how the Asteroid is tracked; http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html?collection_id=77341&media_id=119025761


I have heard reports from storm chasers of multiple Tornadoes in Oklahoma and more aftershocks were felt as well.


Here is a great video from Storm Chasers in Oklahoma, this was filmed yesterday. You can see the hail on the ground.  At 2:40 minutes in you see the Chaser talk about his car that flipped over because his steering wheel locked up on him.                                           

Courtesy of Extremetornadotours.com on youtube.