Posted on 04/24/2007 11:09:56 AM PDT by sully777
An active weather day is in store for the Central and Southern Plains eastward to the Mississippi River today. An outbreak of severe thunderstorms capable of producing tornadoes, including large and long-tracked tornadoes, large hail, and damaging winds is expected to begin later this afternoon in portions of the Great Plains and move eastward as the day progresses. Thunderstorms are expected to develop over parts of Kansas and southern Nebraska this afternoon, with more storms developing late this afternoon and this evening over Oklahoma and Texas. These storms will move eastward into western Missouri, western Arkansas, and western Louisiana by tonight, with additional storms possible late in central and eastern Missouri.
Farther to the north over much of Nebraska eastward into Iowa and northern Illinois, heavy rain with localized flooding will be possible. Flood watches have been posted over parts of central Nebraska due to the expectation of heavy rains today. Heavy rain could reach Chicago by sunrise on Wednesday.
All of this will be moving to the east into the Mississippi and Ohio River Valleys on Wednesday, bringing a chance of heavy rain to the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley and thunderstorms across the Mid-South and Tennessee Valley as well.
In Colorado and Wyoming, this same storm system will bring a chance of heavy snow to the Rockies and Front Range, particularly on eastern slopes above 6000 feet. Denver may also see some snow from this system before precipitation winds down.
In addition, windy conditions are expected from Mexico to Canada in the Plains and Rockies, with extremely dry air in New Mexico and West Texas aiding in bringing a higher fire danger to these areas, with fire weather watches and red flag warnings in effect today.
If you live in the Plains or Mississippi Valley, pay close attention to the weather today: especially this afternoon, evening, and into tonight.
My husband is military and whenever he sends a memo he has to fill out tracking paper work to track the memo. that paper work has to be filed and that file has it’s own set of paperwork to keep up with it. Amazing!!!!
“My husband is military and whenever he sends a memo he has to fill out tracking paper work to track the memo. that paper work has to be filed and that file has it’s own set of paperwork to keep up with it. Amazing!!!!”
I work at a bank...you wanna talk about paperwork...
A number of tornado watches were issued on Tuesday and stretched from Kansas and Missouri back to Texas.
The culprit is an intense storm system that slowly emerged from the Rockies and it will continue to slide eastward through Kansas. Severe thunderstorms and tornadoes are expected overnight. The greatest threat will occur from central to eastern Texas. Thunderstorms will eventually form a squall line that could produce torrential rain and damaging winds as it heads toward the Gulf Coast.
On Wednesday, the severe weather threat will slip eastward and stretch from southern Illinois and Missouri back to the western Gulf Coast area. Hail and damaging winds will accompany thunderstorms. There is a threat for tornadoes but the tornado threat will be reduced. Strong thunderstorms will also ride northward through the Ohio Valley.
This storm has a wintry side to it as well. Rain changed over to snow in Denver and Colorado Springs Tuesday afternoon. Significant accumulations are anticipated above 5,500 feet where winter storm warnings are in effect. Some slushy accumulations on grassy surfaces are also expected in the Denver area. Some higher elevations southwest of Denver have already picked up two feet of wet snow. Power outages have occurred.
7:56 p.m. ET 4/24/07
Tom Moore, Senior Meteorologist, The Weather Channel
When a tornado warning has been issued, you may have very little time to prepare.
How you respond now is critical. And how you react depends on where you are.
In a Frame Home
Make sure you have a portable radio, preferably a NOAA weather radio, for information.
Seek shelter in the lowest level of your home (basement or storm cellar). If there is no basement, go to an inner hallway, a smaller inner room, or a closet. Keep away from all windows.
You can cushion yourself with a mattress, but do not use one to cover yourself. Do cover your head and eyes with a blanket or jacket to protect against flying debris and broken glass. Don’t waste time moving mattresses around.
Keep your pet on a leash or in a carrier.
Multiple tornadoes can emerge from the same storm, so do not go out until the storm has passed.
Do not leave a building to attempt to “escape” a tornado.
In a Mobile Home
Leave your mobile home immediately and take shelter elsewhere.
Outside
Try to get inside and seek a small protected space with no windows.
Avoid large-span roof areas such as school gymnasiums, arenas, or shopping malls.
If you cannot get inside, crouch for protection beside a strong structure, or lie flat in a ditch or low-lying area and cover your head and neck with your arms or a piece of clothing.
In a Car
Ideally, you should avoid driving when tornadoes or other kinds of dangerous weather threaten, because a vehicle is a very unsafe place to be. If, however, this is not possible, stay as calm as possible, and assess the situation.
Your best option might be to get out of the car and lie flat in a ditch or other low-lying area that is sufficiently deep enough to protect against the wind.
If you do so, beware of water runoff from heavy rain that could pose a hazard; get as far away from the vehicle as possible and shield your head from flying debris.
Or, if possible, take shelter immediately in a nearby building.
(Source: http://www.weather.com/ready/tornado/warning.html?from=safety_Tornadoes )
Morning.
How bad was your storm?
Top o’ the mornin’ back at you!
Turns out that the first cell that came by and blew down some trees was the worst of it. We dodged the bullet, but regrettably some did not, and today might get bad east of here. Hope everyone is okay and that today’s storm spares the deep south and anywhere else.
Glad to hear it.
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