LOL...
Speaking of updates... Here is the most recent one from my blog:
LibertyRocks ;)
MOST RECENT UPDATE (2:00 a.m.):
The St. Patrick's Day Parade scheduled for tomorrow has been cancelled. Also cancelled is the expo that was supposed to go on tomorrow at the World Congress Center (I will try to remember what the name of the expo is when they repeat it...).
Authorities are asking that all people who do not absolutely need to be out and about in the city, to please stay away as it will hamper search and rescue as well as clean-up efforts at this point.
I have personally not heard of people not being able to get through to relatives by phone and such, as in past storms, so that is a good thing.
It has been reported that the "Old Mill" building has "pancake collapsed". This historic building was originally known as the Fulton Bag and Cotton Mills. Building began on the complex in 1881 and is located in what is known as the Cabbagetown area of Atlanta. A drawing of the original site is below. You can read more about the history of this building in this article at
Wikipedia. It is believed that the building that has collapsed is the one right next to the smokestacks. The pool is located to the top of the photo where the square "tower" is.
(The above picture is from Wikipedia. See details on picture here.)
This is the building pictured to the right (before the collapse).
It was previously identified on this blog as the "Old Mill Lofts", apparently this is an old name for the site. This building had just finished another renovation and was currently called the
The Stack Lofts. As you can see from the photo below (and at the
Stack Lofts Website), the smokestacks were still up, and if one of them toppled it could certainly cause the building to collapse. There was already extensive visible damage at least to one part of the building - and possibly two parts of the roof. The building had previously been evacuated and news crews had been moved back. No injuries had been reported as a result of the collapse itself. (Thanks to FReeper stlnative for some of the updated information on the collapse and links to extra information.)
A NOTE ABOUT COUNTING BLESSINGS:
Now, I'm personally a pretty Conservative Christian... And I just want to take a second to thank the Lord that more people were not injured in this storm. As was pointed out by the Ch. 11 Meteorologist (sorry don't know his name... will look it up) blessings should be counted by everyone living, visiting, and with loved ones in the area. If the SCC Tournament game had not gone into overtime, there would have been literally thousands, if not tens of thousands of people on the street when this tornado hit. With everyone running for cover the devastation and toll of life could've been simply horrific. Praise the Lord indeed for his small mercies that many, many more were not injured tonight. Many are reporting a lot of close calls, and search efforts are just beginning in some of the more heavily damaged buildings as they may not be stable, but as of now there are no fatalities and only one person (out of a total of 9 taken to area hospitals) was in critical condition. (I will report the names of the victims for prayer purposes if it becomes available).
NOTE - CURRENT WEATHER: More rain and lightening is apparently headed towards Atlanta right now (Visible in the live coverage from Ch. 11) .
Severe Thunderstorm Watch up on the Northern Border - entire Northern 2/3 or so of Alabama. Most producing hail - tornado risk not that great. Golf ball size hail reported in Alabama.
WAS IT A TORNADO -- MY 'LAYMAN'S' OPINION IS YES... Of course, the official determination will be up to the NWS. ;)
I am not alone in this opinion. The majority of reporters, meteorologists, City Authorities, and LEOs I have heard are all of the opinion that this was definitely a tornado based on descriptions of witnesses and a cursory survey of the damage.
This storm is still not officially considered a tornado (as of 11:55 pm CST - it probably won't be official till the National Weather Service announces it within the next 24-48 hours after they are able to investigate the damage first hand in the light), however there were numerous witnesses in the Healy(sp?) building that reported a loud train sound lasting about one and a half minutes, that report seeing swirling debris outside their windows.
One woman interviewed on the phone, and also live - Julia Murphy - on Ch. 11-ALIVE reported seeing large and heavy debris in a circular motion outside her 12th floor window, and she and her neighbors above her both report seeing circular debris "way above the height of our wind0ws". She stated that her apartment window overlooks Centennial Park. She also stated that she gathered in the lobby of her building afterwards with other residents and many reported seeing the same thing. Windows in that building were blown out as well.
Reporters on Channel 11 (who I think has been giving the best coverage tonight - at least available online!), have stated that the damage they are seeing is consistent with tornados. They are seeing bricks pulled out of buildings, and pushed forward. In one instance there was a light pole or a telephone pole twisted in the electrical wires.
This is pretty consistent with what one would see at night during a tornado - swirling debris. Straight-line winds on the other hand wouldn't create this type of debris pattern.
There is a greater chance of severe weather tomorrow in the Atlanta, Georgia area and region than there was today.
