Tornados Everywhere

[Gary_C]

The weather guys got it right yesterday, unfortunately. All day they were saying there was a very dangerous front approaching from the west but during the day nothing was showing on the radar. Then about 6 PM it all blew up into a huge mess.

I was working in the woods about 60 miles NE of home which is just north of Rochester, MN and just got done around 7 PM from stacking a load of wood and even there the sky was getting dark and looking bad. So I went into my camper and checked the TV and the Austin, MN station was reporting a tornado on the ground SW of Albert Lea, MN and there were already reports of livestock running all over the roads in that area.

Then as I watched that very sophisticated radar was lighting up with indications of wind rotation and in the next hour there were indications of as many as eight tornados on the ground at one time from Albert Lea and heading NE right in the general direction of my home. I talked to my wife and she was watching the same station and headed for the basement. She was getting intense rain and high winds at that time and shortly after the electricity went off. And there was nothing for me to do but to watch all this unfold on the TV as I was right in the path of the storm but just another 50 miles to the NE where the skies were dark and no winds at all.

To make a long story short, we and my family were very lucky but our neighbors were not. The only problem we had was the electricity was off all night and we got a little water in the basement because the sump pump was off. We had one tornado that passed by about 3 miles east of us and another about 3 miles west of us and the devastation is incredible. One small dairy farm west of us is all gone except one silo still standing. One son that lives west of us was heading to town and was less than 1/4 mile from his home and saw a tornado and backed up that short distance and went to the basement. When the storm passed he saw that a house at the intersection that he was almost to was gone completely.

From the summaries I've seen on the local news, there were 35 reported tornados in just Minnesota and at least 65 with this storm. I had to wait the storm front out before I left for home last night at about 11 PM and they had straight line winds of over 85 MPH in the north side of Rochester that blew roofs off of many homes.

Where I was just north of Rochester I got heavy rains, high winds, and some very big hail stones. I stuck it out in the camper as there were no reports of severe weather at that time as the storm had lost some energy. I had planned to get in the harvester if necessary but when it started it was blowing and raining so hard I stuck it out. Plus I was parked in the trees in a heavily wooded area and figured the worst would be a tree on the roof.

And it is threatening to storm again today, but this one looks like it is going south of us and it is not so hot and humid today. But we sure were lucky yesterday.

I'll see if I can get some pictures today, but I kind of dread seeing the devastation at some of the neighbors. Last night just east and north of me on Hwy 218 there was a semi load of pigs overturned in the storm so we may have some wild hogs around here.  :(

[Norm]

I'm glad to hear you and your family made it through the storms Gary. I saw those blow up on the radar last night and wondered how you had fared.

The front that came through this morning was rain and wind so we got lucky there. Long range forecast is more of the same unfortunately.

[Warbird]

Glad you guys are okay but we feel for the folks who got hit.

[Burlkraft]

Glad you are ok Gary

Yup it looks like anudder storm today. We're 'sposed to get hit about 3 pm

We got lucky last night and only heavy rain and some wind.

The storm blew itself out in Minnesota

[Patty]

I am glad you and your family are safe and sound Gary. Weather this time of year can be very frightening and dangerous.

[Roxie]

You must be so numb.  Let us know how the other's make out.  Does most insurance cover tornado damage?

[Gary_C]

Here are some pictures I took today. From five different places all around me and within about 8 miles of me.

This was a house that my son backed away from just a 1/4 mile from his house.




Then a dairy farm where the Blue silo was apparently hit with some large object. The machinery from a shed is scattered in a field behind the buildings. The front of the barn in the center of the picture is leaning back and the back end is missing.




A pair of houses across the highway fron another farm that was destroyed along with the grove of trees.




A homestead with an old round roof quonset shed that is gone and a large motorhome tipped over.




Another homestead devastated. Notice the damage to the cornfield and the twisted power lines in the ditch.




I now hear the total of tornados is Minnesota is up to 39 and most were throught rural areas and not in towns. So much of the damage is to scattered farmsteads. There was a lady rescued from her house just this afternoon.

There are a number of videos being shown on local news programs that are just amazing. One shows three individual funnels in one large tornado.

Did you know that you can sell some of the best of those home videos for thousands of dollars to large news organizations? Apparently because of cutbacks in the local news departments. So when the local station is giving you a warning they could just as well add that before you take shelter get some video for us. 

[Gary_C]

Thought I would bring this up again as I just heard a National Weather Service analysis of this day.

June 17, 2010 is going down in the history books as having the most tornados in a single day in Minnesota. The previous record was 26 set back in the early 1900's and now the confirmed number on this June stands currently at 27 and one NWS office has been so busy they have not completed their work confirming the tornados in their area. When their work is done the number is certain to be over forty tornados in a single day.

There were so many confirmed tornados in some areas that some were cris crossing the path of other tornados and some were dying out and then reforming a half mile beyond where they dissapated. It's hard to even imagine what it would be like to have one tornado pass and then have a second come by to finish off what the first one left behind.

And almost every week with this hot and humid weather there are reports of wind damage and other tornado touchdowns. It has been a really wild summer and in spite of the forecasts, the hot humid weather continues.

I have already heard the global warming experts blaming this on rising temperatures. Their logic says that for every one degree rise in temperature the air can contain 3 % more moisture. While that may be true, it does not say the air automatically holds more moisture or there is any direct cause and effect for the higher temperatures and dewpoints.  :

Well those GW experts will use any excuse or as the old saying goes, "any old port in a storm."  :

[sandhills]

Gary,  I don't remember the year for sure but I think it was in the mid 80's when multiple tornadoes touched down in Grand Island Ne.  That was in October if I remember correctly, very odd that time of year, I think they had 4 in one night, all in the city limits.  It was a mess, heck they even made a movie of it.  That was long before the global warming issue was even heard of, wonder what the GW experts reasons for that are?  Not saying this isn't happening but I firmly beleive history repeats itself.  This planet has been through climatic changes before and you're not gonna change mother natures mind!  Anyway hope we're done with all the severe stuff and sure feel for all the folks that couldn't dodge the bullet.