Another Tornado Outbreak In The Plains

Four Deaths Confirmed From Twisters In Oklahoma; Joplin Under The Gun Again As Watch Issued

Severe weather season continues to go through a resurgence this week as another deadly and devastating outbreak is taking place in the Plains. I have been watching the storm chaser footage on the The Weather Channel as well as MSNBC, FOX, and CNN throughout much of the afternoon, and it has been riveting.

One scene out of Oklahoma near the town of El Reno had a utility pole literally fly over a storm chaser’s car while he is live on the air with KFOR TV in Oklahoma City. It seemed to be out of the movie Twister. Towns such as El Reno, Guthrie, Chickasaw, and Goldsby have been hit hard by wedge tornadoes that were at least EF4 in strength. So far, there are four confirmed deaths according to the Medical Examiner’s office in Oklahoma City. Three children are missing as well.

The Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma indicated earlier in the day that much of Oklahoma as well as portions of Northern Texas were under a Particularly Dangerous Situation Tornado Watch. There is still such a watch out for Central and Eastern Oklahoma as well as North Central Texas. On top of the twisters in Oklahoma, there have been supercell thunderstorms in Texas creating softball size hail.

Another PDS Tornado Watch is in effect for portions of South Central and Southeastern Kansas. Within the past hour, a Tornado Watch was also issued for Western Missouri including Kansas City and the beleaguered town of Joplin, which was devastated by a wedge tornado earlier this week. The watch is in effect until 3:00 AM CDT Wednesday morning. In the latest severe weather outlook by the SPC, they feared a significant tornado outbreak in the Southern and Central Plains as well as the Ozarks.

The outlook indicated the possibility of several significant tornadoes as well as large hail and damaging winds in these areas. Since May 21st, there have been 118 reports of tornadoes throughout the United States, which is more than double what had been the total for the entire month of May. There were 22 twisters on Saturday, 56 on Sunday, 20 on Monday, and 20 so far on Tuesday. There is a threat for more severe weather on Wednesday in the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys.