Devastating Tornado Damage in Tuscaloosa

[efd840]

That said...we did have someone try to steal our copper from our A/C unit...in broad daylight. Thankfully someone saw him and told the police. He was later escorted off by 2 officers and 3 Nation Guardsmen...at gunpoint.

Too bad they didn't shoot him.

And no, I am not joking.

 

[USCBAMA]

At my Grandmom's house the columns supporting the front porch were blown out. The neighbor laid them out on t he porch so we could re-install them. But by the time my Dad got there Friday night someone had stolen them... stinking decorative columns for a porch. According to Dad, looting has occured but nothing like Katrina. As for gougers he has not seeen much of that in Tuscaloosa. Lots of charitable groups offering free chainsaw service and tarps. Glad to hear the SC Baptist disaster relief is there, that is a good group that does it for the right reasons. I think they have sent chainsaw teams to Tuscaloosa, B'ham, Georgia, and Tennessee.

 

[Crimson Cat]

I've just now gotten back into town, so I've not had a chance to read this whole thread.
As I posted on non-sports, just wanted to say my immediate family are all fine and we are thankful to be so.
But I'm at a loss for words for the losses some have suffered from this. I've yet to watch much of the footage from all the damaged areas, (we had zero phone/cell/power service) and I will be catching up for a bit. I'm hoping all of our Tidefan friends are all okay.
May God bless those suffering right now and lift them up and help them through this.

 

[BamaFlum]

Have they officially declared the tornado as an F5 yet?

 

[Black Warrior]

Have they officially declared the tornado as an F5 yet?

I've heard yes.

 

[RedStar]

Have they officially declared the tornado as an F5 yet?

Nope, it was an EF4, but could possibly be reclassified when it's all said and done.

So far the only EF5 was the one that tracked from Smithville, MS thru Hackleburg/Phil Campbell AL and eventually went back down to EF4 until it hit Tennessee.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

Nope, it was an EF4, but could possibly be reclassified when it's all said and done.

So far the only EF5 was the one that tracked from Smithville, MS thru Hackleburg/Phil Campbell AL and eventually went back down to EF4 until it hit Tennessee.

I'm not totally sure, because I'm just halfway listening to all the TV weathermen in their glory, but I think they've decided that particular one was still an EF5 when it hit Madison County...

 

[TIDE-HSV]

I'm not totally sure, because I'm just halfway listening to all the TV weathermen in their glory, but I think they've decided that particular one was still an EF5 when it hit Madison County...

Just looked at today's HSV Times and, citing the NWS as the source, that tornado is colored in as an EF5 for its entire track in AL...

 

[RedStar]

I'm not totally sure, because I'm just halfway listening to all the TV weathermen in their glory, but I think they've decided that particular one was still an EF5 when it hit Madison County...

It's so bad that we're a week into it and still really can't grasp what's happened.

As of now, nothing is final & everything could be reclassified. If it were a dozen tornadoes, sure we'd know what we're dealing with, but it's so widespread & so devastating that we just don't know. I'm clawing my way thru sister agencies to try and get aerial photographs of affected areas in the NW corner & it's impossible. I've got to do job loss & damage assessments & can't get my hands on the materials I need because those photographs might not even exist yet. Usually it's flown within a day of a disaster, it's now been a week, and what we're looking for still hasn't been covered. The reason a lot of these storms have fluctuated between EF3/EF4/EF5 status is because full assessments haven't been done yet.

I know the storm that started in Smithville is like nothing that's ever been seen before. There's a clear path of distruction from the MS state line to the TN state line. It's unbelievable.

Here's the storm rotation strength & path from last weeks outbreak:

http://www.norman.noaa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/April-27-Rotation-Tracks-Eastern-U.S..jpg

Notice how red it is over the Shoals area? The red & yellow represent the strongest winds. It could have been absolutely devastating if the storms that passed over us had touched down. We're extremely fortunate.

Just got an email showing that the system that started in Smithville was upgraded to be an EF5 for the duration of it's path.

Check this map out:

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/srh/ssd/mapping/

Zoom in on Hackleburg. 2 EF5's converged to create a dual vortex. I heard about this yesterday and was shocked.

 

[92tide]

It's so bad that we're a week into it and still really can't grasp what's happened.

As of now, nothing is final & everything could be reclassified. If it were a dozen tornadoes, sure we'd know what we're dealing with, but it's so widespread & so devastating that we just don't know. I'm clawing my way thru sister agencies to try and get aerial photographs of affected areas in the NW corner & it's impossible. I've got to do job loss & damage assessments & can't get my hands on the materials I need because those photographs might not even exist yet. Usually it's flown within a day of a disaster, it's now been a week, and what we're looking for still hasn't been covered. The reason a lot of these storms have fluctuated between EF3/EF4/EF5 status is because full assessments haven't been done yet.

I know the storm that started in Smithville is like nothing that's ever been seen before. There's a clear path of distruction from the MS state line to the TN state line. It's unbelievable.

Here's the storm rotation strength & path from last weeks outbreak:

http://www.norman.noaa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/April-27-Rotation-Tracks-Eastern-U.S..jpg

Notice how red it is over the Shoals area? The red & yellow represent the strongest winds. It could have been absolutely devastating if the storms that passed over us had touched down. We're extremely fortunate.

Just got an email showing that the system that started in Smithville was upgraded to be an EF5 for the duration of it's path.

Check this map out:

NWS

Zoom in on Hackleburg. 2 EF5's converged to create a dual vortex. I heard about this yesterday and was shocked.

that is incredible (and not in a good way) that two came together like that. i am headed to haleyville next week to help out a few days in that area.

 

[RedStar]

Here's a satellite view of the paths. Not close enough to zoom into do any assessment work, but you can clearly see the paths all across the state (or at least the ones the clouds don't obscure.)


http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/50000/50375/Alabama_amo_2011118_lrg.jpg

It's as if something clawed the surface of the earth.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

It's so bad that we're a week into it and still really can't grasp what's happened.

As of now, nothing is final & everything could be reclassified. If it were a dozen tornadoes, sure we'd know what we're dealing with, but it's so widespread & so devastating that we just don't know. I'm clawing my way thru sister agencies to try and get aerial photographs of affected areas in the NW corner & it's impossible. I've got to do job loss & damage assessments & can't get my hands on the materials I need because those photographs might not even exist yet. Usually it's flown within a day of a disaster, it's now been a week, and what we're looking for still hasn't been covered. The reason a lot of these storms have fluctuated between EF3/EF4/EF5 status is because full assessments haven't been done yet.

I know the storm that started in Smithville is like nothing that's ever been seen before. There's a clear path of distruction from the MS state line to the TN state line. It's unbelievable.

Here's the storm rotation strength & path from last weeks outbreak:

http://www.norman.noaa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/April-27-Rotation-Tracks-Eastern-U.S..jpg

Notice how red it is over the Shoals area? The red & yellow represent the strongest winds. It could have been absolutely devastating if the storms that passed over us had touched down. We're extremely fortunate.

Just got an email showing that the system that started in Smithville was upgraded to be an EF5 for the duration of it's path.

Check this map out:

NWS

Zoom in on Hackleburg. 2 EF5's converged to create a dual vortex. I heard about this yesterday and was shocked.

Here's the NWS current storm map. The black areas are the ones where strength hasn't been determined. Those seem to have shrunk considerably...

CLICK

 

[RedStar]

Here's the best aerials that have come out that are available to the public, and they're pretty amazing:

April 2011 Tornado Response Imagery

You can click on the red tiles and a link will pop up asking if you want to view the thumbnail/HQ Image/GIS Data for ArcGIS viewing.

Click the HQ version and wait for it to load. Pretty incredible detail.

 

[TideMan09]

Here's an updated survey of the Tornado's in Alabama..The Ohatchee tornado has been upgraded to an EF4..

Here's The Link..CLICK ME

 

[RedStar]

Just tweeted by Coach Gaspard:

All 3 games vs LSU this weekend will be free admission with a donation to The Red Cross and/or UA Acts of Kindness Fund.

 

[TideMan09]

SIAP..I apologize if this already been posted..I haven't read all the posts yet..Anyways..Here's a composites picture of how massive & how far the Hackleburg Tornado traveled..It's amazing the storm traveled through four states..That's Crazy Stuff..

 

[64met]

didn't see this posted and wasn't sure where to put it; but nice read about Javy: Ex-Tide football star Javier Arenas survived Tuscaloosa tornado, gives back to storm victims (video) | al.com

 

[RamJammer]

Based on the Tide for Toomers, and then the Toomers for Tuscaloosa groups working together, getting bonded close & actually now being friends - it has been said that the Iron Bowl will never be the same, & that what WAS a bitter rivalry is becoming a FRIENDLY rivalry...and the reply to that was: "well, nooooo - it'll be more like a family reunion"... How 'bout THAT!?!? Now don't get me wrong - no one is gonna be pullin' for the other - but they can sure get along in the meantime without all that hate-stuff... BTW - ESPN is in Tuscaloosa right now to interview both T4T groups!!!

 

[NationalTitles18]

SIAP..I apologize if this already been posted..I haven't read all the posts yet..Anyways..Here's a composites picture of how massive & how far the Hackleburg Tornado traveled..It's amazing the storm traveled through four states..That's Crazy Stuff..

That's actually the Tuscaloosa tornado but the Hackleburg tornado traveled well over 100 miles as well. The Tuscaloosa supercell produced several strong to violent tornadoes. One stayed on the ground about 80 miles, lifted at about I-65, then dropped another that stayed on the ground for about 72 miles. This supercell stayed together for about 7 hours and 26 minutes and 380 miles.

 

[crmsnrevelation]

IUOE 653 Will be in town Saturday donating a skid steer. I was there last weekend and plan on volunteering my weekends for quite a while. Hope to see some of ya.