Weather!

[TNT]

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Baseball-sized hail is tearing the siding off homes in northeast Nebraska, a tornado has touched down in Kansas and forecasters are warning residents across the nation's midsection to brace for "life threatening" storms.

The National Weather Service says a rain-wrapped tornado touched down in southwest Kansas on Saturday afternoon, while at least three possible tornadoes were reported earlier in central Oklahoma.

No injuries were immediately reported. But forecasters are expecting the most dangerous weather later in the day and are warning residents across the region of possible fast-moving tornadoes overnight.

Officials say a large area spanning from Minnesota to Texas could be at risk.

In Nebraska, Boone County Sheriff David Spiegel says large hail also damaged vehicles and shattered windows in and around Petersburg, about 140 miles northwest of Omaha.

[TNT]

So far over one hundred tornado reports! Wow! And these storms have not made it here yet but are expected to by dawn. Hopefully they will weaken by the time they get here!

[TNT]

So far over one hundred tornado reports! Wow! And these storms have not made it here yet but are expected to by around three o'clock. Hopefully they will weaken by the time they get here!

[neufer]

So far over one hundred tornado reports! Wow! And these storms have not made it here yet but are expected to by around three o'clock. Hopefully they will weaken by the time they get here!

http://radar.weather.gov/Conus/southmissvly_loop.php

[Ann]

How are you doing, TNT?

Ann

[neufer]

How are you doing, TNT?

More to the point: how is bystander doing (...his last post: Sat Apr 14, 2012 10:39 pm)

[b][color=#0000FF]A tornado moves on the ground north of Solomon, Kan. Saturday evening, April 14, 2012, with I-70 seen in the foreground. (AP Photo/The Hutchinson News, Sandra J. Milburn)[/color][/b]

---

Midwest tornadoes: 5 dead, 29 hurt in Okla.
CBS News, April 15, 2012 7:21 AM

<<(CBS/AP) OKLAHOMA CITY - Residents were scouring through damaged homes across the Midwest on Sunday after a violent storm system unleashed tornadoes that left five people dead and at least 29 injured in Oklahoma, damaging a hospital, homes and other buildings.

Oklahoma emergency officials said five people died after a tornado touched down at 12:18 a.m. Sunday in and around the northwest Oklahoma town of Woodward, the high winds damaging homes, toppling trees and downing power lines about 140 miles northwest of Oklahoma City. The brunt of the damage was reported on the west side of the town of about 12,000 and its outskirts, where search teams scoured the rubble for hours for any still trapped or injured.

Storms also were reported in Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska as a wide-ranging storm system lumbered its way across the nation's midsection Saturday and Sunday. Lightning, large hail and heavy downpours accompanied the system, which was so large that it still posed a severe weather threat from Minnnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan in the north to eastern Texas and Louisiana hundreds of miles to the south.

More than 100 tornadoes had been reported across the region by daybreak, according to the National Weather Service. Although the storms were weakening and additional tornadoes were unlikely, forecasters warned that strong thunderstorms were expected as far east as Michigan.

Five people were killed and more than two dozen were injured when a suspected tornado ripped through a mobile home park in Woodward, Okla., about 140 miles northwest of Oklahoma City. Streets in the 12,000-resident town were left dotted with mangled vehicles, toppled power lines and leveled buildings.

The outbreak began when tornado sirens went off before dawn in Oklahoma City on Saturday. As the wide-ranging storm system lumbered across the nation, storms also were reported in Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska. Lightning, large hail and heavy downpours accompanied the system.

The Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., which specializes in tornado forecasting, had warned of a "high-end, life-threatening event" nearly two days before the bad weather hit. It was just the second time in U.S. history that the center issued a high-risk warning more than 24 hours in advance. The first was in April 2006, when nearly 100 tornadoes tore across the southeastern U.S., killing a dozen people and damaging more than 1,000 homes in Tennessee.

The center's spokesman, Chris Vaccaro, said the weather service had received at least 97 reports of tornadoes by dawn Sunday and survey teams would be heading out to investigate and determine the number of actual tornadoes, their highest winds, and the width and length of their destructive paths. Several large funnel clouds and tornadoes were photographed and videographed during the outbreak.>>

[geckzilla]

I forgot exactly where Bystander is around the OKC area, but OG&E is reporting 500+ customers in Norman are without power and other various places around OKC with 0-499 customers out. He could be one of them.

[bystander]

All I got was high winds and lots of rain, Friday and Saturday. I was asleep when the storms came through last night. Norman got hit Friday evening, not sure if there was more damage last night.

[geckzilla]

Well, there you have it, then. No spoiled meats in the fridge for ol' bystander.

[orin stepanek]

It's really windy here today; although the sun is shining! I think the jet stream is dipping down a little low; the tree branches are getting a good workout! We were pretty lucky yesterday as the storm kind of circled around us. Norfolk got so much hail that the city had to use snowplows to clear the streets. http://www.ktiv.com/story/17453138/snow ... norfolk-ne

[TNT]

Wow, we dodged a HUGE bullet last night with all of those storms. There was a supercell and a squall line threatening tornadoes that headed our way. The supercell fell apart after it hit Wichita. Unfortunately, a tornado formed in Wichita, causing millions of dollars of damage. The squall line weakened just enough so that the main threats were wind damage and hail. I heard that Independence, just east of here, was hit a little harder, with slight wind and hail damage.

Anyway, it's pretty windy here now, with the dry line and the cold front close to us. I have to say that we just got lucky that no tornadoes formed near us.

[TNT]

A line of thunderstorms to the west of Kansas City is strengthening and moving northeast. There are a couple of cells to the south of Emporia in particular that are in the most unstable air of these storms; they are following I-35. Luckily, cool air is surrounding us here, so these storms should weaken a little by the time they get here. But other than that all we have are strong winds.

[TNT]

Just as I expected. The storms fell apart before they got here. I guess I can take down the map (which had been tracking the storms all this time somehow!).

[BMAONE23]

Sure glad I live in Earthquake country where we occasionally have a shaker but not an entire annual season devoted to them

[orin stepanek]

Got a change in the weather yesterday; It got pretty chilly and rained. It is still cool today and we got about 3/4 of an inch of rain overnight.

[Chris Peterson]

After weeks of unseasonably warm, dry weather, and very confused plants (the aspens are actually coming into leaf, way too early), we're finally getting a little moisture. Since last night, we've accumulated at least 4 inches of snow, maybe more. It's hard to tell for sure, since the temperature is very close to freezing, and plenty of solar energy makes it through the clouds. In winter, this might be more than a foot of snow, but this is wet stuff that gets knocked down fast. We're hoping for more, but I guess the storm is running out of steam.

[neufer]

.

We're hoping for more,
but I guess the storm is running out of steam.

Looks to me like you'll get it.

[rstevenson]

That's actually the first time in my life I've ever heard someone say they were hoping for more snow!

Rob

[Chris Peterson]

That's actually the first time in my life I've ever heard someone say they were hoping for more snow!

You've obviously failed to take notice of my handle on this forum!

(But seriously, when you're one careless cigarette away from a wildfire that could take out hundreds of square miles, you're going to be happy for precipitation in any form. Hopefully this will be enough to help along a few wildflowers, and get our pastures starting to green up.)

[geckzilla]

A careless cigarette, or a perverse al Qaeda arson attack! But they seem to prefer Montana over Colorado.

[Moonlady]

Yesterday, here in Germany, we had a wonderful day! I went by bike out of my town to enjoy a sunny day. Living in town, I am surrounded with hills, but about 14 km distance, I had
360° sight of sky and the horizon. I took pictures with my mobile phone. The sky was pure blue, not a single cloud or a plane was to be seen, that is rare here.

[Ann]

Lovely, Moonlady! I just love the color of that blue sky!

Unlike you, I don't take any pictures of my own, but check out what I found on the internet. Talk about a smiley sky!

Ann

[Beyond]

Neat find, Ann.

[Moonlady]

So cute, Ann!

[jessy27]

BMAONE23,
Why go to all that trouble when windows has a perfectly good voice activated software built in? Just talk into your mic
and the words appear on whatever doc you want to use. No worries about spelling, you can find it under all programs,
accessories, ease of use. I use it on a daily basis.