November 2013 Midwest Tornado Outbreak
UPDATE 11/19/2013: The Chicago Tribune has again updated their photo gallery with some of the most incredible high-resolution tornado damage photos that I've ever seen. The NWS has also posted some high-res pics.
UPDATES / POST-STORM ANALYSIS 11/18/2013: The outbreak is over, and it has left at least seven people dead, along with massive destruction in towns in Illinois. One tornado has been rated EF-4, which would be the first major (EF-3 to EF-5) November tornado in Illinois history. The storm that caused the severe weather has moved up into Canada and strengthened, with a pressure this morning of 966 mb, equivalent to that of a strong Category 2 hurricane (look at those isobars!):
We have three great stories on AccuWeather.com: one on the stats, one with photos, and one about the historical rarity and causes for the storm, so I won't rehash any more of that information here.
Rather, I'll provide some unique images and links. If you're looking for high-quality photos of the damage, The Chicago Tribune has the largest that I've seen so far. One TV station had to abandon coverage when their building started to get damaged. Now for some weather maps:
At one point there were 11 tornado warnings, 4 tornado watches, and 10 tornado/funnel cloud reports, all on the same map:
That's impressive for any tornado outbreak, much less in November! All told, the NWS GIS page says there were 419 warnings issued during this storm system. The IEM system lists 402 warnings during this period: 125 Tornado Warnings and 230 Severe Thunderstorm Warnings. Here's a map:
This is a map of the 87 tornado and 26 funnel cloud reports by spotters on Sunday. Ten reports of wind gusts around 80-85 mph were also submitted, over three states!
Note that, when you tilt the map and look at the storm's track, the Chicago suburbs were very lucky; the tornado reports started just short of them. The "rotational tracks" from radar show that the same supercell storm moved over 125 miles across the state:
ORIGINAL REPORT 11/17/2013: The November 2013 tornado outbreak is in progress. On Saturday, the SPC issued what was the farthest-north Moderate Risk ever; this morning they issued the highest north High Risk, one of only five in November history. Tornadoes have already been reported and here are the latest "quick snippets" that I'm putting out on Social Media, courtesy of my RebelMouse page. Follow me on Twitter or Facebook to receive these updates in real-time).
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