Severe Weather Outbreak, Talladega Threat
UPDATE: The question may soon become: How long has it been since we have seen such an event? When the final totals come in, you can compare them against some recent 2-day outbreaks of note listed at the bottom of this report.
There were over 30 tornado reports yesterday in Colorado, Kansas and Texas, though it's probable from the map below that we have multiple chasers/spotters reporting the same long-track tornadoes. Check out SevereStudios.com and Reed Timmer's Facebook Page for photos & videos. Nonetheless, it was the most tornadic day we've had yet in 2010 and it's not going to stop until late this weekend. Check AccuWeather.com for continuously-updating forecasts and analysis that breaks down who will get what, when.
Below is a combination map showing the government's Storm Prediction Center's severe weather forecasts for last night (and storm reports from last night) plus the next two days. I'm concerned that so many tornadoes were outside of the Moderate risk area. In addition, this should help give you an idea how much land and major cities are under threat. Like we've been saying all week: This will be a big outbreak and you will be seeing damage footage on the news tonight or tomorrow.
Of particular concern are the race events at Talladega Superspeedway, and all the folks camped out there. It's likely that a major wind event or even tornado could cause destruction there. We have a news story up about the thunderstorm threat to Talladega. Even a run-of-the-mill storm could knock over tents, create hail dents in cars and kill people with lightning; a bow echo or supercell could overturn RVs even without a tornado. As of last night, the high-resolution WRF computer forecast model was predicting five separate severe weather events (first four shown below).
This will, of course change with the next model update but the times don't matter because people are already camped out there. If I knew anyone going, I'd say: Be careful, carry a NOAA WeatherRadio, know how/where to evacuate, and tie your stuff down. For the rest of us, stay tuned to AccuWeather.com and watch the one webcam in the city to see what happens.
After all is said and done, we could be comparing this event with other mega severe weather outbreaks in recent history. Peoples' memories are short, so here are a few from the last couple of years:
Recent 2-Day Events With Over 75 Tornado Reports:
May 22-23, 2009: 106
May 10-11, 2009: 79
April 9-10, 2009: 117
Feb 5, 2009: 84
May 4-5, 2007: 122
Recent 2-Day Events With Over 700 Severe Reports:
Jun 17-18, 2009: 882
April 9-10, 2009: 774
June & July 2008: Multiple Events
