How common are killer tornadoes in january like last night's in Tennessee?

[Crazy Horse]

We all know what the question is really about.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2824422

Maddy McCall  (1000+ posts)       Wed Feb-06-08 08:39 AM
Response to Original message
1. It's tornado season. 
 Edited on Wed Feb-06-08 08:42 AM by Maddy McCall
Not unusual for the South.

Edit to add: This one was so bad because people were sleeping when the tornadoes hit, and they had little warning.

 

Squatch  (1000+ posts)       Wed Feb-06-08 08:47 AM
Response to Reply #1
5. If I recall from when I lived in SW Oklahoma, peak tornado season
 is early March through early May. So, we're just a couple weeks early

.
 
Sorry, but SW Oklahoma isn't the south and the peak season is earlier

RL3AO  (1000+ posts)      Wed Feb-06-08 08:48 AM
Response to Reply #5
6. The peak season in the South is February and March.

 
nevermind sasquatch

Maddy McCall  (1000+ posts)       Wed Feb-06-08 08:56 AM
Response to Reply #5
10. Yeah... 
 The worst tornado we ever had in South Mississippi was in early January, 1975. An F4 tornado-- killed 10 in two counties, injured 200+.

The media are saying that the tornadoes that struck last night/ early morning were F3s to F4s.

Dawggie (1000+ posts)       Wed Feb-06-08 08:52 AM
Response to Reply #1
9. Geez, they're marking houses in Lawrence County, AL the same way they were in Katrina.
 Showing video on local television. It is so sad.

That's what they are trained to do ya dumbass.

electron_blue  (1000+ posts)      Wed Feb-06-08 08:42 AM
Response to Original message
2. Also, it's February.

 
 
So now we can begin the global climate meme............

Aviation Pro  (1000+ posts)       Wed Feb-06-08 08:45 AM
Response to Original message
3. Not very common....
 Edited on Wed Feb-06-08 08:46 AM by Aviation Pro
...but they can happen. Basically what you have is a weather pattern that is similar to a typical Spring clashing of airmasses. In this case a deep low in the Northeast and the converging outflow boundary from another low to the west of Tennessee caused some enormous twisting in the squall line ahead of the cold front to the north. This twisting atmosphere, the confluence of three airmasses in a mid-latitude cyclonic storm and orographic lifting in Tennessee's rugged terrain triggers the tornadic activity. Here's the surface analysis chart which shows these features:

On edit: the pertubations, the bowing in the north-south cold front, takes on the same characteristics of a dryline, which is much more common to tornadic activity.

That like saying it's light, yet dark

Wcross  (1000+ posts)      Wed Feb-06-08 08:49 AM
Response to Reply #3
7. I disagree, they seem to hit during January & February around here.
 You may be right statistically but I recall many severe weather days like this in the winter.

Aviation Pro  (1000+ posts)       Wed Feb-06-08 08:59 AM
Response to Reply #7
12. From the climatology (meteorological history)....
 ....perspective they are uncommon, however that is changing because of climate change and global warming.

RL3AO  (1000+ posts)      Wed Feb-06-08 09:02 AM
Response to Reply #12
13. La Nina could be having an effect as well this year.

Wcross  (1000+ posts)      Wed Feb-06-08 08:45 AM
Response to Original message
4. Very common for the south.
 I am always "on edge" this time of year. In the summertime we usually just get big thunderstorms with no rotation. In winter we get bad weather.

Exactly

nels25 (36 posts)      Wed Feb-06-08 08:52 AM
Response to Original message
8. I can not talk about Tennessee
 But here in SE Wisconsin we had a tornado do significant damage in early January.

And it also hit close to lake michigan which is supposed to be not possible.

So who knows, this is shaping up to be a strange year in any number of ways.

Dumbshit

[jtyangel]

Bahaha...'they are marking houses like they did in Katrina'

Guess what, rescue workers did that in Andrew too in 92. Jeebus, the peeps are numbskulls.

[Odin's Hand]

Squatch  (1000+ posts)       Wed Feb-06-08 08:47 AM
Response to Reply #1
5. If I recall from when I lived in SW Oklahoma, peak tornado season
 is early March through early May. So, we're just a couple weeks early

Tornado season in "Tornado Alley" is late February to early June. However, Arkansas and Tennessee aren't encompassed in "Tornado Alley" and their season is generally early February to early April.

ETA: It's February, by the way, Maddy. January ended 6 days ago.

[Lauri]

we're getting record snow here in Wa. State, and Oregon and Idaho... its going to close our main highway in and out of the state again today for avalanche blasting (costing the economy a few tens of millions again) and while this hasnt happened in a few decades, its not causing any "global warming" discussions from the moonbats here..

they sure are selective when it comes to climate issues...

and did they see what the snow did to China? stranded hundreds of thousands of Chinese at the trains....

[Bondai]

It rained in Arizona a couple of days ago, then it got cold. They haven't started marking houses yet though, maybe by Friday.

[DixieBelle]

effin' idjits. I wondered how long it would take for them to dance all over the devastation and blame it on a) climate change b) Bushco.

God, they are SO predictable.

[PatriotGame]

Wcross  (1000+ posts)      Wed Feb-06-08 08:49 AM
Response to Reply #3
7. I disagree, they seem to hit during January & February around here.
 You may be right statistically but I recall many severe weather days like this in the winter

<Insert obligatory and justifiable VRWC Weather Machine antidotal statement here>

[Lauri]

effin' idjits. I wondered how long it would take for them to dance all over the devastation and blame it on a) climate change b) Bushco.

God, they are SO predictable.

one of the King Moonbats spoke today 

Sen. Kerry Blames Tornados on Global Warming
Former Democratic presidential nominee blames 'intense storms' that have killed more than 50 on climate change.

 By Jeff Poor
Business & Media Institute
2/6/2008 5:07:05 PM



     Politicians using tragedy to advance an agenda has been a tried-and-true strategy. Paint the idea green and a natural catastrophe became political fodder for former Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry (Mass.).

 

     Kerry appeared on MSNBC on February 6 to discuss storms that have killed at least 50 people throughout the Southeastern United States. So, of course, Kerry used the platform to advance global warming alarmism.

 

     â€œ don’t want to sort of leap into the larger meaning of, you know, inappropriately, but on the other hand, the weather service has told us we are going to have more and more intense storms,” Kerry said. “And insurance companies are beginning to look at this issue and understand this is related to the intensity of storms that is related to the warming of the earth. And so it goes to global warming and larger issues that we’re not paying attention to. The fact is the hurricanes are more intensive, the storms are more intensive and the rainfall is more intense at certain places at certain times and the weather patterns have changed.”


 

     Kerry’s assertion tornado activity is related to any type of climate change is questionable based on the writings of at least one meteorologist. Roger Edwards, a meteorologist at the Storm Prediction Center of the National Weather Center in Norman, Okla., has doubts about any global warming and tornado relationship.

 

     â€œAs of this writing, no scientific studies solidly relate climatic global temperature trends to tornadoes,” Edwards wrote on the Earth & Sky Web site in April 2007. “I don’t expect any such results in the near future either, because tornadoes are too small, short–lived, hard to measure and count, and too dependent on day to day, even minute to minute weather conditions.”

 

Related Links:   

BMI's Special Report "Fire & Ice: Journalists have warned of climate change for 100 years, but can't decide weather we face an ice or warming"

 

Climate of Bias: BMI's page devoted entirely to global warming and climate change in the media.

 

[Chris_]

we're getting record snow here in Wa. State, and Oregon and Idaho... its going to close our main highway in and out of the state again today for avalanche blasting (costing the economy a few tens of millions again) and while this hasnt happened in a few decades, its not causing any "global warming" discussions from the moonbats here..

they sure are selective when it comes to climate issues...

and did they see what the snow did to China? stranded hundreds of thousands of Chinese at the trains....

Yeah, here in the Willamette Valley we got a ton of snow, even down on the valley floor. It's sticking around in a lot of places, which is rather unusual. It'll be a mess when it all melts. My creek is already pretty high and we're back to liquid sunshine here in the rust belt. I blame global warming...oops, I mean the New and Improved...one-size-fits-all global climate change.

Cindie

[Lauri]

we're getting record snow here in Wa. State, and Oregon and Idaho... its going to close our main highway in and out of the state again today for avalanche blasting (costing the economy a few tens of millions again) and while this hasnt happened in a few decades, its not causing any "global warming" discussions from the moonbats here..

they sure are selective when it comes to climate issues...

and did they see what the snow did to China? stranded hundreds of thousands of Chinese at the trains....

Yeah, here in the Willamette Valley we got a ton of snow, even down on the valley floor. It's sticking around in a lot of places, which is rather unusual. It'll be a mess when it all melts. My creek is already pretty high and we're back to liquid sunshine here in the rust belt. I blame global warming...oops, I mean the New and Improved...one-size-fits-all global climate change.

Cindie

yeah, i expect when all this Cascade Mountain snow starts melting and flooding (per usual here every spring with a lot of snow pack) they will then start screaming.

the irony is, without that snow pack melting, we go into drought season.

you just cant win with these people.. 

[djones520]

Squatch  (1000+ posts)       Wed Feb-06-08 08:47 AM
Response to Reply #1
5. If I recall from when I lived in SW Oklahoma, peak tornado season
 is early March through early May. So, we're just a couple weeks early

Tornado season in "Tornado Alley" is late February to early June. However, Arkansas and Tennessee aren't encompassed in "Tornado Alley" and their season is generally early February to early April.

ETA: It's February, by the way, Maddy. January ended 6 days ago.

Not quite.  Their "heavy" tornado season lasts well into May as well.

When I was stationed at Shaw AFB, I was responsible for issuing all Weather Warnings for every US Army and Air Force installation in Tennessee, Kentucky, N. Alabama, and N. Georgia.  February through June was an extremely busy time frame.

[Chris_]

About the climate change thing...

Back in January I had to do some work on a small island. We got there via a small, open boat. The sun was shining brightly, but as long as the boat was moving it was very cold. Once the boat stopped things warmed up some. Then. after arriving at the island I began noticing that any time I was in a shaded area it was much cooler than when I was in an unshaded area.

It was like this area was some sort of vortex of climate change. Cooler in the shade. Warmer in the open. Cooler when moving over the water. Warmer when stopped in the sun. It was spooky.

At one point on the island, out the corner of my eye I saw something moving in the edge of the woods that I could have sworn was ManBearPig. I am serial.

[Texacon]

About the climate change thing...

Back in January I had to do some work on a small island. We got there via a small, open boat. The sun was shining brightly, but as long as the boat was moving it was very cold. Once the boat stopped things warmed up some. Then. after arriving at the island I began noticing that any time I was in a shaded area it was much cooler than when I was in an unshaded area.

It was like this area was some sort of vortex of climate change. Cooler in the shade. Warmer in the open. Cooler when moving over the water. Warmer when stopped in the sun. It was spooky.

At one point on the island, out the corner of my eye I saw something moving in the edge of the woods that I could have sworn was ManBearPig. I am serial.

How is this possible?  Were there any scientists with you to try to explain it?  Did you do any Google searches to see if this phenomenon was only at that island at that particular time of year?  This is just creeeepy.   

KC

[FlaGator]

Squatch  (1000+ posts)       Wed Feb-06-08 08:47 AM
Response to Reply #1
5. If I recall from when I lived in SW Oklahoma, peak tornado season
 is early March through early May. So, we're just a couple weeks early

Tornado season in "Tornado Alley" is late February to early June. However, Arkansas and Tennessee aren't encompassed in "Tornado Alley" and their season is generally early February to early April.

ETA: It's February, by the way, Maddy. January ended 6 days ago.

Proof that they exist in another reality.

[Odin's Hand]

Not quite.  Their "heavy" tornado season lasts well into May as well.

When I was stationed at Shaw AFB, I was responsible for issuing all Weather Warnings for every US Army and Air Force installation in Tennessee, Kentucky, N. Alabama, and N. Georgia.  February through June was an extremely busy time frame.

Yes, you are correct. Dixie Alley's peak season last into May as well (just confirmed on the NWS site).