CONTINUING STORMS MENACE THE SOUTHEAST, THREATENING FLOOD WATCHES

November 27, 2001 — A second round of severe thunderstorms threatened parts of Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee Monday night, including at least one tornado in Tennessee that caused one death and at least 12 injuries, according to NOAA's National Weather Service. (In Johnson County, Ark., an F2 tornado—winds between 113 and 157 mph—destroyed the trailer to right about 1.5 miles northwest of Hunt. Click NOAA image to see more damage photos from the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Little Rock, Ark.)

The danger is far from over, as the National Weather Service forecasts a third line of severe thunderstorms along the Gulf Coast states of Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, carrying significant potential for floods and flash floods in southeast Texas, across Louisiana and into Mississippi, Arkansas and Tennessee.

Increasing the potential hazard is a winter storm moving out of the southwest across Texas, which is adding to the potential flood problems in southeast Texas and Louisiana. This system also threatens to bring significant winter precipitation, ranging from ice accumulations which could cause power outages and travel problems to possibly significant snow accumulations.

These systems followed closely behind the deadly Thanksgiving weekend when a cold front pushed a line of severe thunderstorms southeast from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, killing 12 people. Killer tornadoes raked much of the south central United States Friday night through Saturday. Two F2 (113 - 157 mph) tornadoes caused damage to dozens of homes and farm buildings near Exeter, Mo. and Calloway County, Ky. Minor injuries were reported in both locations.

The storm system turned deadly as it ripped through Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama. Damaging winds (up to 70 mph), large hail and at least 20 reported tornadoes (ranging from F2 to F4 on the Fujita Tornado Damage Scale) killed a dozen people and left more than 100 injured. Five of the deaths occurred in Mississippi; four people died in Alabama and three in Arkansas.

On November 21st, forecasters with NOAA's Storm Prediction Center noted in their forecasts a potential for severe thunderstorms over the lower Mississippi Valley. This was followed by more detailed forecast information issued by local National Weather Service Forecast Offices.

"Any time we have strong wind shear—a change of winds with height—associated with spring-like temperatures, we can have tornadoes," said Joseph Schaefer, SPC director. "The southeastern part of the United States typically experiences a ‘second season' for tornadoes from mid-October to the end of November, when cold weather systems moving southward interact with warm moist air over the region."

The SPC issued tornado watches for areas where all of the deadly tornadoes occurred as much as four hours in advance.

"Once again, this tragic situation demonstrates the importance of being prepared for hazardous weather and heeding the warnings when it happens, " said James Belles, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Memphis. "All of our offices provided good warning lead times—some in excess of 30 minutes. And still people died. I just can't emphasize enough the importance of knowing what to do when the weather threatens—and then doing something about it."

"The deadliest tornadoes happen during the early morning hours while most people are sleeping," pointed out Belles. "The best tool to protect you and your family in this situation is the NOAA Weather Radio, which advises people of severe weather watches and warnings. Some weather radios are capable of receiving the Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) emergency broadcast signals from the National Weather Service, which can warn you of impending danger during the night."

Property damage was also extensive. Dozens of homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed across central and northeast Alabama. In Mississippi—10 businesses, 40 homes and nearly two dozen mobile homes were destroyed and an estimated 230 homes and businesses sustained major damage. At least 10 homes and 21 mobile homes were destroyed, and more than 100 homes were damaged in Arkansas.

Relevant Web Sites
NOAA's Storm Watch — Get the latest severe weather information across the USA

NOAA's Weather Page

FIRST HALF OF OCTOBER SETS TORNADO RECORD

NOAA's Storm Prediction Center Tornado Statistics

Frequently Asked Questions about Tornadoes from NOAA's Storm Prediction Center

NOAA Weather Radio

NOAA's Tornadoes Page

NOAA's Severe Weather Photos

Media Contact:
Susan Weaver, NOAA's National Weather Service, (301) 713-0622

 

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