Latest news with #GregForbes
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
On This Date: The Palm Sunday 1965 Tornado Outbreak, One Of America's Worst
One April tornado outbreak was among the nation's most impactful, but also arguably one of the most important for the future of severe weather forecasting. On April 11, 1965, 60 years ago today, 47 tornadoes tore across parts of the Midwest, from Indiana, Michigan and Ohio to northern Illinois, northeast Iowa and Wisconsin. That may not sound like a lot of tornadoes in the context of what we've seen lately in early April and mid-March 2025. That's because our current technology (radar, smartphones, drones, etc.) allows meteorologists to detect more weak tornadoes today than in decades past, a concept called "tornado inflation". But what set this event apart was the number of violent tornadoes - rated F/EF4 or F/EF5. Twenty-two such violent tornadoes were documented in the Palm Sunday outbreak. Former The Weather Channel severe weather expert Greg Forbes once calculated Palm Sunday 1965 had the highest percentage of violent tornadoes of any U.S. outbreak. And it's the most intense tornadoes that typically claim the most lives. The tornadoes killed 260 and injured another 3,442. Two areas were struck twice by violent tornadoes. Two F4 twisters 30 minutes apart raked over a similar track through Branch, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe Counties, Michigan, claiming 44 lives. Another pair of F4 tornadoes hammered Elkhart County, Indiana, leaving 67 dead in their wake. A photo of a double funnel in Dunlap, Indiana, shown below has become the one of most infamous and iconic tornado photos. While alerts were issued, Palm Sunday 1965 triggered improvements in the communication of threats from severe weather. Previous tornado "forecasts" would be called "watches", going forward. Outdoor sirens would become increasingly utilized to warn people outdoors. Storm spotter networks, including amateur radio enthusiasts, would grow and become more organized. NOAA weather radio's network would grow, and a separate NOAA weather wire would also allow warnings to be transmitted more efficiently. Palm Sunday 1965 was also the first outbreak studied via aerial survey by tornado science pioneer Theodore Fujita. In his study of the outbreak, Fujita discovered smaller, helical markings in the damage, indicative of more intense circulations embedded in tornadoes he called suction vortices. Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Yahoo
Scan, smile, board: Why your face might be your next boarding pass
There are some technological innovations I'm deeply skeptical of, things like Venmo or 23andme don't sit well with me. I don't want a third-party company getting access to my bank account or my DNA. I'll stick to Zelle and a hand-drawn family tree, thanks. That being said, other new tech? I'm all in on. When I fly, I rarely even have to take out my ID anymore now that I've opted in for touchless TSA Precheck and biometric boarding on international flights. In 2025, my face is my ID, and this experience is only likely to become more common in the future. 'Passengers don't want to spend too much time finding out where my wallet is, where my phone is and such,' Krishna Sampigethaya, chair of the Cyber Intelligence and Security Department at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University told me. He said biometric ID can actually be more secure from a flight safety standpoint than a traditional boarding pass, though he acknowledged there are some data privacy concerns with this new tech. Still, I have a driver's license and a passport, and I'm enrolled in Global Entry and TSA Precheck, so the government already has my face data. I may as well take advantage of the convenience. At a high level, with both biometric boarding and touchless ID at airports, a camera scans your face rather than a Transportation Security Administration officer or a gate agent verifying your personal data against your boarding pass. It leads to faster processing times at security, and faster boarding on international flights. Some airlines like Delta also use touchless ID at bag drop, which speeds things up there, too. But there are some limits to its applications for now. On the security checkpoint side, passengers need to be enrolled in Precheck and their airline's frequent flyer program, and only a few airlines participate in the touchless ID pilot right now: Alaska, Delta and United. Clear, a third-party company, also offers biometric security for an annual fee of $199. Both domestic and international travelers can use biometric ID at TSA Precheck checkpoints in select airports when they're flying with participating airlines, but for now, your face can generally only replace your boarding pass on international flights. 'Customers really quickly could grasp that biometrics, face matching, is a replacement for ID, but they're not yet willing to accept that it's a replacement for boarding pass,' Greg Forbes, Managing Director of Airport Experience at Delta, told me. He said customers generally seem fine with a face scan at a point where they'd have to present ID anyway, like at the TSA checkpoint or at the gate of an international flight instead of paper passport verification. But, he said, passengers are a little more hesitant about getting a scan when they wouldn't have to present ID. Still, in all the applications where biometrics are in use, passengers seem to like it. 'It's become expected. We definitely hear about it when there's some sort of technology issue when the cameras are down,' Forbes said. The TSA said customers have similarly had positive feedback of their touchless Precheck pilot. 'Everything that we have heard to date from the passengers who use it is they're glad and appreciative that this technology is being used the way it is,' Carter Langston, press secretary at the TSA, told me. Last week's Cruising Altitude: Airline seat selection fees offend me ... and they might get worse While it's inarguably convenient, biometric technology raises data privacy concerns for many travelers. There's no perfect system of course, but experts and officials said that the way airlines and airports use biometrics at the moment is relatively secure. 'All of this biometric traffic travels on a dedicated network within the airport that's hidden from the public. Typical cyber protections to harden the transaction,' Forbes said. He added that Delta Air Lines has other encryption steps that make it harder for bad actors to view personal data about passengers. According to the TSA, its systems generally delete facial recognition and personal traveler data immediately after identity verification. For touchless Precheck, data is stored for 24 hours after scheduled departure time. Sampigethaya said facial scans are so common these days that there's very little reason to single out airports as a particularly vulnerable site. 'Surveillance is pretty prevalent. The samples that are taken at the security checkpoints, for me it's not that much of a concern,' he said. Forbes said Delta uses biometric boarding instead of a boarding pass for more than 90% of international departures across its network. Many other airlines in the U.S. and abroad use biometric boarding for international flights as well. Langston said the TSA hopes to add more airlines and airports to its touchless Precheck pilot, though for now it will still require travelers to be enrolled in both the airline's frequent flyer program and Precheck to take advantage. Forbes said it's likely biometrics will continue having a bigger role in travel, especially as customers grow ever more comfortable with the technology. 'The use of biometrics on departure is pretty well-baked and functioning really well,' he said, and he expects biometric scans to play a bigger role in arrivals in the future. Global Entry members already use biometric scans instead of passports at many ports of entry in the U.S. Still, Sampigethaya said, it's good these changes aren't happening overnight. With scale comes more cybersecurity risk. 'It's a lot of computers that's gathering data,' he said, and more every time a new biometric system comes online. 'Are you really comfortable having an internet of things with all kinds of data and who is accessing those? In that context, you have to think twice before you agree to being scanned.' I get what he's saying, but my thinking remains: the government and airlines already have this data. Scan my face and let me get through the airport faster. Zach Wichter is a travel reporter and writes the Cruising Altitude column for USA TODAY. He is based in New York and you can reach him at zwichter@ This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Facial recognition is speeding up airport lines | Cruising Altitude
Miami Herald
01-04-2025
- Climate
- Miami Herald
Netflix Documentary Explores Joplin Tornado, Deadliest in Recent US History
Netflix's latest documentary The Twister: Caught in the Storm, turns a powerful lens on the 2011 tornado that devastated Joplin, Missouri-revisiting the deadliest tornado in modern American history. The EF-5 twister, which tore through the heart of the city on May 22, 2011, killed at least 158 people, injured more than 1,000, and displaced over 9,000 in a community that had little time to prepare for the destruction. The new film arrives as Joplin reflects on recovery efforts over the past 14 years, underscoring the resilience of a town that saw a third of its buildings destroyed. With extensive footage and firsthand accounts, the documentary explores not just the force of nature, but the human stories behind the headlines. The 2011 Joplin tornado reshaped how emergency managers across the country issue tornado warnings because it revealed critical gaps in both public communication and behavioral response. According to a National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) study cited by despite a 17-minute lead time from the National Weather Service's warning, many residents delayed taking shelter because the tornado was rain-wrapped and did not resemble the classic funnel shape. This visual ambiguity, combined with public confusion over warning messages, led to what experts later identified as "confirmation delay"-a dangerous tendency to wait for additional cues before taking action. "Warnings aren't enough when it comes to violent tornadoes," Greg Forbes, former severe weather expert at The Weather Channel, told "Homes are no match for a violent tornado." In response to these failures, emergency managers nationwide began reassessing how warnings are disseminated, placing more focus on behavioral science to ensure that alerts not only reach people but also spur immediate, life-saving action. Netflix's The Twister: Caught in the Storm uses both archival footage and new interviews to document the tornado's path and its impact. The storm carved a path nearly a mile wide and six miles long through Joplin. According to TheGuardian, it destroyed 4,000 homes and more than 500 businesses. The documentary revisits these numbers with visual evidence and survivor accounts, giving fresh gravity to statistics that once stunned the nation. In the aftermath, federal and state agencies coordinated the delivery of more than $2 billion in aid and recovery funds. The response became a benchmark for subsequent disaster planning across the Midwest. Joplin remains one of the largest cities in southwest Missouri, although its size is modest compared to other urban centers. It is located in the southwestern corner of Missouri and serves as a regional hub for commerce and healthcare. At the time of the tornado, Joplin's population was around 50,000. As of 2024, the U.S. Census Bureau reports that the town has grown by 6 percent or to 53,095 at last estimates. Despite the population rebound, scars from the storm remain visible both physically and emotionally across the city. What Time Did the 2011 Joplin Tornado Hit? The tornado touched down around 5:30 p.m. local time on Sunday, May 22, 2011. It formed just outside of Joplin and quickly intensified as it entered the city limits. According to reports cited by USA Today, the tornado reached its peak intensity within minutes and continued for about 48 minutes before dissipating. According to the NOAA, the tornado directly killed 158 people, but USA Today reports that it also caused "indirect deaths" that bring the total number of fatalities to around 162. It was the deadliest single tornado in U.S. history since modern record-keeping began, according to the National Weather Service. The death toll was exacerbated by the tornado's path through densely populated neighborhoods and a busy commercial corridor. According to the Associated Press (AP), emergency workers and local volunteers pulled victims from the wreckage for days, with some of the dead found far from where they had last been seen. Just before the tornado touched down, 445 graduates of Joplin High School had just completed their graduation ceremony and had to scurry to find cover. The celebratory day was cut short as many students were impacted by the tornado. Will Norton, 18, had just left his high school graduation when it struck. As he rode in his family's SUV, he was pulled out through the sunroof despite his father's attempts to hold on. His body was found five days later in a pond nearby, reported the AP. More than 1,000 people were injured, and entire families were affected. The 2011 tornado was also one of just a few rated E-5 ever recorded, with winds estimated at over 200 miles per hour, reported the AP. The event reshaped how emergency managers across the country issue tornado warnings, as the Joplin tornado highlighted failures in public communication systems and the public's response to warnings. Then-principal of Joplin High School Kerry Sachetta told AP on the evening of May 22, 2011: "You see pictures of World War II, the devastation and all that with the bombing-that's really what it looked like." Director of 'The Twister: Caught in the Storm' Alexandra Lacey posted to Instagram: "Thank you again to the community of Joplin and the young contributors who have shared their stories with such authenticity and bravery." As the anniversary of the tornado approaches, the film is expected to serve both as historical documentation and a call to continued vigilance in communities vulnerable to extreme weather. Related Articles Peering Into the Deadliest, Most Destructive Tornadoes with SupercomputersPictures of Hurricane Ian Aftermath Show Damage and Flooding in FloridaWhat Caused Deadly L.A. Wildfires? Faulty Electrical Equipment In Spotlight 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Why April, May And June Are The Most Active Months For Tornadoes, Especially For Intense to Violent Twisters
Tornadoes can strike certain parts of the U.S. at any time of year, but April, May and June are overwhelmingly the most active when it comes to thunderstorms spawning these destructive forces of nature. Here's a look at several of the trends that show why these springtime and early summer months are such a dangerous time of year for tornadoes. Spring's tornado threat area grows in size… and shifts: The areas with the biggest threat of tornadic thunderstorms slowly change as we press through the springtime months. Similar to March, much of the Deep South has a heightened threat of tornadoes in April. The greater potential for tornadoes then moves toward the Plains and Midwest from May to June. You can see this general month-by-month progression in the maps below. (MORE: Tornado Risk By Month) The peak in spring's tornado activity is illustrated by recent weather history: The U.S. averaged 1,246 tornadoes annually from 2004 to 2023. About 52% of those tornadoes occurred in April, May and June. The most tornadoes typically happen in May, with an average of 260. This is followed by April and June, which average 202 and 186 tornadoes per year, respectively. Of course, these are averages. How tornadic these months are in a given year can vary, often dependent on when major tornado outbreaks occur. Some recent Aprils demonstrate this, with 356 tornadoes striking the U.S. in April of 2024 but only 78 in 2021. Tornado intensity is also a factor in making this a dangerous time of year: About 58% of all twisters rated F3/EF3 or stronger (1950-2012) struck in those three months, according to statistics compiled by Dr. Greg Forbes, former severe weather expert at The Weather Channel. This rises to 69% when examining tornadoes F4/EF4 or stronger. The most violent F5/EF5 rating has been assigned to 59 tornadoes dating back to 1950, and all but 10 of those occurred in April, May or June. (MORE: Where Have All The EF5 Tornadoes Gone? The Surprising Reason Behind The 11-Year Drought) All tornadoes pose a threat, but intense twisters account for a higher number of fatalities and damage. About 83% of the deaths from 2019 through 2023 were from tornadoes rated EF3 or stronger, according to data from NOAA's Storm Prediction Center. The ingredients that come together to spawn tornadoes align most often in spring: Outbreaks of tornadoes occur when a storm system propelled by a strong, southward dip in the jet stream punches into the Plains, Midwest or South. The jet stream provides deep wind shear, or changing wind speed and direction with height, that can help form tornadic thunderstorms when there's enough moisture drawn northward from the Gulf. As spring progresses, the jet stream begins to make its annual northward retreat toward the Canadian border. That's why the potential for tornadoes in the South is much lower in June compared to April. Although moisture is abundant across the South in late spring, the strong jet stream needed to help make conditions favorable for tornadic thunderstorms is usually absent. Farther north, it's the opposite effect: the tornado threat is greater in June than in April. The overlap between the jet stream and increasing moisture in the atmosphere happens more often there later in spring. Now is a good time to review your plan for severe weather this spring and any other times of the year tornadoes might threaten your area. Chris Dolce has been a senior meteorologist with for over 10 years after beginning his career with The Weather Channel in the early 2000s.
