Latest news with #SuperOutbreak
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
London mother, toddler survive being blown away by tornado: ‘I hear him crying'
LONDON, Ky. (FOX 56) — Tara Hollifield and her almost two-year-old son Parker were blown away in the tornado Friday evening into Saturday morning. 'I could hear the wind picking up, and I knew that that was bad,' said Hollifield. She said the power went out before the tornado hit, so she got up to get her son. How does southeast Kentucky's fatal 'mile-wide' tornado compare to 1974 Super Outbreak? 'I didn't make it there,' Hollifield said. 'I was probably about [at] my front door when it hit, and it flew me in the air for a few seconds. When I got down, I immediately went to look for him.' Terrifying was the only way she could describe that night, but miraculously, she found Parker. 'I heard him crying, and that's how I was able to find him, thankfully.' Once she found Parker, she went down the road to find her dad, and then they went straight to the hospital. 'He has some scratches on his head and stuff, but no concussion, no broken bones, nothing like that,' added Hollifield. 'And the same for me. I did have to get stitches in my head, but other than a few scratches and bruises, we're both okay.' Although they're both okay, the events of that night are something that replays in Hollifield's mind every day. 'It's hard to sleep at night because I feel like I revisit it every single night. But I'm holding up the best I can. I have tons of family who are supporting me and taking care of me.' Wedding dress lost in London tornado finds its way back to owner Airbnb offers free housing to Kentucky tornado survivors UK student-athletes to lead donation drive for southern Kentucky tornado relief As for their future, Hollifield said she and her family are working on getting back on their feet, however long it takes to get there. 'Hold your kids tighter because you never know when something like this could happen, and I'm thankful,' said Hollifield. 'Everybody around me, they all passed away. And I'm just thankful that me and him are both still standing here.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
How does southeast Kentucky's fatal ‘mile-wide' tornado compare to 1974 Super Outbreak?
KENTUCKY (FOX 56) — Southeast Kentucky experienced one of the strongest and deadliest tornadoes in over 50 years on Friday, May 16. Friday's storms took the lives of 19 across Pulaski, Laurel, and Russell Counties. The last time Pulaski County suffered a tornado fatality was on April 3, 1974. This storm was part of what would become known as the 1974 Super Outbreak. Who are the 19 southeastern Kentucky tornado victims? The 'Super Outbreak' targeted a 13-state stretch of the U.S., reaching from Alabama to Michigan. According to the National Weather Service (NWS), the storm holds numerous tornado-related records to date, including the most EF5 tornadoes in a single outbreak and the second most tornadoes produced in a single day. It's remembered as one of the worst tornado outbreaks in U.S. history. The NWS reported that 335 were killed across the nation and over 6,000 were injured. The storm reportedly produced 148 tornadoes, 30 of which were EF4 and EF5. CEOs, community join in act of generosity for Laurel, Pulaski County tornado victims Justice Department moves to cancel Louisville police reform settlement How does southeast Kentucky's fatal 'mile-wide' tornado compare to 1974 Super Outbreak? 'I remember this day well. The worst tornado in Madison County went through the area of Cottonburg and headed on towards Richmond. Near Cottonburg, we heard reports of people hurt and help was needed to open the roads, so we headed there from our home near Kirksville,' David Hagan wrote. 'When we finally got there, one family had spotted the tornado and left their house to get in their car to escape the storm. They never made it. They had managed to reach the car and get the doors open, but the tornado got them before they could get inside. The dome light was still on. That memory has stuck with me all these years.' The most destructive was an EF5 that hit Brandenburg, killing 31 and injuring 257. 'The racket was terrifying, and everything in the house, as well as the house itself, was shaking violently. At one point, I swear, the roof lifted up, and you could see outside between the top of the wall and the ceiling,' Juia Ross, who was a young girl at the time in Brandenburg, recalled. 'I turned around, sat down, and put Fifi [the family dog] on my lap. I rocked her back and forth and said, 'We're gonna die, Fifi, we're gonna die.' I wonder sometimes if I missed my moment. In that moment, I was ready to go wherever we go from here. I'm not sure I'll ever be that ready again. The house settled back down, the noise left, and it began to rain. I remember looking up at the ceiling and wondering how what I saw could be true, and if it was true, how it could have gone back together the way it had.' The fatal Pulaski County tornado was determined to be an EF3, according to the NWS. 'Neighbors and family members came to our basement to seek shelter, and we lay on a mattress most of the night listening to the radio and wondering what would be next. The rain and hail pelted our house, and thunder and lightning so intense it sounded as if it was right on top of us,' Daniel Wilson, who reportedly lived near the Pulaski County line, said. What hit Pulaski County in 2025 is comparable to the 1974 Super Outbreak, peaking at EF3 with wind speeds of 140 miles per hour near Eli. But this was just the beginning of what would become an over 55-mile track as the storm grew stronger. Read more of the latest Kentucky news Once the tornado reached Laurel County, it had grown to an EF4 with maximum wind speeds of 170 miles per hour. According to the NWS, it's also believed the tornado was nearly a mile wide at its widest. Laurel County experienced the most fatalities from Friday's storms, taking the lives of 17. For the southeastern Kentucky area, the 2025 tornado is now considered the strongest and deadliest storm in the area's history, surpassing what the region experienced in 1974. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
US Tornado Pace Most In 14 Years, Including A Potential Record March
America's tornadoes so far this year are on a pace not seen in 14 years, and may have set a new all-time record for one spring month with the typically most active month of the year still ahead. Through April 22, there have been 603 reports of tornadoes so far in 2025, according to NOAA's Storm Prediction Center. These aren't necessarily the number of actual tornadoes, which is usually solidified after a review of data months later, but rather combinations of reports and those confirmed by the National Weather Service. That pace is higher than all but one other year - 2011 - in the past 15 years, according to the SPC. April 2011 smashed the record tornado count for any month (758), due to the late-month Super Outbreak and another multi-day mid-month outbreak in the South. After a somewhat lower than average first two months, tornado counts ramped up quickly in March. The SPC has a preliminary estimate of 300 reports of tornadoes in March. In a detailed analysis, we estimate at least 223 tornadoes were confirmed by the National Weather Service in March. That's at least double the March average of 104 tornadoes over a 20-year period from 2004-2023. Once the tally is confirmed a few months from now, we'll know if 2025 will have smashed the March record of 234 tornadoes in 2022. Three outbreaks contributed to this, particularly a mid-month rash of 113 tornadoes primarily in the South and Mississippi Valley, including three rated EF4. While there have been some lulls in severe weather, April's tornado count is already above the average through the first three weeks. We estimate at least 218 tornadoes have been confirmed by the National Weather Service so far in April. That's already above the 20-year average of 202 tornadoes. Two outbreaks contributed almost all of these twisters. From April 2-7, 150 tornadoes tore through parts of the South and Midwest. Then in the days before and during the Easter holiday weekend, another 60 tornadoes were spawned across the Plains and Midwest. Last April had the second most twisters (356) of any April since 1950, behind the record from 2011, according to the SPC. Indiana has already tallied 45 confirmed tornadoes this year. That's more than double the average of any full year, according to the National Weather Service in Indianapolis. It's also the fastest the Hoosier State has tallied at least 40 tornadoes in any year since 1950, according to WTHR-TV meteorologist Sean Ash. Incredibly, Gibson County in southwest Indiana, was hit by tornadoes on three separate days within less than a month's time on March 15, April 2 and April 10. Mississippi has already tallied 67 tornadoes in 2025 through April 6, less than 20 tornadoes shy of what happened last year in the Magnolia State. And in a more weird realm, South Dakota had its first winter tornado in at least 75 years on February 24. Spring is typically the most active time of year for tornadoes in the U.S. This spring, however, we've seen a persistent pattern in which a U-shaped southward plunge of the jet stream has punched out of the West into the Plains, South and Midwest. In this pattern, warm and humid air to fuel thunderstorms streams north from the Gulf. These different wind directions and speeds with height known as wind shear help support severe thunderstorms that can spawn tornadoes. One other factor in play is the better detection and documentation of weaker (EF0 or EF1) tornadoes in recent decades compared to, say, the mid 20th century known as tornado inflation. Technology such as dual-polarization Doppler radar, social media and drones for aerial video of areas inaccessible to storm survey crews means weaker tornado counts are higher than, say, the 1970s. (MORE: 2024 Had Second Most US Tornadoes On Record) You may have noticed the red bar graph shown earlier indicates May is typically the month with the most tornadoes. Last May had 530 tornadoes across the U.S., more than double the average and just shy of the May record from 2003 (542 tornadoes). It's too soon to tell if that will repeat itself this year. But if the weather pattern we described above sets up again in May, more outbreaks of severe weather including tornadoes in the Plains and Midwest could occur in May 2025. 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
16-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
On This Date: An Overshadowed Tornado Outbreak In 2011
Some weather events, despite their deadly and destructive impacts, can be overshadowed in the nation's memory by larger events that happen around the same time. April 16, 2011, 14 years ago today, was the third consecutive day in a tornado outbreak that raked across the South. On that day, alone, 58 tornadoes tore through parts of the Carolinas, Virginia and the mid-Atlantic. Thirty of those tornadoes tore through North Carolina, the most on record for any day in the Tar Heel State. Six of those were rated EF3, including a 67-mile long twister that tore through the heart of Raleigh, claiming six lives and injuring 103. Another EF3 tornado on the ground for over an hour killed 2 and injured 176 in eastern North Carolina, including part of the city of Fayetteville. The deadliest single tornado claimed a dozen lives in Bertie County, North Carolina, that afternoon. Yet another EF3 twister killed two in Gloucester County, Virginia. In all, 26 people died from six of the tornadoes on April 16. The three-day April 14-16 outbreak spawned 178 tornadoes, with 38 killed and at least 588 injured. Total damage from the multi-day outbreak was estimated by NOAA at $2.9 billion. So, what could have possibly overshadowed such a deadly, damaging, widespread outbreak? Less than two weeks later, the late April 2011 Super Outbreak spawned 199 tornadoes in one day on April 27 and 349 twisters in 72 hours from April 25-28. This rash of tornadoes killed 321, injured another 2,775 and caused an estimated $14.5 billion damage, the nation's costliest severe thunderstorm event since 1980. This all lead to the most tornadoes of any single month on record. April 2011's 758 tornadoes were over 200 more than any other previous month (May 2003: 542). 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
09-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Early April Tornado Outbreak Spawned EF3s in Five States: 110 Twisters Confirmed In South, Midwest
An outbreak of severe thunderstorms spawned over 100 tornadoes in 14 states over several days from the South into the Midwest in early April. The National Weather Service confirmed 110 tornadoes occurred in a six-day period from April 2-7. Over 60% of those (69) did so from Wednesday into early Thursday morning, April 2-3. Indiana led the way with 18 tornadoes, followed by Illinois with 16, Mississippi with 13 and Tennessee with 11. Damage surveys will continue for the next several days so that tornado the tally will go higher. In addition to the tornadoes, there were over 830 reports of large hail, severe thunderstorm wind gusts and damage over those six days. . Over a 24-hour period ending at 8 a.m. EDT April 3, the National Weather Service issued 728 severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings combined, third most of any 24-hour period since 1986, according to the Iowa Environmental Mesonet. Of those, 32 were categorized as "strong" tornadoes, those that produced at least EF2 damage on the Enhanced Fujita scale from which tornadoes are rated and peak winds are estimated. April 2-3 In southeast Missouri, an EF3 tornado damaged or destroyed homes near the town of Latty, about 55 miles southwest of St. Louis during the April 2 outbreak. That evening, another EF3 tornado demolished homes in Lake City and Monette, Arkansas, about 50 miles north-northwest of Memphis. And just after midnight, an EF3 tornado embedded in a line of severe thunderstorms carved a 10-mile-long path through the eastern side of the Louisville, Kentucky, metro area. Since 1950, the only other tornado to receive that high a rating in Jefferson County was an F4 during the April 3, 1974, Super Outbreak. Two other EF3 tornadoes struck after midnight in Selmer, Tennessee, and from Slayden, Mississippi, to Grand Junction, Tennessee. The latter tornado killed one when a mobile home was destroyed. It went on to damage numerous homes in Grand Junction, including City Hall. One of the longest tracks of this outbreak was a 49-mile-long tornado rated EF2 from extreme southeast Illinois to just north of Terre Haute, Indiana. April 3-7 Over the following five days, multiple rounds of severe thunderstorms and flooding rain hammered parts of the South and Midwest. Eight of the tornadoes during that stretch were rated EF2. Five of those were in Mississippi on April 6, including one near the town of Stringer which "launched" and "destroyed" a mobile home onto two nearby vehicles, killing one person inside the mobile home. Other EF2 tornadoes in this stretch included a pair of Texas twisters on April 4 in Morris and Red River Counties, and an April 5 tornado in Cross County, Arkansas. Staff at the National Weather Service in Paducah, Kentucky, was forced to take cover on the evening of April 2 as a tornado later rated EF2 just missed the office. An EF1 tornado sliced through Cape Girardeau, Missouri, on April 2. Fortunately, damage to trees, homes and businesses was considered minor by the National Weather Service on its track through the city's downtown, then across the Mississippi River. In the northwest Indianapolis suburb of Brownsburg, a tornado tracked through parts of the city's downtown, with mainly scattered, minor damage. But it injured one person when a warehouse wall caved in. Finally, an EF1 tornado in Branch County, Michigan, was a bit tougher for National Weather Service staff to survey. That's because less than 48 hours after the tornado, affected residents of an Amish community had already repaired the damage, as senior meteorologist Chris Dolce explained. 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.
