Latest news with #TonyLaubach
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Radar astounds scientists, chasers as 'monster' tornado approaches city
It has been a stormy start to June across the central United States, and one of the strongest storms of the week spawned a large tornado on Thursday afternoon that stunned storm chasers on the ground and people watching events unfold online. AccuWeather Meteorologist and Storm Chaser Tony Laubach filmed a large wedge tornado grinding through farm fields near Morton, 50 miles northwest of Lubbock, Texas. Meanwhile, research scientists from University of Oklahoma had set up its high-resolution RAXPOL radar nearby. What the radar operators and storm chasers saw astounded them. A hurricane-like swirl with an eye appeared on the radar as the large tornado touched down. This is what a classic hook echo looks like in high resolution. "You are looking at the best image of tornado that radar can show you in 2025," said Texas Meteorologist Collin Myers on Facebook. "You can see the individual structure and circulation of the main tornado vortex and centrifugal bands emanating out from the common center. It looks like a mini-hurricane," he added. Indeed, tornadoes and hurricanes are low pressure centers at different scales, both with a calm eye and dangerous eyewall where winds ramp up suddenly to unimaginable speeds. "I knew this was a monster looking at it... there was no question," Laubach recalled. "I was just so glad this was out in the middle of nowhere, but at the same time, terrified for the city of Lubbock cause it was coming for them." RAXPOL stands for rapid X-band polarimetric radar. The unit is similar to the nation's network of NEXRAD radars that you're used to seeing on TV and the Internet, but this one is mobile, higher resolution, and can be quickly deployed near a severe storm for research purposes. The radar images are provided in real-time on the RAXPOL website. As it moved east, the storm rolled a semi truck near Whitharral, and one person was injured when a building was damaged by another tornado near Reese Center, Texas. Fortunately for Lubbock, the last tornado appeared to lift just before it arrived, though wind damage and flooding were reported over the western half of the city. The local National Weather Service office may survey the damage to determine the tornado's rating on the Fujita Scale.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
4 dead, over 600,000 without power as new tornadoes, storms erupt
Clusters of severe thunderstorms erupted across the central and eastern United States on Friday afternoon less than 24 hours after hailstorms, tornadoes and straight-line winds blasted the Midwest. At least four people have died and several more injured in the St. Louis area after a tornado-warned storm moved through the city on Friday afternoon. Multiple buildings were damaged, including Centennial Christian Church, according to The Associated Press. "Very terrifying," Gina Gooch told AccuWeather after she rode out a tornado that struck the small town of Blodgett, Missouri, about 120 miles southeast of St. Louis. "I went into this little pantry because I have no basement and all I could hear was trees crashing down one by one by one." The tornado hit the town just after tracking across Interstate 55 during the Friday evening commute. AccuWeather Storm Chaser and Meteorologist Tony Laubach was just a few hundred yards away as it lofted debris into the sky as it swirled across the highway. The tornado-warned storm passed near the meeting point of Missouri, Illinois and Kentucky before eventually tracking over Paducah, Kentucky, early Friday evening. A rare tornado emergency was issued near Creal Springs, Illinois, in the southern part of the state, as a violent thunderstorm moved through around 6:30 p.m. CDT. "Flying debris may be deadly to those caught without shelter. Mobile homes will be destroyed," the emergency alert stated. Farther east, a cluster of severe thunderstorms rumbled across the mid-Atlantic with a tornado warning being issued for downtown Baltimore shortly before 6 p.m. EDT, although it has yet to be confirmed if a tornado did strike the city. •Have the app? Unlock AccuWeather Alerts™ with Premium+ Over 600,000 electric customers were in the dark on Friday evening as power outages mounted. This included over 200,000 in Michigan who lost power during storms on Thursday night. Weather contributed to some of the more than 3,000 flight delays at airports directly impacted by thunderstorms on Friday, according to FlightAware. This had a ripple effect across the country, causing disruptions at some airports where the weather was clear. Continue to check back with AccuWeather for more information about the ongoing severe weather.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Tornadoes and softball-sized hail strike Iowa, Nebraska
A small but intense cluster of thunderstorms struck eastern Nebraska and western Iowa Thursday evening, with destructive winds up to 86 mph, grapefruit-sized hail and multiple tornadoes. Just northwest of Omaha in Irvington, Nebraska, drone video showed several homes missing their roofs, with debris scattered around them. The Irvington Fire Department said on Facebook that "patients were transported," but it's unclear how many people were injured. A tornado emergency, the most severe type of tornado warning, was issued for Essex, Iowa, at 8:51 p.m. CDT. The wind snapped power poles and trees just west of the town. AccuWeather Meteorologist and Storm Chaser Tony Laubach's car windshield was smashed in by baseball-sized hail just outside of Fremont, Nebraska, as he was reporting for the AccuWeather Network. Softball-sized hail shredded the siding off a nearby home, leaving behind a trail of splintered panels and exposed insulation and walls. In York, Nebraska, a bystander was caught in a dusty gustnado. A gustnado is a type of tornado that forms when the edge of the downdraft of a severe thunderstorm -- a gust front -- causes the air to spin, from the ground up. A gustnado does not connect to a cloud as it would with a larger, supercell tornado. A wind gust of 86 mph was clocked at Coburg, Iowa, while an 82-mph gust was recorded in Fremont, Nebraska. The National Weather Service will investigate the damage to determine where the tornadoes fall on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. Additional rounds of severe thunderstorms are predicted through the weekend, threatening areas from Texas to Ohio.
