Middle Tennessee Tornadoes

[smeagolsfree]

I figured this would be a hot topic today. I was watching Channel 5 and they did have the sky cam from Vandy live onthe TV. The crane there at the hospitol was spinning around like Linda Blair. Pretty scary and i am glad I was not DT. I knw they were not letting anyone out of the Sommet Center after the Hokey game. All the sirens were still going off.

Anybody DT last night?????

They are still trying to determine how many people have been killed, Here are some of the news headlines. Hope everyone here is OK.

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar...6/NEWS/80206008

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar...6/NEWS/80206017

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar...6/NEWS/80206022

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar...6/NEWS/80206012

http://www.newschannel5.com/global/story.asp?s=7829312

[timmay143]

Nashville got real lucky with this storm. It looks like the tornado skipped over DT and Davidson County while hitting other surrounding counties. Imagine the destruction that would have occurred. Thoughts and prayers to all the victims.

[smeagolsfree]

The bad one was a long track storm and it lifted right before Nashville and went back on the ground right after the wall cloud went over the most dense part of the city. Talk about dodging a bullet. It would have been ugly if it had hit the Sommet center and 15,000 people.

[it's just dave]

I remember back when the Titans were considering names for the team. One up for consideration was the Tennessee Tornados. I'm really glad they didn't choose that one. With each story I read in the paper this morning, I realize just how lucky us in Davidson County are to have been skipped over this time. I was in a basement as the storm appeared to be headed right at us and I remember how it felt to have realized it passed overhead. Very, very thankful.

I still can't get over the story about the baby found in the field in Sumner.

[smeagolsfree]

I watched all of this from 6pm my time until 4 am my time. I was a nervous wreck, and am still depressed over all of this. I watched WKRN and WTVF as this happened, Channel 2's radar on mute, and WTVF as it went over the city. They upgraded their SkyCams with microphones too, and Sky5's camera. Watching the Vandy SkyCam, I clearly noticed the rotation, and watched the crane turn all the directions, and that is noteworthy of ground level rotation, w/o a tornado, it happens alot. Now, supercells cycle, generating tornado families, this one cell alone produced 3 in Lafayette Co., MS, Wayne, Lewis, Williamson, Sumner/trousdale/Macon, so thats about 6-8 tornadoes, not bad for the storm. This cell had everything going for it, absolutely no obstructions on inflow(wind and moisture feed) into the storm and it was all alone, so no obstructions for outflow(cooler air being breathed out). It, by the grace of God, was in a regeneration phase over the City of Nashville, unfortunately, that meant bad news for Sumner County. The cell actually was rapidly intensifying directly overhead of the Nat'l Weather Service Nashville Office ironically. We came within 10 miles of having another 1998 downtown event, this time, definetly more fatalities would have happened. This one cell, traveled from Senatobia, MS, to past Tompinksville, KY, that is over 300 miles in about 5 hours or so, a very fast moving cell. It actually caught onto some ground level sterring winds, which saved Franklin, Nolensville, and Murfreesboro. All tracks before it hit Hohenwald pointed a bullseye on The Boro. The reasons for so many fatalities has many causes.

1: Memphis fatalities all occured during rush hour prime, and roads were gridlocked with cars, also, several succesive warnings were in effect as well.

2: Time of day was huge, night time, as is typical of most Southern outbreaks.

3: Speed of storm movement, the average was 58mph, incredibly fast, msot fell between 55 and 65mph, so people had ample warning, just the storms moved so fast, it gave people a false sense of real time to take cover.

4: Time of year, yes we've had winter outbreaks before, mainly January 17, 1999, yet still, most didn't think much of it.

5: Super Tuesday, many had their heads in politics, not realizing the threat until a warning was issued.

Sad part is, its only February ya'll, true severe wx season is still a month away.

[Lexy]

I am suppose to go home to Central City, KY this weekend to survey the damage for myself from the quarter mile wide F3 tornado that went through there killing three and injuring hundreds. Luckily my family was spared any injuries but it was close. The tornado's path was one mile to the south of my parents home.