Make a Radical Change, OR Look For a New Place to Live [sic]
Central US and the Midwest Could Be Running Out of Luck [and northern plains, too!]
NWS Warnings and Forecast – A Snapshot taken on June 21, 2009 at 13:58 UTC
Hazardous Weather Outlook, gale and Hazardous Seas Warning currently threaten about 90 percent of the US by area. FEWW
Waves of thunderstorms caused up to 130, 000 outages. Affected areas include Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, and Michigan .
The storms produced torrential rain. The National Weather Service said parts of northern Illinois may have gotten up to 4 inches of rain Friday and Racine, Wis., had a 24-hour total of nearly 7 inches. —AP
High winds across central and eastern Kansas may have contributed to one fatality near McPherson, with another two people injured in Great Bend.
Storm Force Cuts Power
About 67,000 Commonwealth Edison customers remain without power early Saturday after two severe thunderstorms ripped through the Chicago area.—Chicago Sun Times.
Lightning strikes behind a windmill on a farm near Baldwin City, Kan., Monday, June 15, 2009. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner). Image may be subject to copyright.
Record rainfall and Flight Delays at O’Hare International Airport
Flight delays at O’Hare on Friday were 90 minutes or more. More than 100 flights were canceled. At Midway, 45-minute delays and minor cancellations were reported. O’Hare had received 3.54 inches by 1 p.m. The National Weather Service said the previous record for June 19 was 1.79 inches in 1961.—AP
Meanwhile, thunderstorms rumbled across Indiana, producing hail and 67-mph winds and tornado warnings. Tornadoes tore through Wisconsin. Storms caused some structural damage in Michigan and Ohio.
How Many Trees are There in Chicago?
The department [of Streets & Sanitation in Chicago] received reports of 350 damaged trees, 61 traffic light outages, 25 damaged light poles, and 53 city light pole wires down, as of 8 p.m. —Chicago Sun Times.
Two storms system hit the central part of the U.S., spreading across several states, bringing heavy rains, high winds and a half dozen tornadoes.
renewing flooding concerns in already soggy areas and leaving thousands of people without power.
Was it a tornado that did all this?
In Minnesota, an apparent tornado struck the town of Austin, uprooting trees, knocking down power lines and at least one person was reported with minor injuries. The National Weather Service said the storm sent debris flying, flipped cars on their sides and sent trees through roofs.
Heavy rain brought flooding concerns to areas of central North Dakota hit by flooding earlier this spring. South Dakota saw heavy rain, strong wind and hail, with two reports of funnel clouds in Stanley County.
A separate storm system that cut a wide swath across Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri knocked out power, damaged buildings and led to flash flooding. In the small Missouri town of Norborne, about an hour’s drive northeast of Kansas City, straight-line winds from a thunderstorm reached more than 74 mph…
In southwest Kansas winds reached up to 90 mph. About 22,000 residents were without power.—AP
Run those numbers by me, AGAIN!
A total of about 30 tornadoes and 370 storms hit across the nation on Wednesday alone, leaving behind extreme destruction and devastation. A twister was said to have caused “millions of dollars in damage” in Austin, Minnesota.
In Pittsburgh, flash floods drowned city streets and torrential rains overwhelmed storm drains, stranding even the rescue crews.—AP
How do twister numbers compare?
- About 840 tornadoes to date this year, compared with 1,305 in 2008 (through end of June).
- April tally: 270 tornadoes compared with [the three-year average of 200.]
- May total: 228 compared 461 tornadoes the same month last year.
FEWW said earlier this year could be one of the wettest on record.
A tornado reported west of Kenosha tore up some trees as severe storms moved through and produced downpours and street flooding Friday.
The storms Friday night hit less than 24 hours after severe weather and heavy rains caused flash flooding, so the new storms produced more flood problems, especially in Kenosha, Waukesha and Walworth counties.
… heavy rains saturated the county with up to 6 inches falling in about an hour in some places. The city of Racine had heavy rain that raised its 24-hour rainfall total to just under 7 inches. … flooding along the Fox River had some vehicles floating in downtown Waukesha. —Channel 3000
Related Links
- FEWW FORECAST: 2009 Likely Wettest Year on Record
- What if each time a storm struck your area it turned out to be a major hurricane?
- 2009 Hurricane Season: Storms in Teacup, or Nasty Surprises?
- Drought and Deluge
Fire Earth 