Within the last 60 years, some of the most destructive Tornadoes ever have ripped through America’s soil, destructing land, homes, cars, and even killing people. These violent, deadly, windstorms, known to take over the mid-west, are no joke.
Number ten on the list occurred during the months of April and May 2011. The tornado, which dominated Oklahoma City, Tennessee Valley, and the Northeast, claimed 7 lives while injuring 112 others. The tornado of April 1982 is ninth on the list, which spanned from North Texas to Illinois, and killing 10 and injuring 170 others. “Super Tuesday Outbreak” of 2008, number eight on the list, was the deadliest outbreak in Kentucky and Tennessee since the “Super Outbreak” of April 1974, killing a total of 38 people. Number six holds a tie between the tornados of Joplin, Minneapolis of 2011 and Union City, Oklahoma of 1973. The Joplin, Mo tornado was the deadliest since 1947, claiming 161 lives, and the tornado that mauled through Union City on May 24th of 1973, was the first tornado ever to be documented during the entire life cycle of the storm. Costing a total of 1.6 billion dollars in damage, responsible for 36 fatalities, and measuring up to an astonishing 301mph in winds, the tornado of Oklahoma City Metro on May 3rd, 1999, is number five on the Top Ten Most Destructive Tornado’s in the US.
Spanning over 1227 miles, injuring 638, and totaling up to 105 tornadoes within 13 states, number four on the list is the Houston to Carolinas Outbreak in November of 1992. These 105 tornadoes violently seized 13 states within just two days. Lucky number three on the list is the Palm Sunday Outbreak of 1965. This outbreak had the highest percentage of violent tornadoes, as an unimaginable 22 F4 and F5 tornadoes were recorded. Costing over 10.2 billion dollars in damage, spanning 2933 miles, greater than any outbreak, killing over 300 people and injuring almost 3000, the “Superoutbreak”, taking place on April 26-28th of 2011, makes number two on the list. Last but not least, the “Superoutbreak” of 1974, is number one on the Top Ten Most Destructive Tornadoes in the US. This outbreak included 30 violent tornadoes, six which were rated F5, killing 300 people, injuring over 5000, and spanning over 2521 miles between Ohia, Indiana, Kentucky, and Alabama. 48 of the 148 tornados were named “killers” which beats the 29 “killer” tornados of the “Superoutbreak” of 2011.
Interested in more top ten lists, breaking news, and weather? Check out the toolbar on WeatherBlink to stay updated, whether it’s hour by hour, or a week in advance, on the weather, and other interesting weather facts and stories!
Rain may again cause headaches for players and fans in St. Louis tonight. Last night’s National League Championship Series game was delayed for 3.5 hours yesterday as the teams waited out a serious downpour at Busch Stadium. Though tonight’s forecast is much milder, readers can expect to see light rain but winds out of the west to southwest that could average 15 to 30 mph with the chance of higher gusts. Temperatures are also expected to dip into the low 50s during the game.
Tonight marks the Game 4 matchup at Busch Stadium in St. Louis between the Cardinals, reigning World Series Champions, and the San Francisco Giants. Last night, the Cardinals beat the Giants 3-1. The series currently stands at 2-1 with the Cards out ahead.
Wind could also impact the afternoon game between the New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers. Last night’s game was postponed but the tigers lead the series 3-0 as the teams head into the bottom of the third inning in Game 4 with the Tigers up one run to zero.
Whether you’re in the stands or watching the game from home, be sure to check the weather forecast with the WeatherBlink toolbar. And if you’re heading to either game, don’t forget the ponchos and sweatshirts!
Felix Baumgartner, a 43-year-old thrill-seeker who has made over 2,500 parachute jumps with the Austrian military, planned to make history today as he attempts to break the sound barrier with nothing but his body. Due to gusty wind conditions, the jump was called off at 1:43 p.m. EDT.
Baumgartner planned to jump from 120,000 feet above sea level, falling through the stratosphere and troposphere on his descent to Roswell, New Mexico. The 23-mile ascent would have taken about three hours. Baumgartner would be in a pressurized capsule attached to a 55-story, ultra-thin and easy-to-tear helium balloon. If all goes well, he would open his parachute at about 1,500 meters above ground and will land softly in the desert roughly 10 minutes after he leaves the capsule.
This morning’s early launch was delayed by high winds. At sunrise, the winds at 700 feet above ground were 20 mph, much stronger than the 3 mph maximum for a safe launch, as recommended by Don Day, the mission’s meteorologist. After sunrise the winds dropped out and crews in New Mexico began laying out the balloon, but as it began inflating mission controllers noted that the wind remained too gusty to safely attempt the ascent. At the height of Baumgartner’s ascent the temperature will be as low as 70 degrees below zero. The temperature on the ground in Roswell is 80 degrees.
With the cooler temperatures appearing in weekly forecasts, many people choose to celebrate fall by visiting the mountains or other areas where they can experience the intense colors of yellow, orange and red that signal the return of autumn. Did you know that the intensity of foliage is different every year? A tree’s leaves change colors as the disappearance of green chlorophyll exposes the oranges and yellows found in the leaves. Green chlorophyll disappears fastest during days where it’s dry, bright and cool.
At WeatherBlink Forecast we’ve pulled together 10 of the best places around the country to catch the colors at their peak. We highly recommend packing a picnic and heading to the destination closest to you to experience this amazing fall foliage.
- Eastern Sierras, California
- Columbia River Gorge, Oregon
- Aspen, Colorado
- Taos, New Mexico
- The Driftless Region, Wisconsin
- Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri
- Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee
- Skyline Drive, Shenandoah National Park, VA
- The Catskills, New York
- Washington County, Maine
The WeatherBlink toolbar can help you track weather conditions and predict where you’ll see the best fall foliage (remember, you want to look for cool, sunny, dry days and crisp nights). You can also check the toolbar for forecasts, weather news, weather maps and more.
El Aziza, Libya, no longer holds the record for the hottest place on Earth. The title was removed earlier this week from the Libyan desert by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). So where is the hottest place in the world now? Death Valley, California. The decision was made by a team of 13 atmospheric scientists from nine countries. The results of the investigation and study will be published in the “Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.
The record for all-time warmest temperature was supposedly set in 1922 with a chart-topping 134 degrees. But new research has proved the record invalid because of the combination of a poor weather instrument, a location in a bad spot for accurate readings and an inexperienced record-keeper. The new record, which was formerly second on the all-time list, is the 134-degree reading taken in Death Valley, Calif., on July 10, 1913.
Death Valley’s climate is known for being extremely brutal. The average daily high is 115 degrees and a low of 87 degrees during the month of July. It is located roughly 100 miles west of Las Vegas and 200 miles northeast of Los Angeles.
To find out your weekend weather, which is hopefully cooler than Death Valley, use the WeatherBlink toolbar.
While the northern hemisphere enters the first weeks of fall, the Atlantic hurricane season picks up as ocean temperatures reach their warmest since the season began. As many residents of New Orleans and surrounding areas continue to clean up after Hurricane Isaac, Bermudans prep for Hurricane Leslie, which is forecasted to brush the island this weekend.
Forecasters believe the storm, currently ranked as a Category 1 hurricane, could increase to a Category 2 before making landfall in the next few days. Leslie currently sits 460 miles south-southeast of Bermuda with top sustained winds of 75 mph and is moving north at just 2 mph. A Category 1 storm has sustained winds between 74 and 95 mph. A Category 2 sees winds from 95-110 mph. So far, Leslie’s swells have preceded the storm and are already affecting Bermuda. The east coast of the United States, the northern Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands have also seen agitated ocean waves attributed to Leslie.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Michael strengthened to a Category 3 storm early this morning as it moved northeastward in the middle of the Atlantic. The storm intensified from a tropical storm to a Category 3 in just 12 hours, but meteorologists believe it will weaken as it passes over cooler water in the next 3-5 days.
To keep track of the active hurricanes and tropical depressions in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, use the WeatherBlink toolbar, which provides updates, video, forecasts and more.
As the drought continues to worsen in key farm states across the country, one area finds relief after more than two years. In recent weeks the northwest area of Florida has seen showers and thunderstorms nearly every day. But the result is worth the hassle. For the first time since July of 2010 the area has received enough precipitation to be removed from drought monitors.
“There is no drought indicated over the western part of the Panhandle,” meteorologist Cody Lindsey reported last week. “A good chunk of Florida is out of the short-term drought.”
Unfortunately, many places around the country are still suffering. The most recent U.S. drought map shows that excessively parched conditions continue to worsen in the Plains states. All of Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma are currently in a drought. The percentage of the country currently experiencing drought rose nearly 2 percentage points in the past week to 24.14 percent. This is the highest percentage of the country experiencing drought since U.S. Drought Monitor began keeping records in 2000.
Complete weather reports, forecasts, videos and more can be found in just one click when using the easy-to-use WeatherBlink toolbar. Download it for free today!
Around 3:30 p.m. Saturday, thousands of attendees at the Lollapalooza music festival were forced to evacuate as thunderstorms rolled into the Chicago area. For almost two hours the nearly 60,000 festival-goers in attendance huddled in nearby parking garages until the worst of the storm had passed. The evacuation of Grant Park was directed by event staff with the help of the Chicago Police Department and reports show that most attendees evacuated calmly and peacefully. The nearly two-hour delay forced organizers to shift some of the day’s lineup – it was lengthened by about a half hour as the Red Hot Chili Peppers closed out Saturday’s concerts.
“We want to thank the tens of thousands of festival goers, staff, and artists who calmly and safely excited from Grant Park today,” said Charlie Jones, partner of C3 Presents, the promoter for Lollapalooza.
It was nearly a year ago that inclement weather caused a stage to collapse at the Indiana State Fair in sudden inclement weather, killing seven and injuring dozens of others prior to a performance by Sugarland.
For up-to -minute news on inclement weather that could affect your town, download the WeatherBlink toolbar app today. Users immediately gain access to short- and long-range forecasts and can sign up for weather alerts.
There are growing comparisons between the 1930’s Dust Bowl and this year’s drought. It may not be as bad as the Dust Bowl quite yet, but this drought is wreaking serious havoc on the lives of those living in the Midwest and the greater United States. According to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor, a whopping 63.5 percent of the U.S. is now in a drought. For comparison, just over two years ago only about 8 percent of the nation was in a drought.
So what’s to blame? From California to New England, rainfall levels have been far below average this year. The Midwest Corn Belt has been among the hardest-hit areas with farmers and ranchers suffering the most. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 54 percent of the nation’s pastures and rangelands are in poor to very poor condition and 38 percent of the nation’s corn crop was in similarly poor condition.
The effect of the drought may soon be felt farther away from the Midwest, as cheese and milk prices are expected to rise. Meat and corn prices will likely rise soon after. According to the Illinois Milk Producers Association, cows normally give 90 pounds of milk per cow per day. Due to the extreme heat and dry weather, cows are now only giving 60 pounds per day.
To keep up with drought conditions in your area and around the country, use the WeatherBlink Toolbar app.
People across the country finally got some relief from the record-setting heat wave that scorched the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions during the past two weeks. As storms moved across the U.S. on Sunday, temperatures dropped back into the upper 80s and 90s, temperatures that seem much more manageable after extreme, record-breaking temperatures of the past weeks. Between July 1 and July 8, more than 3,840 temperature records were broken in the United States. In that same time period, 142 all-time record highs have been set or tied in 19 states.
Coupled with the relentless temperatures were numerous power outages caused by severe thunderstorms in the Mid-Atlantic. Over 3.7 million homes in Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Delaware and New Jersey lost power during a derecho that occurred on June 29. A derecho is a widespread and long-lived straight-line windstorm that is associated with a fast-moving band of severe thunderstorms. Derechos can cause winds of up to 100 mph and can be particularly devastating. The combined heat outside and lack of power for air conditioning has been responsible for 30 deaths.
In the coming week people can expect much cooler temperatures around the country. Washington, D.C. will see its first back-to-back days in the 80s since June 25-27 and Chicago will see its first three days in the 80s since June 21-23. Use the free WeatherBlink toolbar to find out what temperatures will be in your town this coming week.
