Updraft: April 26, 2010 Archive
Mississippi Tornado a Monster
Posted at 9:00 AM on April 26, 2010
by Paul Huttner
(1 Comments)
Filed under: Severe weather, Springtime
Monster Gulf Coast Tornado Outbreak:
NWS in Jackson Mississippi reports today that the same giant parent supercell spawned one incredible long track tornado. The giant EF4 monster packed 170 mph winds and was 1.75 miles wide at the base, with a path length of 97 miles! The tornado killed 10 people in Mississippi alone.
Check out the latest updated NOAA SPC storm reports from Saturday's devastating southern tornado outbreak. At last count, 69 tornadoes were reported. Keep in mind that about one third of these are likely multiple reports of the same tornado. Still the numbers are staggering.
Notice the nearly linear path of the red tornado triangles from northeast Louisiana through Mississippi and Alabama.
Saturday's outbreak makes April by far the most active tornado month so far in 2010 with 89 tornadoes reported so far. It had been a record quiet tornado year so far, with only 78 tornadoes reported during the first 3 months of 2010.
Enjoy our return to quiet weather and sunshine this week. Our next chance of thunderstorms rolls in late Thursday.
PH
(1 Comments)Amazing Spring 2010: Lilacs 3 weeks early
Posted at 3:04 PM on April 26, 2010
by Paul Huttner
Filed under: Climate, Climate change, Springtime
Lilac buds ready to open on a cool April morning at the Huttner Weather Lab.
Our amazing spring of 2010 continues. Last Friday I was stunned to see a row of common purple lilacs blooming in Deephaven. That's April 23rd!
According to long time Twin Cities phenologist Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes; this would put 2010 as one of the earliest lilac bloom years on record. The average date for the lilacs to open in the Twin Cities is around May 10th, with peak bloom the following week.
Jim's records from the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chanhassen show the early Flowering Crabapple peak bloom we're seeing now rivals the years of 1987 and 1997 when the trees also reached peak bloom in late April. Jim has observed the lilac bloom average dates have moved a full two weeks earlier in the past 40 years.
The triggers for our early spring blooms are the 4th warmest March and 2nd warmest April on record so far. This is pretty remarkable stuff when you consider that last year's lilac blooms occurred in May close to the average date.
PH
Gulf oil spill now visible from space
Posted at 5:07 PM on April 26, 2010
by Paul Huttner
Filed under: Remote sensing
NASA MODIS satellite image shows expanding oil slick off the Louisiana coastline.
As 40,000 gallons a day leak from the collapsed oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, the signs of the event are now visible from space. The photo above shows the spill southeast of the Mississippi Delta at 1km resolution. You can see the higher resolution images here.
500 meter resolution MODIS image shows the proximity of the spill to the Gulf Coast barrier islands and beaches.
So far the oil appears to be out at sea, but if the leak continues and ocean currents send the slick toward the Gulf Coast we could have the makings of coastal ecological disaster just days away.
Stay tuned.
PH
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Master Archive
Recent Entries
- GOES 13 Satellite goes down as hurricane season nears; Partly showery weekend
- Pushing the record for May rainfall
- Climate Cast: Putting the Moore tornado in the context of Climate Change
- Drought erased in Metro; 100% sunny today; Weekend not so scary wet
- OK Tornado Rated EF-5; Link to climate change? Sun returns tomorrow
- Mixed bag for Memorial Day weekend weather
- A teachable moment on tornado safety
- Moore tornado worse than May 1999; showers and thundestorms split Minn. today
- Moore "Super Tornado": Radar shows "hook echo" and "debris ball"
- "May-soon" continues; More scattered rain & T-Storms today; Slight severe risk
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