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The historic tornadoes of April 2011
Filetype[PDF-4.32 MB]


Details:
  • Corporate Authors:
    United States, National Weather Service,
  • Description:
    "On April 27, 2011, a series of devastating tornadoes struck the southeastern United States. This tornado event was one of the deadliest in the country since systematic tornado record keeping began in 1950. With 316 fatalities (31 in Mississippi, 234 in Alabama, 32 in Tennessee, 15 in Georgia, and 4 in Virginia), it ranks with the 1974 Super Tornado Outbreak and resulted in more deaths than the 1965 Palm Sunday Outbreak. In addition, there were more than 2,400 injuries. Damages from this outbreak totaled over $4.2 billion. The National Weather Service (NWS) formed a Service Assessment Team to evaluate its performance. To strengthen NWS relationships with other federal agencies involved with disaster work, for the first time this assessment had a co-leader from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The team interviewed staff and reviewed products from the Storm Prediction Center (SPC), Weather Forecast Offices at Memphis and Morristown, TN, Jackson, MS, Huntsville and Birmingham, AL, and Peachtree City, GA. The team gathered feedback from partners and users of NWS products including media outlets, Emergency Managers at the state and local level, first responders, and the public. One of the team's tasks was to assess societal impacts of this event. This tornado outbreak was anticipated and forecast days in advance. The SPC began focusing on the affected area in its convective outlook products 5 days prior to the event. It continued emphasizing, refining, and enhancing the threat leading up to the event, ultimately issuing a high risk convective outlook on the morning of April 27 for a large portion of the impacted area. The Weather Forecast Offices (WFO) in the affected area prepared for severe weather operations and indicated the risk of severe weather and tornadoes as much as 5 days in advance. Hazardous Weather Outlooks, Web images, pre-recorded multimedia briefings, and webinars discussed the potential impacts. Emergency Managers and media staff interviewed indicated they were well prepared for the severe weather that occurred."--Page 1.
  • Keywords:
  • Document Type:
    Professional Paper
  • Place as Subject:
    Southern States
  • Collection(s):
    National Weather Service (NWS)
  • Main Document Checksum:
  • Supporting Files:
    No Additional Files
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      Corporate Authors:
      United States, National Weather Service,
      Published Date:
      2008
      Series:
      Service assessment
      Description:
      "From December 1 through December 3, 2007, three potent storm systems moved onshore along the Washington and Oregon coasts. These storms brought snow, hurricane force winds, coastal flooding, heavy rain and avalanches. Heavy rain and rapidly melting ...
      File Type:
      Filetype[PDF - 2.07 MB]
    2. October 2016 Hurricane Matthew
      Corporate Authors:
      United States, National Weather Service,
      Published Date:
      2017
      Series:
      Service assessment
      Description:
      "Hurricane Matthew left a trail of destruction from the Caribbean to Virginia from September 29 - October 9, 2016. High winds, pounding surf, storm surge, and historic flooding led to widespread, devastating impacts along the southeast U.S. coastline...
      File Type:
      Filetype[PDF - 2.35 MB]
    3. The historic South Carolina floods of October 1-5, 2015
      Corporate Authors:
      United States, National Weather Service,
      Published Date:
      2016
      Series:
      Service assessment
      Description:
      "The combination of a surface low-pressure system located along a stationary frontal boundary off the U.S. Southeast coast, a slow moving upper low to the west, and a persistent plume of tropical moisture associated with Hurricane Joaquin resulted in...
      File Type:
      Filetype[PDF - 7.05 MB]
    4. Oklahoma/southern Kansas tornado outbreak of May 3, 1999
      Corporate Authors:
      United States, National Weather Service.
      Published Date:
      1999
      Series:
      Service assessment
      Description:
      "On May 3, 1999, one of the largest tornado outbreaks in history struck west-central Oklahoma and southern Kansas, killing48 people, leaving thousands homeless and resulting in over $1 billion in property damage. Due to the magnitude of this event, t...
      File Type:
      Filetype[PDF - 4.83 MB]
    5. The Missouri/Souris River floods of May-August 2011
      Corporate Authors:
      United States, National Weather Service,
      Published Date:
      2012
      Series:
      Service assessment
      Description:
      "During the winter and spring of 2010-2011, record to near-record setting snow fell across a large portion of the northern United States Rocky Mountains and eastward into the Northern Plains states. A cool spring held the snowpack in place later than...
      File Type:
      Filetype[PDF - 2.77 MB]
    6. May 2013 Oklahoma tornadoes and flash flooding
      Corporate Authors:
      United States, National Weather Service,
      Published Date:
      2014
      Series:
      Service assessment
      Description:
      "From May 19 to May 31, 2013, a series of devastating weather events affected the area in and around Oklahoma City. Although this report focuses on three specific days, May 19, 20, and 31, the entire period was characterized by an active weather patt...
      File Type:
      Filetype[PDF - 1.22 MB]
    7. California drought : 2014 service assessment
      Personal Author:
      Werner, Kevin V.; McNutt, Chad; Anderson, Mike; Ewald, John; Gleason, Karin Lynn, 1973-; Hameedi, M. J.; Smallcomb, Chris; Stachelski, Chris; Wulff, Ryan;
      Corporate Authors:
      United States, National Weather Service,
      Published Date:
      2015
      Series:
      Service assessment
      Description:
      "NOAA commissioned this assessment of its services for decision makers impacted by the historic California drought that began in late 2011 and was exacerbated in 2014. This assessment focuses on (1) documenting impacts highlighted by decision makers ...
      File Type:
      Filetype[PDF - 2.72 MB]
    8. Hurricane/post-tropical cyclone Sandy, October 22-29, 2012
      Corporate Authors:
      United States, National Weather Service,
      Published Date:
      2013
      Series:
      Service assessment
      Description:
      "On October 22-29, 2012, Hurricane/Post-Tropical Cyclone Sandy moved from the Caribbean to the U.S. Eastern Seaboard, ultimately making landfall near Brigantine, NJ, around 7:30 p.m. on October 29. The storm resulted in an enormous impact to life and...
      File Type:
      Filetype[PDF - 2.82 MB]
    9. Hurricane Irene, August 21-30, 2011
      Corporate Authors:
      United States, National Weather Service,
      Published Date:
      2012
      Series:
      Service assessment
      Description:
      "On August 21-29, 2011, Hurricane Irene left a devastating imprint on the Caribbean and U.S. East Coast. The storm took the lives of more than 40 people, caused an estimated $6.5 billion in damages, unleashed major flooding, downed trees and power li...
      File Type:
      Filetype[PDF - 4.22 MB]
    10. Tropical Storm Allison : heavy rains and floods, Texas and Louisiana, June 2001
      Corporate Authors:
      United States, National Weather Service,
      Published Date:
      2001
      Series:
      Service assessment
      Description:
      "Tropical Storm Allison was the most costly tropical storm in U.S. history. While the storm impacted a large part of the country, worst hit was southeast Texas and southern Louisiana. In these two areas alone, there were 24 fatalities and more than $...
      File Type:
      Filetype[PDF - 3.41 MB]
    11. Hurricane Fran, August 28 - September 8, 1996
      Corporate Authors:
      United States, National Weather Service,
      Published Date:
      1997
      Series:
      Service assessment
      Description:
      "Fran was a category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale when it made landfall on the North Carolina coast near Cape Fear on September 5, 1996. Besides sustained winds of 115 miles per hour (mph), the storm surge and high water marks to...
      File Type:
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    12. Hurricane Bertha : July 5-14, 1996
      Corporate Authors:
      United States, National Weather Service,
      Published Date:
      1997
      Series:
      Service assessment
      Description:
      "Hurricane Bertha was an early season Category 2 storm when it made landfall on the coast of North Carolina on July 12, 1996. Twelve deaths have been directly attributed to Bertha with United States damages estimated at $270 million. Extensive evacua...
      File Type:
      Filetype[PDF - 1.41 MB]
    13. Hurricane Floyd Floods of September 1999
      Corporate Authors:
      United States, National Weather Service.. United States, National Weather Service,.
      Published Date:
      2000
      Series:
      Service assessment
      Description:
      "Hurrican Floyd impacted the U.S. East Coast from September 14 to 17, 1999. Torrential rains caused major river and flash flooding from the Carolinas to New England. In some areas, particularly North Carolina, the magnitude of the flooding was unprec...
      File Type:
      Filetype[PDF - 5.38 MB]
    14. Ohio River Valley flood of March 1997
      Corporate Authors:
      United States, Office of Hydrology,
      Published Date:
      1998
      Series:
      Service assessment
      Description:
      "A NWS evaluation team was sent to the Ohio River Valley following severe weather events in early March of 1997 that produced extensive flash flooding and record river flooding across the region. The team focused on the hardest hit areas in the Ohio ...
      File Type:
      Filetype[PDF - 496.21 KB]
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      Corporate Authors:
      United States, National Weather Service,
      Published Date:
      2014
      Series:
      Service assessment
      Description:
      "Copious amounts of tropical moisture flowed northward from the Pacific Ocean and Gulf of Mexico into eastern Colorado on September 9-16, 2013. The combination of a slow moving upper-level system over the Great Basin region, favorable upslope easterl...
      File Type:
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    16. Record tornado outbreaks of May 4-10, 2003
      Corporate Authors:
      United States, National Weather Service,
      Published Date:
      2003
      Series:
      Service assessment
      Description:
      "During the period May 4-10, 2003, an unprecedented number of tornadoes affected the central and southern United States. During this period, 393 tornadoes occurred across the central and southern U.S. resulting in 39 deaths across 4 states. Six of th...
      File Type:
      Filetype[PDF - 1.21 MB]
    17. Southern California wildfires October 20 to November 3, 2003
      Corporate Authors:
      United States, National Weather Service,
      Published Date:
      2004
      Series:
      Service assessment
      Description:
      "Hot, dry offshore winds, known as Santa Ana Winds in southern California, coupled with long-term abnormally dry conditions across the area, set the stage for one of the more costly natural disasters in California history. During late October into ea...
      File Type:
      Filetype[PDF - 1.05 MB]
    18. South Texas floods, October 17-22, 1998
      Corporate Authors:
      United States, National Weather Service,
      Published Date:
      1999
      Series:
      Service assessment
      Description:
      "Torrential rains over south and southeast Texas during the weekend of October 17-18, 1998, led to widespread and deadly flooding. A total of 31 people died during this event, and property damage estimates approached three quarters of a billion dolla...
      File Type:
      Filetype[PDF - 486.12 KB]
    19. Super Tuesday tornado outbreak of February 5-6, 2008
      Corporate Authors:
      United States, National Weather Service,
      Published Date:
      2009
      Series:
      Service assessment
      Description:
      "During a 12-hour period in the evening and early morning of February 5-6, 2008, 87 tornadoes occurred in nine states with 57 fatalities in four states. This is the second largest February tornado outbreak since 1950 (beginning year of official torna...
      File Type:
      Filetype[PDF - 1.27 MB]
    20. Southeastern United States tornadoes April 8, 1998
      Corporate Authors:
      United States, National Weather Service,
      Published Date:
      1998
      Series:
      Service assessment
      Description:
      "On the evening of April 8, 1998, tornadoes powerful as F5 on the Fujita Scale swept through the northern half of Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia causing considerable loss of life, injuries and property loss. The National Weather Service's Southern...
      File Type:
      Filetype[PDF - 323.15 KB]
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