an overview of the 27 april 2011 tornado outbreak
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An Overview of the 27 April 2011 Tornado Outbreak
Dr. Scott M. RochetteDepartment of the Earth Sciences
The College at Brockport
OverviewWhat are tornadoes and how do they form?How can you tell how strong (or weak)
tornadoes are?What happened?Why did it happen?How bad was it?Can tornadoes happen here?Summary
What are tornadoes?Tornadoes are violently rotating columns of
air that are:in contact with the ground connected to a thunderstorm cloud
(Photos courtesy of NSSL)
Are these tornadoes?
NoNo
Yes!
(Photos courtesy of NSSL, NWS, and NASA)
How do tornadoes form?Tornadoes form from severe thunderstormsFour ingredients for severe thunderstorms:
moistureliftinstabilityvertical wind shear (speed and directional)
ALL FOUR OF THESE INGREDIENTS NEED TO BE PRESENT AT THE SAME TIME IN THE SAME PLACE!
Large tornado outbreaks are quite rare because of this
SupercellsThe strongest tornadoes come from
supercells
(Diagram courtesy of quedoc.org)
How do you tell how strong (or weak) tornadoes are?Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale
tornado strength determined by damage surveys
CANNOT BE FORECASTEDpotential for strong/violent tornadoes can be
predicted
EF-0: weak tornado (65-85 mph) – minor damage
EF-1: weak tornado (86-110 mph) – moderate damage
(All photos courtesy of NWS)
EF-2: strong tornado (111-135 mph) – considerable damage
EF-3: strong tornado (136-165 mph) – severe damage
(All photos courtesy of NWS)
EF-4: violent tornado (166-200 mph) – extreme damage
EF-5: violent tornado (>200 mph) – massive/incredible damage
(All photos courtesy of NWS)
What happened?327 confirmed tornadoes occurred in 21
states and Canada from 25-28 April 2011 (record 875 in April 2011)
321 dead (out of 361 dead for entire month)Estimated $6,000,000,000 in damages
EF-0 EF-1 EF-2 EF-3 EF-4 EF-50
40
80
120
160
105134
5122 12 3
Number of Tornadoes Per Category
27 April 2011292 tornadoes (almost twice as many as 3-4
April 1974)Fourth deadliest tornado day (worst since
1932)
Surface conditions
Lower troposphere
Middle troposphere
Upper troposphere
We knew it was coming!
How bad was it?
How bad was it?
Tuscaloosa, AL (photo courtesy of Dusty Thompson, Tuscaloosa News
How bad was it?EF-4 damage in Ringgold, GA (photo courtesy of NWS)
How bad was it?EF-5 damage in Phil Campbell, AL (photo courtesy of NWS)
How bad was it?Satellite view of Tuscaloosa tornado path (photo courtesy of NASA)
How bad was it?
Package from Tuscaloosa…(photo courtesy of hamwx.com)
…landed here(50 miles away!)
Can tornadoes happen here?Yes, but…They are somewhat rare around here (about
two per year)Generally very weak (EF-0 or EF-1), like most
tornadoesHilton, NY, 25 July 2009 (photo courtesy of author)
Summary27 April 2011 outbreak due to a ‘rare’ combination
of ingredients:copious low-level moisture ahead of strong cold frontstrong lift provided by combination of surface front,
mid-tropospheric trough, and upper-tropospheric jetsignificant instability from warm, moist air in lower
troposphere and cool, dry air aloftconsiderable vertical wind shear (fast southerly low-
level flow vs. strong WSW flow aloft)Accurate forecasts likely led to fewer deathsSuch outbreaks are rare in general, even more so
here
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