Brandon WeismanPolitical Science and Business

College of Arts and Sciences and Fisher School of Business

April Showers Don’t Always Bring May

Flowers:A Look at the Super

Outbreak of April 25th-28th, 2011

Wind shear- change in wind speed and direction as you go up in atmosphere (horizontal)

Tremendous updrift (vertical)- Veering winds (storm rotation)Hint of olive oil

and nature’s fury

Formation and Ingredients

Helicity- fluid flow in atmosphere, predict tornadic development - Storm Relative Helicity (SRH) 450-600

Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale- based on damage (subjective) of tornado with connection to wind speed F1 (weak) F2 (strong) F3 (severe) F4 (devastating) F5 (incredible)

Key Tornadic Measurements

Dr. Fujita spanking a misbehaved tornado

Development of upper-level trough (low pressure system)

Powerful jet stream propelled trough strong wind shear

- move Northeastern into Ohio and Tennessee Valleys

Storm Prediction Center (SPC) issued moderate risk for severe weather for 3 consec. days

Leading up to the Superstorm

Largest, deadliest, and most destructive outbreak in U.S. history

358 confirmedStruck 21 states

348 fatalitiesTotal damages:

$11 billion

April 25th-28th, 2011

April 25 April 26Supercell near Little

Rock and surrounding Arkansas area

Severe flooding all over country

Tornadoes still in south

Mostly weakSevere

thunderstorms in Northeast and Midwest

Cold front with multiple low pressure systems Thunderstorms morphed into Squall Lines- low pressure

areas/line of thunderstorms before or during cold front 15 violent tornadoes - rated EF-4 or higher (4 EF-5’s - Alabama hit the hardest

April 27

Tornadoes along coast from Florida to New York

Widespread flooding in Midwest, South, and Eastern Seaboard

Last tornadoes touched down were weakSystem moved out into Atlantic

April 28

Tuscaloosa Case Study

Damage to Tuscaloosa

Wind shear, updrift, and veering winds contribute to formation of tornadoes

EF ScaleApril 25th-28th, 2011 deadliest outbreak in

history in terms of mortality and damage

Takeaways

http://www.fastcompany.com/1755314/weather-phenomena-causing-2011s-tornado-explosion

http://www.universetoday.com/71983/how-are-tornadoes-formed/

http://www.ustornadoes.com/2012/04/25/april-25-26-27-28-2011-super-outbreak/

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/mob/?n=20110427_tor

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/post/super-tornado-outbreak-of-april-27-2011-one-year-anniversary/2012/04/27/gIQARRLJlT_blog.html

http://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/deadly-tornado-outbreak-april-25-28-2011/25988/

Soruces

http://www.fastcompany.com/1755314/weather-phenomena-causing-2011s-tornado-explosion

http://sky7weather.wordpress.com/2012/04/26/looking-back-at-april-27-2011-the-day-before-the-disaster-thursday-update-438-pm/

http://www.ustornadoes.com/2012/04/25/april-25-26-27-28-2011-super-outbreak/

http://4playernetwork.com/blog/2013/02/ps4-being-released-this-year-wsj/

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=dr+theodore+fujita&FORM=HDRSC2#view=detail&id=DE125D905B77968B2154B330A5209860F24BA26E&selectedIndex=6

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPcUDIXX2G4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4a35U3VU1w

http://chartdiagram.com/ http://en.ria.ru/infographics/20110802/16027

5534.html http://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/2013

0726-1827-25045-2783/tornado_mat_frontmatter_508.pdf

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/apr/22/one-year-after-april-27-tornadoes-most-are-healing/

http://www.peachpundit.com/2012/04/27/april-27th-one-year-later/

http://www.ustornadoes.com/2014/08/08/intothestorm-10-best-and-worst-moments-for-a-tornado-geek/

Images/Videos