The unofficial start of the Atlantic hurricane season is June 1 and Mother Nature has wasted no time in delivering its first named storm. Tropical Storm Andrea has formed in the Gulf of Mexico and is expected to make landfall in Florida Thursday afternoon or evening. Get the complete story with forecast track maps, video and more on Examiner.com
WeatherNation TV has long been a ‘best kept secret’ for those seeking weather news and information without the unrelated programming offered by that other weather channel. Now the company has broken into the Denver television market with a partnership with 9NEWS KUSA extending their reach in their home city.
Once upon a time there was a cable network that could be trusted for weather news but that channel has strayed far from their roots and are but a shadow of their former selves.
Now, with WeatherNation TV, there is an alternative with 24/7 weather as it should be. ThorntonWeather.com is happy to see them arrive in the Mile High City. Get more details on where you can watch WeatherNation TV in this story on Examiner.com.
The tornado that struck near El Reno, Oklahoma on Friday and killed 18 people has now reached the scale of topping the history books. Not only did its rating top the scales, its 2.6 mile width was the largest in U.S. history. Read the rest of this story on Examiner.com for all the details on this record-breaking tornado.
Three men who had dedicated themselves to furthering the knowledge and science of severe weather were among those killed Friday in a deadly twister that struck El Reno, Oklahoma. Tim Samaras, his son Paul, and their chase partner Carl Young, were well-known within the weather enthusiast community but also known to many Americans following their appearance on a television show. Read the rest of this story on Examiner.com
Storm chaser and IMAX film maker Sean Casey and his team captured what is arguably the most extraordinary video taken from inside a tornado ever. From inside the relative safety of their Tornado Intercept Vehicle (TIV), the team was able to enter a monstrous wedge tornado near Smith Center, Kansas yesterday. Read the rest of this story and watch the amazing video on Examiner.com
A fast moving jet stream coupled with quickly rising temperatures and unusually high humidity ripened conditions for what we now simply call the ‘Windsor tornado.’ Soon after 11:00am that morning a monstrous supercell thunderstorm could be seen erupting to the north of the Denver area.
Tornado warnings were soon issued by the National Weather Service and a Gilcrest police officer radioed, “We have a tornado on the ground!”
Indeed this was no ordinary Colorado tornado. This was to become an EF-3 monster three quarters of a mile wide and packing winds up to 165 mph, an event more associated with the plains of Oklahoma.
Over the course of 35 miles and 45 minutes the tornado ripped through the landscape. Making the event all the more unusual was its movement to the northwest, far different than typical tornadoes which move to the northeast.
Day became almost as dark as night as the ominous wedge approached Windsor. Hail as large as softballs began to rain down.
At 11:57 a.m. the town became ground zero.
Scared residents rushed for safety as nature’s most violent phenomena arrived. Power poles were snapped like matchsticks, semi-trailers were overturned like toy cars, and homes and buildings were reduced to their basic building materials.
Windsor resident Jill Gallagher told the Windsor Beacon this week of her huddling in her basement with her daughters as the twister struck. After it passed, “That’s when I turned and looked up my stairwell, and that’s when I knew something had majorly happened.”
Gallagher said her stairs were blocked and she was staring up at blue sky instead of her home’s ceiling.
The power of the storm was fully evident in the toll on life and property.
One man was killed west of Greeley at Missile Silo Park Campground and 78 people were injured. Property damages totaled $193.5 million as nearly 300 homes were destroyed or significant damaged and another 850 sustained less substantial damage.
Lying on the western edge of the infamous Tornado Alley, twisters are quite commonplace in the Centennial State. From 1950 to 2012 there have been 1,983 tornadoes scattered across the state. Most though occur on the eastern plains, well away from the higher terrain of the west and the more populous Front Range. Only 20 of those have attained F3 strength.
Today, five years after that deadly day, a drive through Windsor would yield few signs of the tornado that caused so much devastation. The residents however are quick to remember it, particularly in light of the recent deadly tornadoes in Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma.
The National Weather Service has completed its initial damage survey of the area near Moore, Oklahoma, where a deadly tornado struck yesterday. Its assessment pegs the twister as an EF-5 packing winds in excess of 200 mph – the highest rating possible on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. Only one percent of all tornadoes achieve this strength. Including yesterday’s twister, there have been 59 in the U.S. since 1950. Read the rest of this story on Examiner.com
As residents of Moore, Oklahoma wake this morning they are faced with the seemingly insurmountable task of recovering from the deadly tornado that struck yesterday. For one Oklahoma woman, the recovery will be a little bit easier as her dog was discovered alive, buried under the rubble during a television interview. Read the rest of this heartwarming story on Examiner.com.
The tornado that ripped through Moore, Oklahoma yesterday has claimed at least 91 lives and caused hundreds of injuries. As the death toll mounts, the twister will go down in history as one of the deadliest in U.S. history.
Forecasters had warned that Monday would bring dangerous severe weather, the third of a series of days in the past week that had been deadly. Warnings went out as the tornado formed near Newcastle and began its deadly trek to the northeast.
The minutes were crucial to saving lives but as the storm grew in ferocity, even the most robust shelters were proven incapable of withstanding the onslaught.
Click here for a complete update including stunning video and photos of the devastation.
Scenes of devastation were being played out south of Oklahoma City Monday evening in the wake of a massive tornado that ripped through the suburb of Moore. Packing winds up to 200 mph, the twister tore through the landscape leaving little but rubble behind. At least 51 people have been confirmed dead and the death toll is expected to climb. Read the rest of this story on Examiner.com
