There are many events that echo within a memory, but the tornado outbreak that occurred within only three days is a continuing ring in the heads of many.
The Horror
The first and strongest tornado sprouted in the Central United States on May 4th, 2007, ending the night with an EF5 tornado in Greensburg, Kansas that killed 12 people, and injured 60 others. During that day alone, several others were reported in Colorado, Oklahoma, and South Dakota. The Greensburg tornado was the first recorded EF5 recorded since the Fujita Scale has been enhanced in February of 2007.
The next day, 91 more tornados were reported in the same area, and 10 more were reported on May 6th. These were devastating storms that killed 13 counted people, injured more than 60 others, and caused more than 153 million dollars in damages.
Atmospheric Disturbance
There were specific ingredients to the birth of these monsters, that allowed for the development of super cell thunderstorms that produced hails, damaging winds, and tornadoes.
Meteorologists traced the cause of this magnificent outbreak back to a steady low pressure system over the central Plains as the warm front caused moisture that came from the Gulf of Mexico, with high wind shears that caused massive rotations in the atmosphere.
Over those three days, the Storm Prediction Center issued moderate to high risk of severe weather. On May 7th, the storm died and dissipated, leaving the region in ruins. There were a total of 83 confirmed tornado reports, while the rest were merely spotted. With 31 EF0’s, 27 EF1’s, 11 EF2’s, 5 EF3’s, and 1 EF5 in three days, the outbreak is noted amongst other outbreaks in history.
Outbreak History
The most deadliest outbreaks were dated back to April 11th, 1965 in the Midwest. In Indiana, an intensifying storm sprouted several deadly tornadoes, one of which was an F4 that killed 10 and injured 180 people. As the day grew, so did the storm. A tornado, measured about 800 yards wide, destroyed a town in Indiana, killing 25 people, while a double tornado was reported near Toledo. One F5 tornado was reported in Elkhart, Indiana. This was a double tornado that killed 36 people. As the storm moved
Eastward, it spawned more tornadoes in Michigan, one being a mile-wide in Milan. Officials concluded the horrifying day with the development of watches and warning systems that are still used to this day. Their dramatic loss of life were due to the inefficiency of communication to other regions about incoming severe weather.
Another disaster occurred in Illinois on March 18th, 1925 that was known as the Tri-State Tornado. Across Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana, more than 400 people were killed, and twice as much than that were injured, that included several children.
Additionally, the most recent outbreaks in the United States occurred on May 3rd, 1999, which sprouted the last F5 tornado during the Oklahoma Tornado Outbreak, the Kansas Tornado Outbreak on April 26th, 1991 that killed 17 people, and the May 2003 Tornado Outbreak where 8 people were killed by three separate tornadoes.
Although storm prediction saves many people today, as opposed to the earlier years before the 1965 outbreak, storms are still unpredictable. Weather changes dramatically, and being prepared for the unexpected is the best bet people have.
