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Violent tornado outbreak hits U.S. South and Midwest, leaving up to 100 people dead

us-tornado-outbreak-damage-fatalities-december-2021

A violent tornado outbreak took place across the U.S. South and Midwest on Friday, December 10 into Saturday, December 11, 2021, placing more than 16 million people under a tornado watch.

  • In 24 hours to 11:10 UTC on December 11, the NWS Storm Prediction Center logged 32 tornado reports in Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Illinois.
  • One of the worst affected states is Kentucky where the death toll could reach or exceed 100.
  • Kentucky was hit by numerous tornadoes, including one recognized by the NWS to be one of the longest in history.
  • More than 300 000 customers were left without power, with most of them in Tennessee.

A violent tornado touched down some 40 km (25 miles) from Jonesboro, severely damaging the Monette Manor Nursing Home where at least 2 people were killed and 5 others injured. Craighead County Judge Marvin Day said at least 20 people were trapped inside.1

"Everyone has been taken out of the nursing home and is accounted for," the town's mayor Bob Blankenship said. "We have a triage center set up at the local school where people are being treated and others have been transported to local hospitals."2

Initial reports said the tornado was on the ground for 90 minutes with winds in excess of 455 km/h (283 mph).

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Major tornado damage was reported in Kentucky, whose Governor Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency and activated the Kentucky Guard and State Police.

Governor Beshear said Saturday morning there were likely over 50 deaths statewide, adding there might be anywhere from 70 to 100 fatalities due to tornado outbreak.

Beshear added that one of the tornadoes, which originated in Arkansas and traversed over 320 km (200 miles) in Kentucky, is being recognized by the NWS to be one of the longest in history.

"It's been one of the toughest nights in Kentucky history and some areas have been hit in ways that are hard to put into words," Beshear said in a news conference.

More than 100 people were working in a factory in Mayfield that was ripped apart by a large and violent tornado.

"There were about 110 people in it at the time that the tornado hit it," Beshear said.

"We believe we’ll lose at least dozens of those individuals. It's very hard, really tough, and we’re praying for each and every one of those families."3

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At least 100 people had to be evacuated from the Amazon distribution center in Edwardsville, Illinois, after a tornado damaged half of the building, including its roof. Several people were killed as a result.

"It's devastating to see the amount of damage there and to know there were people inside when that happened," Edwardsville Police Chief Michael Fillback told CNN.

Fillback said several people who were in the building were taken by bus to the police station in nearby Pontoon Beach for evaluation. Early Saturday, rescue crews were still sorting through the rubble. Fillback said the process would last for several hours. Cranes and backhoes were brought in to help move debris.4

At least 100 emergency vehicles had descended upon the warehouse about 40 km (25 miles) east of St. Louis.

It wasn’t immediately clear how many people were hurt, but one person was flown by helicopter to a hospital.

Three storm-related deaths were confirmed in Tennessee, said Dean Flener, spokesman for the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency. Two of the deaths occurred in Lake County, and the third was in Obion County — both in the northwestern corner of the state.

Multiple people were reported trapped across Kenton, Tennessee, where the NWS reported 6 – 12 homes completely destroyed.

There was one confirmed fatality and 2 injuries around nearby Defiance, Missouri.

More than 300 000 customers were left without power on Friday, with most of them in Tennessee.

As of 11:50 UTC on Saturday, 137 692 customers were still without power in Tennessee, 56 166 in Kentucky, 35 370 in Indiana ad 32 141 in Illinois.

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References:

1 Nighttime tornadoes wreak havoc across South, Midwest – AccuWeather

2 Powerful storm rolls across central US, unleashing at least 19 tornadoes – CNN

3 Kentucky Governor Says Up to 100 Dead After Tornadoes Rip Through South, Midwest – Weather.com

4 Deadly tornadoes, storms strike US; roof collapse at Amazon – AP

Featured image credit: NOAA/GOES-16, RAMM/CIRA, TW. Acquired at 01:30 UTC on December 11, 2021

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7 Comments

  1. The creator wields the bolt,
    to bring this sorry show to a holt.
    Go within,clean house.
    Matthew 25 NIV.
    Bare testament,bare witness.
    The sheep from the goats.

  2. THE INCREASE IN COSMIC RAYS IS THE REASON FOR THE INCREASE OF DESTRUCTIVE TORNADOES. Tornadoes come from the energy released in a thunderstorm. In other words, tornadoes are a manifestation of thunderstorm electricity. However, the reason why tornadoes are becoming very strong is because most thunderstorms are now having excessive amount of lightning. Intense lightning activity is always accompanied by destructive tornado. The generation of vorticity flows in the atmosphere is the process leading to appearance of devastating tornadoes. On the other hand, the reason why thunderstorms are becoming more intense is because of the increase in cosmic rays not as a result of man-made climate change.
    This comment was posted last year about catastrophic Nashville tornadoes, but one brainless sheeple with a name Professor Percival wrote @jamal Write a paper on your theory, real scientists would laugh at your ignorance.

    1. i agree
      electric energy in atmosphere fuels more intense storms
      sun or space weather events can fuel that energy
      our weather is electric based

      tornado’s can’t form without enough cold air from above
      without cold air, you just get intense thunderstorm
      if you see green clouds, it is a sign of a highly charged atmosphere
      if it hits a cold front, tornadoes will likely form

      science and political agendas have long been intertwined with each other hence very corrupted. many scientists are on a leash and others just pick whichever side their bread is buttered. truth is a casualty.

    2. Jamir, here is a very interesting comment on storm from another person

      The one thing all are over looking is the scope of the storm that did case the tornadoes. It was as if a hurricane developed over land and had 300+ mph winds around outside as we watched it on the radar. And yes it was a form of an eye, circular and as it moved northeast its spawned tornadoes huge ones, and many small fingerlings so to say. And from the destruction it shows that the pressure was as if the vacuum created as it went by the structures just sucked air out from around they exploded out and straight down collapse. Then the side wall winds blew debris around. On one of the vids shows corn silos tops off and sides bulging and corn still inside. And another across from those the structure gone and corn still in pile right there. Thats a vacuum in a high pressure at same time. And the loose material gets packed and wont move till one or other was changed. But what was the vortex that held corn in place while the destruction took place all around it. Cars trucks buildings tossed. There is more questions than answers and those answers will lead to far more questions and afraid we wont be able, to get them. And no it was a storm yes, your basic tornado no it was not, there is a bigger structure to that storm than any those buildings had experienced in past tornadoes and storms of past centuries in some cases. We have to just ask the correct questions.

  3. These tornadoes are cold (ambient temperature) plasma storms. They resemble a Birkland Current. Tornadoes are driven by cold air from above. The cold and warm air twist around each other.

  4. i think you are witnessing the start of the destruction of the united states as we head into the grand solar minimum and the intensification of weather related disasters not due to global warming but to the erratic divergence of the jet streams,large temperature differences north and south of the jetstreams which fuels these super storms.Eventually the colder temperatures and increased precipitation will add further to the pressure on human infrastructure.Volcanic and seismic activity will also increase during this time with 2024 looking like being the peak year..

  5. First of all, one has to keep in mind that all weather phenomena and storms are driven by electromagnetic interactions. This fact of course, is not recognized by current science. However, these horrific tornadoes are just the tip of the iceberg for the types of natural disasters that will impact the planet in the coming year. The strength of earth’s magnetic field is decreasing rapidly and that means the intensity of cosmic- solar radiation will reach dangerous levels both in the atmosphere and at the earth’s core. Consequently, unbelievable natural disasters, like massive earthquakes and extremely powerful volcanic eruptions will take place, especially hot-spot volcanoes

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