Deadly Weather makes a Wicked Return

Welcome back everyone! Apologies to all for the delays following my last post. I had nearly completed a post about the stretch of quiet weather the nation had settled into following the unprecedented and deadly month of severe storms in April...but Mother Nature decided to throw a few more temper tantrums. Thus, the year of wicked weather that has been 2011 continued.

Hail, high wind, lightning, floods, and more tornadoes than anyone would care to think about have left so many people wondering; what's causing this unending barrage of deadly weather? I think the best explanation came from Steve DiRienzo, Warning Coordination Meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Albany, NY. Our atmosphere seems to be having a little bit of an identity crisis this year. Remember how winter just would not seem to end this year? We had snow into the first few weeks of Spring here in the Northeast for crying out loud! Believe it or not, "winter" is not completely gone from the equation, even though we've had some decidedly warm and Summer-like weather recently. As Steve put it, the air flow and storm tracks through our atmosphere is still set in "winter mode" if you will. However, temperatures are shifting toward their normal late-Spring and Summer values...and even higher as of late. This gives developing storms all of the dynamics of a winter storm, with the added power and ferocity of heat and high humidity. Once these storm systems develop, they race off toward the east on similar paths that those of a giant winter storm would take, meaning people from the Gulf Coast to Maine see the impacts. From there, we've seen the end result.

After the worst April on record for tornadoes, May seemed to be giving us a break from the onslaught of the severe weather. Of course, another beast reared its ugly head in the form of the worst flooding ever seen in many locations along the Mississippi River. Then, just when it seemed like things were becoming quiet, deadly tornadoes struck again on May 22, changing the city of Joplin, Missouri forever.

With the atmosphere still experiencing its identity crisis, yet another unusually powerful storm system moved out from the Rocky Mountains into the Plains. With a surge of unseasonably cold air surging southward from Canada, an intensely strong cold front developed and cut into an equally unseasonable surge of warm, humid air racing in from the Gulf of Mexico. Toss in rampant wind shear, and the atmosphere became a pressure cooker waiting to pop. By late-afternoon on May 22, supercell thunderstorms were developing like firecrackers from Texas to Tennessee, to Minnesota and Wisconsin. Some of the storms formed squall lines and produced straight-line winds and enormous hail that wreaked havoc over almost a third of the country. All too many others spawned violent and deadly tornadoes, one of which tore straight through Joplin, Missouri. The storm was later determined to be an EF5, topping the Fujita Scale with winds above 200 MPH. It was only the latest tornado tragedy to occur this year, joining the likes of the Tuscaloosa, Alabama tornado and the North Carolina outbreak in April. As of June 20, the Joplin death toll stands at 155 people, with many still in critical condition due to injuries sustained during the storm. The pictures of the damage were absolutely indescribable, with the storm destroying an estimated 8,000 buildings in and around the Joplin area.

A tragedy in every sense of the word...

Above are the total storm reports for the day on May 22, 2011. Another unbelievable day.

The unusual weather patterns responsible for all of this year's severe weather have not shown signs of changing at all. In my next post, we'll take a closer look at two other recent tornadoes that struck in Goldsby, Oklahoma and much closer to home in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Thanks for bearing with me during the delay. I'll be back to a regular schedule from here on out.

Until next time!