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🌪️The Latest from Tornado Talk…..

I apologize for the delay in the newsletter this week! I woke up Sunday with the flu and just now starting to feel a little normal again! Wanted to get this out this week as we have something BIG to share!

We announced to our Patreon members last Thursday, the new direction of Tornado Talk! It is essentially taking what we have been doing and focusing it on a bigger end goal: A Virtual Tornado Memorial! We have estimated that at least 22,000 people have died from tornadoes from the events that have been documented throughout the centuries in the United States. We want to know more about these lost souls and their stories.  

Over the past few years, our group of researchers and writers have produced over 550 summaries detailing the amazing and often tragic stories that occur before, during and after a tornado event. We will be taking our knowledge, expertise and research strategy and apply it to the search for information on tornado deaths so we can honor their lives. In addition, we will document the tornado event from a meteorological perspective, find the hero and recovery stories to enhance the end users experience with the memorial.

Through our research, we will also be capturing important social science and disaster epidemiology information we can present to the National Weather Service and other agencies. This data can be used to help the warning process in the future.

Learn more about our new direction here!

And ways to support here!

🌪️ This Week In Tornado History

December 10, 2004 - South Carolina: A quick-hitting F3 tornado struck just north of Orangeburg, SC. Along the 1.5 mile-long path, a brick church, several mobile homes, and some farm buildings were leveled.

December 11, 1931 - Texas/Arkansas: An F2 tornado pushed through parts of Bowie County, TX and Miller County, AR near Texarkana. Two miles north of town, two homes were destroyed and there were two fatalities. Total of 15 injuries.

December 12, 1940 - Texas: An estimated F2 tornado moved east then northeast, passing one mile north of Katy, TX in Harris County. Two farm homes were destroyed. “One couple drove a quarter mile away, then stopped and watched their home being swept away.” A man was killed an his wife was injured at the other farm home. “Nothing was left at either site.” Source: Thomas Grazulis

December 13, 1957 - Texas: An F3 tornado struck portions of NE Harris and SW Liberty Counties on this day. There was significant damage especially in NE Houston. A total of 12 homes, 18 mobile homes and 13 small businesses were destroyed. Another 125+ homes had some other degree of damage. There were 40 injuries and sadly one fatality. Billy D. Hester, a superintendent for a construction company, was killed in his pickup truck and he tried to outrun the tornado. It lifted his truck and hurled it into an oak tree.

December 14, 2010 - Oregon: An EF2 tornado struck Aumsville, OR. Over 50 structures were damaged or destroyed, and two people were injured.

December 15, 1971 - Missouri: This F2 had a 27 mile path. There was damage to a farm near the development point SW of Bell City. On the north edge of town there were several businesses and homes that sustained damage. Just south of Messler, four box cars of a freight train were lifted off their tracks. Two barns and businesses were damaged near Oran. 26 were injured and there was 1 fatality.

December 16, 2000 - Alabama: Twenty-four tornadoes were confirmed on this day. Half of those were in the state of Alabama including the strongest of the day. It was a devastating F4 that pushed 18 miles through Tuscaloosa County. Eleven were killed and 144 injured. A photo made its way to many newspapers after this event occurred. It was taken by Michael E. Palmer of the Tuscaloosa News. It shows Michael Harris carrying the body of an unconscious six-year-old girl from her damaged mobile home. He rescued her from the rubble.

🌪️Check This Out!

Tornado Talk is proud to promote the work of Mark Sudduth and his team at Hurricane Track! They have decades of experience capturing the impacts of tropical weather. They provide extensive coverage during the hurricane season and collect valuable data. The project now includes observing hail, winter & monsoon events! Consider supporting Mark on Patreon! Read more about his story here!

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Thank you so much for supporting and promoting our work! - Jen Narramore, Owner Tornado Talk