Weather service: Arkansas hit by 11 tornadoes last week

Meteorologists have confirmed 11 tornadoes hit Arkansas late last week. One of them had winds between 136 and 165 mph and stayed on the ground for 45 miles.

[coco]

I will say a prayer for these people. May things get better for them all.

[David]

I too, will pray for these people.

[Haley]

My parents live in coastal Georgia, and they, too, suffered significant tornado damage. Thankfully, no lives (that we know of) in our hometown were lost, but in a neighboring town search dogs were looking for victims in the rubble. Please keep the all of these communities in your thoughts as the warnings continue.

[Ella]

I am so sorry to hear of the devastation in these areas. I will pray for all those affected.

[Lady T]

I was so glad to see those twisters in the video doing their scary dance in miles of empty fields -- with only the chasers at risk (and by their own choice, at that). Wish it could always be that way.

I have to say: once the risk-to-lives-and-property factor isn't there, they're astonishing and fascinating and beautiful phenomena to watch.

[Jean SmilingCoyote]

The Colorado tornado was rated EF2/EF3. I saw an unfinished house in the Stoughton WI area which survived their F3 tornado a few years ago, and was finished. It was built with Insulating Concrete Forms. I think this choice would have saved 100% of the homes in the Colorado tornado. There is one manufacturer who makes forms for horizontal parts such as ceilings and floors. I hope the people in Colorado check out ICFs for rebuilding.

[John Roberts]

IS it just me or are there some pretty wicked changes going on with the weather in a LOT of places?

JT
http://www.anondo.alturl.com/

[reality]

John Roberts wrote:

IS it just me or are there some pretty wicked changes going on with the weather in a LOT of places?
JT
http://www.anondo.alturl.com/

It's just you.

Spring tornados are a fact of life in the midwest. I remember entire towns being wiped out when I was young. There is nothing new happening here.

[Lynne]

I'll bet most of those killed were the ones standing in their front yards with the camcorder rolling.

[Meano Cougar]

John Roberts wrote:

IS it just me or are there some pretty wicked changes going on with the weather in a LOT of places?
JT
http://www.anondo.alturl.com/

Tornadoes have been happening for many years,the trouble is as the years pass areas become more populated and then more destruction,injuries and deaths,and then if the other political party was in charge you would hear very little about the mother nature related stories,The thing the media has been doing for several years is paint a picture of a lot of bad things and you shall recieve and that is what us Americans are getting,remember watch out what you wish for you might get it.

[laura]

Man some of the comments on here are rough. You dont even know the facts and you are guessing they were standing in their front yard?? These people lost their lives. I will say a prayer for these people. it could have been your relatives. Then Im pretty sure you wouldnt be so quick to judge!

[arrow]

rip.

[moisture tongue]

..I am not sure of Meano Cougar's point,but that's ok..
A Weather Service meteorologist laid it out pretty simply for me.Weather patterns occur in 10,20,and 30 year cycles. We'll go through periods of quiet weather-think the early 1970s and early 1990s-and then periods,like the late 1970s into the early 1980s where there were severe winters and storm-filled summers.We're likely in one of those cycles, and, yes, when you populate areas that were farmland,you may, indeed, have a lot of damage from a storm that would have, in the past, touched down, ripped up a bean field, and moved on. The same issue is at play in the Gulf and on the Atlantic Seaboard. The population density of coastal towns jumped after World War II and storms that slammed into a swamp and left beneficial moisture are now a big deal. As it is, there are thousands of weather events all over the globe every day,many of which are not witnessed by humans.It's the ebb and flow of our unique continent,and special world.

[Noahs Ark]

News Update:

There has always been storms,there is NO global warming,Weather is cyclical,Be prepared for the worst but expect the best.There are a lot of people out there that are afraid. Dont be just live,pray amd enjoy. And yes the weather will continue to be hot,cold,violent and stable. Carry on.

[Deb]

Lynne wrote:

I'll bet most of those killed were the ones standing in their front yards with the camcorder rolling.

Lynn, you are a m*o*r*o*n. If you know how to read, it clearly said the adults who were killed were in basements. I seriously doubt a 2 year old would be filming anything - much less a tornado.

What a sad story.:(

[Adam]

Could you please get more accurate weather forecasting? We altered our entire Memorial Day plans to go out of town because of the Tribune's predictions of thunderstorms all day. Right now, it's after 5 p.m. and nary a drop of rain has falled and it's been a warm, sunny day. And we stayed home to avoid being trapped in your non-existent thunderstorms. Thanks a lot.

[adam]

Meano Cougar wrote:

<quoted text>Tornadoes have been happening for many years,the trouble is as the years pass areas become more populated and then more destruction,injuries and deaths,and then if the other political party was in charge you would hear very little about the mother nature related stories,The thing the media has been doing for several years is paint a picture of a lot of bad things and you shall recieve and that is what us Americans are getting,remember watch out what you wish for you might get it.

As for the comment about "as the years pass, areas become more populated," clearly this person has not been to Parkersburg or New Hartford, Iowa. This was a terrible disaster that can't be written off as some side effect of urban sprawl.

[Will]

This is a afull tradgey,construction standards in tornado prone areas have to change,building homes with wooden frames should be outlawed,im from Ireland where we dont have tornados but we do have storms come off our atlantic coast with winds up to 100 mph,its unheard of in Ireland to build a home with timber construction,all homes are built with soldid concrete blocks,iv never seen a home getting blown away,again building homes like this should be outlawed

[Bobolie]

I am very sorry that a tornado ripped through Iowa.

[Will]

Jean SmilingCoyote wrote:

The Colorado tornado was rated EF2/EF3. I saw an unfinished house in the Stoughton WI area which survived their F3 tornado a few years ago, and was finished. It was built with Insulating Concrete Forms. I think this choice would have saved 100% of the homes in the Colorado tornado. There is one manufacturer who makes forms for horizontal parts such as ceilings and floors. I hope the people in Colorado check out ICFs for rebuilding.

thank you..wake up America