Oklahoma's Deadliest Tornadoes

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/earth/oklahoma-tornadoes.html


On May 20, 2013, a ferocious EF5 tornado over a mile wide tore through Moore, Oklahoma, inflicting 24 deaths and obliterating entire neighborhoods. It was the third time an exceptionally violent tornado had struck the city in 14 years. Yet predicting when and where these killer storms will hit still poses a huge challenge. Why was 2011—the worst ever recorded tornado season that left 158 dead in Joplin, Missouri—followed by the quietest ever year of activity prior to the Moore disaster? Can improved radar and warning technology explain why so many fewer died in Moore than in Joplin? And will tornadoes get worse as Earth's climate heats up? In this NOVA special, we meet scientists in the front ranks of the battle to understand these extreme weather events. We also meet storm survivors whose lives have been upended and learn how we can protect ourselves and our communities for the uncertain future.

US could see seven to 11 hurricanes in 'active' season

US weather forecasters have predicted an unusually active Atlantic hurricane season of seven to 11 hurricanes.

There is a 70% chance 13-20 named storms will form, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.

This is above the average of 12 named storms, including six hurricanes, in the six-month season beginning in June.

The agency's administrator urged families to prepare well, recalling devastating super storm Sandy, which smashed the US east coast last year.

The conditions in the Atlantic could produce three to six major hurricanes - storms with wind speeds of more than 111mph (179km/h). Those storms are classified as category three or higher hurricanes.

"This year, oceanic and atmospheric conditions in the Atlantic basin are expected to produce more and stronger hurricanes," forecaster Gerry Bell said.

"These conditions include weaker wind shear, warmer Atlantic waters and conducive winds patterns coming from Africa."

At least 37 dead after tornado hits Oklahoma

At least 37 dead after tornado hits Oklahoma

Rescuers searching for students trapped in rubble of elementary school

http://www.koco.com/news/national/tornado-touches-down-in-oklahoma-city-area/-/9844074/20214732/-/qx4hirz/-/index.html#ixzz2Tsr87FnX

M20strom9-jpg.jpg (Picture)

MOORE, Oklahoma (CNN) —Rescue workers raced against time and the oncoming night Monday looking for survivors after a powerful tornado blasted an area outside of Oklahoma City, leveling homes and killing at least 37 people.

Seven of the dead were children from Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, which lay directly in the path of the monster storm's wall of wind.

Seventy-five students and staff members had been huddled the school when the storm hit, CNN affiliate KFOR reported.

As nightfall approached, determined searchers in hard hats dug in the debris for students possibly trapped, but authorities described the work as a recovery, not rescue, effort.

3 days of severe weather, tornadoes look more likely this weekend
 http://www.koco.com/weather/3-days-of-severe-weather-tornadoes-look-more-likely-this-weekend/-/9845544/20190604/-/1543q6ez/-/index.html#ixzz2TZNSLIy7

OKLAHOMA CITY —Saturday through Monday will likely bring severe weather to Oklahoma. Saturday’s severe weather threat will be isolated, concentrated in western and northwest Oklahoma.  Sunday’s risk will be significantly higher than Saturday. Monday holds the greatest risk of severe weather.  

Saturday:

Storms look to develop around 4 p.m. in western Oklahoma. Storms will track to the north and east. Hail to the size of golf balls, winds to 65 mph, and an isolated tornado are possible. Storms will end after dark.

Sunday:

The threat for storms will be for central Oklahoma and points north.  A storm may develop as early as 2 p.m. Storms that fire will become severe very quickly. Sunday’s threats will be for hail up to the size of baseballs and the threat for tornadoes.  There is the potential for strong, long-tracked tornadoes.  

Some storms will continue into the evening hours, but these storms will then slide into eastern Oklahoma.

Monday:

Storms will develop in early afternoon.  Ingredients will be in place for a potential significant severe weather event. Very large hail, and large long-tracked tornadoes are possible. Storms look to fire in the afternoon and continue into the evening. 

NASA Probe Gets Close Views of Large Saturn Hurricane

PASADENA, Calif. - NASA's Cassini spacecraft has provided scientists the first close-up, visible-light views of a behemoth hurricane swirling around Saturn's north pole.

In high-resolution pictures and video, scientists see the hurricane's eye is about 1,250 miles (2,000 kilometers) wide, 20 times larger than the average hurricane eye on Earth. Thin, bright clouds at the outer edge of the hurricane are traveling 330 mph(150 meters per second). The hurricane swirls inside a large, mysterious, six-sided weather pattern known as the hexagon.

"We did a double take when we saw this vortex because it looks so much like a hurricane on Earth," said Andrew Ingersoll, a Cassini imaging team member at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. "But there it is at Saturn, on a much larger scale, and it is somehow getting by on the small amounts of water vapor in Saturn's hydrogen atmosphere."

Scientists will be studying the hurricane to gain insight into hurricanes on Earth, which feed off warm ocean water. Although there is no body of water close to these clouds high in Saturn's atmosphere, learning how these Saturnian storms use water vapor could tell scientists more about how terrestrial hurricanes are generated and sustained.

Both a terrestrial hurricane and Saturn's north polar vortex have a central eye with no clouds or very low clouds. Other similar features include high clouds forming an eye wall, other high clouds spiraling around the eye, and a counter-clockwise spin in the northern hemisphere.

A major difference between the hurricanes is that the one on Saturn is much bigger than its counterparts on Earth and spins surprisingly fast. At Saturn, the wind in the eye wall blows more than four times faster than hurricane-force winds on Earth. Unlike terrestrial hurricanes, which tend to move, the Saturnian hurricane is locked onto the planet's north pole. On Earth, hurricanes tend to drift northward because of the forces acting on the fast swirls of wind as the planet rotates. The one on Saturn does not drift and is already as far north as it can be.
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/whycassini/cassini20130429.html