Traci Krus looks at family photos as she surveys the damage from a tornado at her home in Wayne, Neb. (Dave Weaver / Associated Press / October 5, 2013)
From the red flag warnings along California’s coast to the blizzard that dumped almost 4 feet of snow on the Great Plains, from the slew of tornadoes that damaged Midwest towns to Tropical Storm Karen crawling toward the Gulf Coast, severe weather has racked the country this weekend.
What’s causing dramatic and volatile weather is a combination of forces, officials said. California’s Santa Ana winds were driven by a high pressure system over the Great Basin. A low pressure system in the northern plains was moving eastward, kicking up moisture and dumping several inches of wet, heavy snow in western South Dakota.
“It’s a coming together of ingredients,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Kurt Kotenberg. “Everything just collided.”
One byproduct of the collision: tornadoes.
Severe storms spawned at least six tornadoes in northeastern Nebraska, northwestern Iowa and a county in southwestern South Dakota on Friday.
Comprehensive lists of the damage were not yet available, but it appeared that the town of Wayne, Neb., was among the hardest hit, with 15 people injured and several dozen homes and businesses damaged.
National Weather Service officials are tentatively classifying the tornado that hit Wayne as a category EF-3 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, with winds of 136 to 165 mph.
Wayne Mayor Ken Chamberlin estimated the damage in the millions of dollars, according to the state’s Emergency Management Agency. Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman is scheduled to survey the damage Sunday. http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-tornadoes-snow-karen-20131005,0,3195287.story
“It’s a coming together of ingredients,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Kurt Kotenberg. “Everything just collided.”
One byproduct of the collision: tornadoes.
Severe storms spawned at least six tornadoes in northeastern Nebraska, northwestern Iowa and a county in southwestern South Dakota on Friday.
Comprehensive lists of the damage were not yet available, but it appeared that the town of Wayne, Neb., was among the hardest hit, with 15 people injured and several dozen homes and businesses damaged.
National Weather Service officials are tentatively classifying the tornado that hit Wayne as a category EF-3 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, with winds of 136 to 165 mph.
Wayne Mayor Ken Chamberlin estimated the damage in the millions of dollars, according to the state’s Emergency Management Agency. Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman is scheduled to survey the damage Sunday. http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-tornadoes-snow-karen-20131005,0,3195287.story
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