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05/07/2007
Kansas F5 Tornado: If You Think You Had a Rough Weekend
Check out this series of aerial shots of what little is left of Greensburg, Kansas. It's hard to look at these photos and not be astonished. Just tragic.
It was the first F5 (highest category) tornado to hit the counry in eight years: "Meteorologists of the National Weather Service said Friday night's tornado had wind estimated at 205mph, and carved a track 1.7 miles wide and 22 miles long."
Posted 8:45 AM EST by Andy Towle in Kansas, Natural Disasters, News | Permalink
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My thoughts and prayers go out to the people of Greenfield Kansas and their friends and families.
I heard on a news report yesterday that the only building left standing was a bar. I wonder how Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell and the rest of the “God’s Wrath” Hee Haw gang will interpret this tragedy for us.
I think if God/Nature/Earth is sending us any message, it’s that we’ve assaulted it enough and it is going to be fighting back in ways that we can’t even imagine.
I feel confident that in a couple more years there will be NO ONE denying that global warming exists and that human actions are the main cause of it; not even in the corporate offices of Exxon/Mobile.
Posted by: Zeke | May 7, 2007 9:02:56 AM
At my parents' farm in South Dakota, the wind blew off some of the shingles on the house; small part of a roof on the empty hog barn; tarp from the sileage (cut grass for the cattle to eat)... they are SO LUCKY that's the only thing that happened.
My heart goes out to everyone in Kansas who lost their home in the tornadoes.
Posted by: Allen | May 7, 2007 9:52:27 AM
I did have a rough weekend, but seeing this happen, I really hope they will be all right.
Posted by: Clement | May 7, 2007 10:44:09 AM
Zeke,
Tornadoes decrease as global warming increases. The jet stream migrates north as the planet warms, moving it away from interacting with the thunderstorms, which spawn tornadoes to start with.
In a few years people will stop blaming every observable weather phenomena on Exxon/Mobile and will instead concentrate on the science.
Inconvenient huh? ;-)
Posted by: Mitch | May 7, 2007 10:52:29 AM
You're right on one account-the jet stream will migrate north, turning America's breadbasket into a lovely desert.
Posted by: Gary | May 7, 2007 11:01:13 AM
"Mary, Mary.
Quite contrary."
--Dedicated to Mitch and his very special contrarian outlook on life.
Posted by: Rey | May 7, 2007 11:05:33 AM
It's hard to argue with the science supporting the idea of gradual global climate change, but this tornado and its aftermath doesn't support one view or another. It's just a tornado. A big one. They have them in Kansas and Oklahoma all the time. F5 is a monster, but certainly not unheard of. After growing up in Oklahoma, it doesn't appear that there are that many more F5 tornadoes now than there were 25 years ago. (Of course that's just based on anecdotal evidence. The weather geeks out there might be encouraged to dig up the actual data... anyone wanna do that?)
Posted by: Brian | May 7, 2007 11:08:59 AM
wasn't it the friction between the extra cold and extra warm fronts of the east and west meeting that caused the twisters?
Posted by: A.J. | May 7, 2007 11:17:14 AM
Mitch, you are dead wrong my friend; not that you've EVER let real science get in the way of any of your arguments.
Try reading something OTHER than worldnetdaily and freerepublic for information on climate change.
Posted by: Zeke | May 7, 2007 12:05:40 PM
Honestly there is no definite word on what will happen to tornado intensity and frequency because of global warming. The best guess is that there will be more variability in weather. Yes, the jet stream will probably move further north on average because of warming, but its not that it "moves away from interacting with storms", instead it will move the focus for storm development to the north.
Also, the "F-scale" is no longer used to rate tornadoes. They use an enhanced scale called the "EF-scale", making it an EF5. The main difference is the correlated wind speeds. Over the years, we have found that it doesn't take as strong of wind speeds to cause major damage.
Scott
ISU Environmental Science Graduate Student
Posted by: Scott | May 7, 2007 12:14:06 PM
Actually, I had a pretty good weekend.
Posted by: anon | May 7, 2007 12:30:06 PM
They must have had a gay pride parade in Greenburg, why else would Jesus let this happen. Has anybody heard from Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell?
Posted by: B | May 7, 2007 2:08:47 PM
I am sure that in a matter of time the so-called gay lifestyle will be blamed for this one too. Kansas, one of the most homophobic states is a battleground state in our right to be treated fair and equal. Hey, isn't this the same state as Fred Phelps?
Posted by: Dawson | May 7, 2007 2:24:12 PM
Well I'll defer to the Grad student. I did a quick glance several articles on the matter and that's what I came up with. Zeke, feel free to post some links that prove me or Scott wrong.
Scott, I was under the impression that the weakening of the jet stream and it's shift to the north would diminish tornadoes because there would be less moisture to the north to spawn the thunderstorms and they would be less violent because of the lower contrast in temperature. Do I have that wrong?
Posted by: Mitch | May 7, 2007 2:37:51 PM
Mitch, where did you get the impression that Scott was backing you up?
You might want to read his comment again there bubba.
Posted by: Zeke | May 7, 2007 3:40:35 PM
Besides, who needs science when we have Robertson and Falwell to tell us WHO is to blame for these tragedies?
I've noticed a deafening silence coming out of Lynchburg and the 700 club on this particular instance. I guess they couldn't find any records of rampant homa-sek-shality, mass abortions, ACLU or feminist marches taking place in Greenfield lately.
They having even attemted to explain to us how ALL the homes and churches were destroyed but the local bar was left standing.
That's alright. I can wait for them to consult with each other before coming up with and sharing with us, the message that God was sending to Kansas.
Like Mississippi and Louisianna, Kansas has an anti-gay marriage amendment. You would think that God would send these disasters to the heathens in MA, CT, NJ, VT and the rest of those Godless New Englanders.
Perhaps His/Her aim just isn't as good as it used to be in the good ole days.
Posted by: Zeke | May 7, 2007 3:52:15 PM
Nonresponsive Zeke. Good try. My understanding is that tornadoes will lessen. Scott's opinion is that there will be more "variability" so in other words it'll be either more or less. You immediately blamed it on global warming and Exxon-Mobil. Again...some science to back up your supposition please.
BTW...do you own a car?
Posted by: Mitch | May 7, 2007 3:53:35 PM
And has anyone noticed that the national guard is kinda MIA to help with the disaster? Why is that? Could it have something to do with.....SATAN?
http://democrats.senate.gov/journal/entry.cfm?id=273668&
Posted by: woodroad34 | May 7, 2007 6:25:26 PM
One of the major issues here is the fact that the Kansas National Guard is hampered in their rescue efforts because of this Iraq "war". Considering the US governments pathetic response to the Katrina/New Orleans situation a few years back I can only imagine the hell these folks will be going through over the next few years? It's beyond pathetic to know that their/our hard earned tax dollars won't come to assist them in their time of REAL need? A whole UNITED STATES town is blown off the face of the earth and all Bush and Co can say is "There's a certain spirit in the Midwest of our country, a pioneer spirit that still exists, and I'm confident this community will be rebuilt" the president said.
This is sad.
Posted by: ShawnSF | May 7, 2007 6:26:21 PM
Mitch, I no longer argue with fools. You don't want information, science or links. We've been there done that MANY times before. You just want to play clever repeating your global warming denialist meme ad nauseam.
You obviously get your information from the Exxon/Mobile "environmental guardian" website or the Republican party talking points.
I won't waste my time playing footsie with you.
Posted by: Zeke | May 7, 2007 11:34:03 PM
Hmm... I listened to an interview on NPR today and got a completely different impression about their need for additional equipment. The governor's statement seems to be misunderstood or poorly worded.
Posted by: none@none.com | May 8, 2007 4:14:42 PM
By "more variability" I was referring to extremes. Likely some areas will see many more drought events and we have had currently, and some areas will see alot more flooding events than they have currently. This is the lagging side-effect of a global change in temperature. The thing to keep in mind is that it is called 'global' warming, meaning that on average the whole earth will warm. Some places will actually have cooling relative to other places. This doesn't mean areas of warming will never see record cold again, they will just see record warmth more often.
As for the jet stream... the focus for the strongest storms generally is near the jet stream and places where it is able to form weather systems that tap into gulf moisture. I aware of any particular studies regarding how the change in the average position of the jet stream could decrease storm severity.
Posted by: Scott | May 12, 2007 1:35:46 PM