Night of the Tornadoes... Real Life NOT the Movie

Word went out last night in the storm chase community that it was going to be a bad night for the South. The worst kind of night actually, as the twisters would swarm through the south under the cloak of darkness and that usually wreaks the most havoc when it comes to loss of life. Last night lived up to it's publicity as there are already two deaths reported in Jefferson County, Alabama.

The news reports this morning from the areas north of Birmingham, small beautiful little towns that have been partially flattened will be heartbreaking. Maplesville, Alabama was under the gun last night or rather very early this morning. Nothing sweet about this mess and nothing unusual in that severe weather is one of the biggest threats we face every day somewhere, anywhere in this country.

This is the region that is going to be reporting damages this morning... Maplesville, not just a name in the news but a place on the map:



We worry on Alien Spaceships and the nuclear bomb in the hand of rogue nations and nasty nations and we worry on politics and primaries but the reality is any given moment on Planet Earth someone is under the gun and their life is about to be ripped apart by fast, forming, sudden, severe weather. This morning it's Alabama, last night it was Arkansas and tomorrow it may come to a town near you.

Atlanta is protected by a cold wedge of air that is delivering gray, rainy, cold weather. No snow, some fog, a lot of SAD for people who like to wake up and see the sunshine. Further up the road in Raleigh the sunrise was punctuated briefly by a touch of mauve before it defaulted back to dreary, gray skies and a foggy commute. Why anyone would want to live in cities this far inland, the sky hidden by a wall of green pine trees and rarely ever getting snow is beyond me. Then again, I'm a beach girl.... Miami Beach, Long Beach, Santa Monica Beach, any beach will do...



Note at the top part of the cold front there is snow, ice... and the bottom part that is dragging it's tale across the south there is rain and severe weather forming. Tornadoes are a natural occurrence, they happen when the warm, hot air from the south moves up and punches into the cold, dry air that is descending and especially in a "warm" winter like this one when a cold front marches across the Deep South.... and you get slam, bam and thank you maam ... Personally, I'd rather have a hurricane or a blizzard than a tornado, but that's me.

You can follow the developing news out of this region on the following links, I may add more later as more news develops but at least the home folk in Atlanta feel they are safe from any damage due to their "cold wedge" however as the temperatures rise and the cold front moves on someone, somewhere is going to get an early taste of what would normally be strong, Spring storms as we are still deep in winter.

To these towns the Super Bowl is no longer a big exciting news story and the Florida Primary is not really relevant. What is relevant is finding the remains of their lives that are now scattered across the landscape.

http://www.abc3340.com/

http://www.myfoxal.com/

As for me....going to take a shower and try and figure out what to do while hiding from the fog and cold air and wondering...strangely, did Stephanie Abrams color coordinate today with the severe weather or was that just a coincidence or was she trying to stay warm this cold, gray morning in Atlanta.

Alexander City... you are under the gun next for severe weather...

Welcome winter.... would have preferred a small Southern Snow Storm not this Spring like mess which makes me wonder....is spring coming early this year?

Besos Bobbi

Ps... if I lived in the Atlanta Metro or anywhere in Georgia I'd keep watching the weather. It seems to me the NWS is hedging a bit on their protective wedge...

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ffc/text.php?pil=ATLAFDFFC

"HOWEVER IF
THE WEDGE BREAKS AND DEWPOINTS ARE ABLE TO RECOVER...WE COULD SEE
ISOLATED SEVERE OVER NORTHWEST AND PARTS OF CENTRAL GA EARLY THIS
MORNING. CLIMO WOULD SUGGEST THAT THE WEDGE WILL HOLD BUT WITH THIS
UNCERTAINTY WILL KEEP ISOLATED SEVERE IN THE HWO FOR THIS MORNING.
AS FOR LATER THIS MORNING AND AFTERNOON."

Hmmmmnnnn looks like a BIG "IF" to me... time will tell and that is why we call it a forecast...