Tornado Information thread!

Muhlenberg County Students Learning Through Devestation
Dated: 02/11/2008 19:50:18 Updated: 02/11/2008 22:48:38



story by: Courtney Gousman

MUHLENBERG CO., KY - After five days of dealing with the devastation of last week's tornadoes, Tuesday, Muhlenberg county students returned to the classroom. NEWS 25 checked to see how those students are adjusting.

"When the strong part of the tornado started hitting that's how it all happened because I heard a whole lot of stuff about that strong tornado. The three people that was killed I was kin to," says Third-grader, Cody McElrath. That is only part of what Cody recalls from last weeks tornado that destroyed his home, but he was still in place for the first day back to class.

Muhlenberg County School District Superintendent, Dale Todd says Cody's school, Longest Elementary, was the hardest hit, affecting at least 65 students.

Todd says psychologists made rounds to all 10 of the county's schools. Basically what we're trying to do today is have students come in and talk about the ordeal. We're not really concerned that much about students learning today," Todd added.



Todd says a good portion of today was spent allowing students to vent, with words or writing.



School leaders say they'll be analyzing those writing activities to pinpoint any issues students may be facing. Todd says today's attendance across the district, was better than last Monday's.



"We're trying to track down each student that is absent today to see if any of them were affected by the tornado and that's the reason they're not in school. We'll take it real slow," says Todd.



Students like Cody say their glad to be back in the classroom. "I need my education. If you don't get your education, you won't be able to go to college and i want to go to college."



The only school in the district to have damage was Muhlenberg North High. Damage totals estimate $320,000.
 
I am trying to find a donation site set up in the city closest to me to drop off some clothing and other items. There has to be one, I just don't know where it is yet.

So glad you are all ok (((Hugs))) I feel horrible about those who lost loved ones and homes.

This was an article in one of my local papers about the storm

Panolians escape injury after night of twisters


By Billy Davis
It could have been bad. Stationed in Courtland at Main and Wells streets, Daniel Cole videoed trouble in the sky.

“It was wicked,” Cole, deputy director of Panola County Emergency Management, said of the so-called wall cloud, which he trailed Tuesday evening as it advanced east across the county.

The towering storm cloud, known by trained eyes as the likely source of tornadic activity, was “clearly rotating,” Cole recalled. The storm’s path, he said, suggests it was the same storm cloud that dropped into Oxford’s industrial park, damaging the Caterpillar plant.

Panola Countians escaped a night of bad weather with no reported injuries and little storm damage, faring far better than neighbors in DeSoto County and neighboring states. By dawn Wednesday national newspaper USA Today had reported that 45 people had died in Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky due to the storm. No one had perished in Mississippi.

Emergency officials had been waiting since Monday for the coming trouble. A warm front had settled over the Mid-South, raising daytime temperatures into the 70s, and officials feared for a long night when that warm front collided with a fast-moving cold front.

“If the two come together, we’re gonna have some problems,” Cole warned authorities over the radio net at 6:05 Tuesday.

Two storms passed through Panola County and the Mid-South, moving west from Arkansas. The first storm, which hit western Panola County about 5 p.m., brought the worrisome clouds that spawned the deadly twisters until it moved on about 8 p.m. After about a two-hour lull, the second squall line hit, bringing more rain and gusty winds.

In Memphis, weather stalwart Dave Brown had predicted to Channel 5 viewers that the second squall line would be less menacing even though it was a taller formation than the first storm front.

The news was more worrisome on News Channel 3, where a weatherman predicted that the second storm “could be the big one.”

By midnight, longtime weatherman Brown had been proven right.

The National Weather Service reported at least three confirmed funnel clouds above Panola County but no confirmed touchdowns, Cole told The Panolian Wednesday.

The weather service Wednesday confirmed six tornadoes that touched down between Oxford and Jackson, Tenn., where dorm rooms at Union University were destroyed. Jackson had recorded a record high of 78 Tuesday.

A Central Academy resident, Carolyn Taylor, contacted The Panolian Wednesday to report that high winds had shifted her single-wide mobile home off its blocks at 886 John Branch Road. The storm pulled away gas and water lines when it moved the mobile home, also breaking windows and yanking off a door. No one was home when the storm came through, she said.

“Whatever it was, it moved my home two and a half feet,” said Taylor.

Panola sheriff’s deputies had searched for tornado damage in the nearby Terza community after a dispatcher reported a possible touchdown shortly before 6 p.m. No damage was found, and the eyewitness likely saw the funnel cloud moving up and down, Cole said.

“Eyewitnesses in the Cole’s Point area saw a funnel cloud, and it was most likely the same one,” Cole said.
 
I know that anyone in any of the affected areas would appreciate it! Thanks!!
 
This sounds like a good time to start prayers for those living in the path of the storm headed in tomorrow. They said it's possible that this will be a repeat of the deadly tornado storm we had this past month. We just didn't get as much warning as we did with the other.

All of you are in my thoughts and prayers! I am worried myself but, when aren't I when these storms come through?

Stay safe!

:love:

If you are in MS, watch this link for alerts and information as it comes in. You can bring up your state as well from this link. The news keeps changing from this site and the news on television but, thats a given. If you watch these alerts, they change constantly.

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/alerts/ms.html
 
I was thinking the very same thing ~ really warm air yesterday and snow coming in behind...guys watch out if you are in a bad area! We are in a area that is in a slight risk area and I bet our poor kids are so scared at the school today! Say a little prayer for everybody as the weather pattern is sorta set up the same way!

Everybody keep us updated when you can!
 
Right now, Arkansas is being hit hard with heavy rainfall. We are all under a Flash Flood Warning, with ongoing heavy rainfall reported all day long. River flood warnings are posted here along the Arkansas River, and state weather radar shows this huge blob of yellow and red just hovering over central Arkansas. Oh, and the wind is blowing pretty hard as well...however, no severe weather is taking place here, thankfully.
 
The weather wasn't as severe as expected but, we got hit with a lot of rain also. Our backyard was a lake, it came down so hard and heavy. We had a lot of wind, thunder and lightening as well but, I closed the curtains and don't know exactly how bad it got out there because, DD was scared. I was trying to keep an eye on it. The lightening was striking everywhere so it frightened her when she seen it out the window.

I am so glad we didn't have a repeat of last month, that was scary!!
 
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