Althouse: "It was a rain-wrapped tornado."

May 23, 2011

"It was a rain-wrapped tornado."

"When it is obscured by rain, you can’t tell what the danger is."

23 comments:

Scott M said...: We do a lot of business with people in Joplin and run into there at least three times a week. We've already called every we deal with but the phones are all screwed at the moment. Cell signals are spotty as well.

Prayers for the people of Joplin.; 5/23/11, 8:34 AM
Shanna said...: This is a scary year for tornados. (most of our tornados in Arkansas are "rain-wrapped" too. You just have to rely on the news and the sirens to know what's going on.); 5/23/11, 8:34 AM
KCFleming said...: It was destruction, wrapped in a tornado, inside a rainstorm.; 5/23/11, 8:38 AM
Triangle Man said...: When the sirens went on back in the last century we would head to the basement. Now we check the radar first.; 5/23/11, 8:40 AM
rhhardin said...: Large flat surfaces generate lots of lift and pretty much come apart in a high wind.; 5/23/11, 8:43 AM
Roger J. said...: Tragic indeed--the loss of the hospital is a major blow to immediate care for the injured. Missourians are tough people and will get through this, but I mourn the loss of so many people, their homes and other property.

Mother nature is a real bitch.; 5/23/11, 8:43 AM
Scott M said...: How's your situation, Pogo?; 5/23/11, 8:47 AM
AllenS said...: When I bought this farm in 1973, there was an 80 year old woman who lived across the street. She had lived there her whole life. She said that my house was built in 1908 and gave me a picture of the place which was made into a postcard. In the picture is a different barn than the one that is here now. She told me that the first barn was knocked down by a tornado in 1925. I've often wondered if it would ever happen again.; 5/23/11, 8:48 AM
KCFleming said...: @Scott M
Thanks for asking. She's better every day. Walked for a half hour yesterday, slowly.
We're hoping she goes home today.; 5/23/11, 9:28 AM
Scott M said...: That's good to hear.; 5/23/11, 9:29 AM
Fred4Pres said...: Not the type of surprise you want.; 5/23/11, 9:51 AM
Fred4Pres said...: Pogo, I am very glad things are better for you. Prayers and well wishes to you and your wife.; 5/23/11, 9:52 AM
Freeman Hunt said...: Husband is headed to Joplin. We've never been to Joplin before and so were worried that it would be hard for him to find his way around. Luckily though, a friend of his just moved up there to a town ten miles away and knows the area well, so they're going to meet up. Hopefully they can find a way to help out.

That's great about your wife, Pogo.; 5/23/11, 9:55 AM
KCFleming said...: Thx, Fred4Pres and Freeman.

The body can be a terribly fragile thing.; 5/23/11, 10:00 AM
edutcher said...: Over the weekend, The Blonde took a Red Cross seminar for disaster relief volunteers, apparently they're short of people; in fact, the instructor was bound for the LA flood area once the class ended.

Looks like they'll be needing people in MO, as well.

The line in the article that got me was the one about the storm generating so much pressure, people in a storm cellar thought their heads would explode.

Incredible.

PS Great news, Pogo. Glad things are working out for her.; 5/23/11, 10:01 AM
Phil 314 said...: The devastation to the hospital is particularly troubling. They are now, in essence, doing a reverse disaster drill where they are trying direct hospitalized patient OUT to nearby facilities and in doing so figuring who's critical transport, who can wait and who can go home.

All the while still having the ER as the focal point for the disaster victims outside the hospital to be triaged and distributed.

I hate to say it but my "systems" mindset is wondering if they've practiced that scenario.

Just horrible.; 5/23/11, 10:16 AM
AllenS said...: I'm happy for you and your wife, Pogo.; 5/23/11, 10:16 AM
Phil 314 said...: Pogo;
Glad to hear of your wife's improvement.; 5/23/11, 10:17 AM
KCFleming said...: The Althouse hillbillies are the greatest.; 5/23/11, 10:49 AM
caplight said...: Now would be a time for a contribution to the Salvation Army or the Red Cross.
Our church keeps disaster response kits on the ready so we can ship them to places like Joplin in a hurry. They include as much personal hygiene stuff as you can cram into a one gallon zip lock because often people don't even have the basics to stay clean for days and weeks at a time.
One of my friends went down last night to try and find her aunt. House was destroyed and she is still trying to locate her.
My opinion is that The Weather Channel has had the best coverage by far. Mike Bettes and his crew were live streaming before the sun set yesterday. They must have been close by somewhere.; 5/23/11, 11:03 AM
Phil 314 said...: I was mentioning to my wife this morning that our unseasonable cool but wonderful weather here in the desert southwest (highs in the 70's) can be the set up for horrible storms in the Midwest (i.e. cold front off the Rockies mixing with the moist air coming up from the Gulf).; 5/23/11, 11:43 AM
Freeman Hunt said...: "If you can lift 150 pounds, we need you."

That's what my husband was told when he arrived in Joplin. So if you're in the area and can lift 150+ pounds, you would be appreciated.; 5/23/11, 1:42 PM
Lava said...: Cold fronts out of the Rockies do it to us every time. I lived near Xenia, Ohio when the big outbreak occurred in 1974.

It was difficult to remember what parts of the town looked like after the F5 went through...not to mention the almost 3 dozen deaths in that small town.; 5/23/11, 1:42 PM