This is going to be quick because I may need to run to the basement anytime and I am not sure how the net connection is going to be.
Omaha has at least two tornadoes on the ground and a massive storm lingering over the city.
UPDATE: If you are in the area and are trained for first aid etc. The camp in Little Sioux got hit HARD and they are calling for volunteers to help clear the entrances and exits as they are having trouble getting emergency vehicles in.
At least four dead at the scout camp and over 40 injured are known and they REALLY need help in rescue as the camp covers over 1800 acres.
Moorehead IA also has been hit, both Little Sioux and Moorehead are tiny towns that FEMA should by rights be helping..
The local NBC affiliate had a storm chaser out in this and their car got hit directly live on air.
UPDATE: Looks like there is a tornado on the ground near Offutt AFB moving NE at 40MPH
Going to call the Ex and make damn sure that she is in a bunker with the baby....
Great, just fucking god damn great, her apartment does NOT have a bunker.
a boyscout camp just outside of town was hit directly by a twister.. it is leadership week for the scouts so there are a few hundred scouts there.. word says that there are at least 30-40 casualties there and there are fatalities, currently they are using heavy equipment to reach the area.
weather service radar got knocked out and we are relying on local TV radar... gotta go
Update: Western Iowa is also being hit hard and they certainly don't need that given how bad they have it with the flooding. At least 3 rainwrapped twisters have hit in Western Iowa
UPDATE: Looks like Omaha is drifting into the clear as the front moves. But it is a nasty little cell and those Southwest of us that may be reading this should move directly to cover.
UPDATE: The camp in Little Sioux had 96 boys between the age of 13-19.
Update on the camp, they are saying 4 dead are confirmed and at least 6 injured out of that number. More to come.
This storm system is a real stone cold bitch! It had the reddest image I have ever seen on the radar and just like the last pair that hit on Sunday the Tornadoes are forming and hitting FAST. Sundays pair formed and hit within the time it took for the radar to update... pair of what I heard were F2's form and drop in the couple of minutes between sweeps. And this sucker is being just as nasty and they are making turns to the right which is a bit weird but not unknown. The storm chaser for the local NBC affiliate that got hit in his car by it thought he was mostly safe. Then the storm took out the radar in Valley NE and the tornado turned right into them and jumped over the car just as it was hitting it.
The weather guy is saying that the best thing to do for everyone in the watch/warning area is just to go to the basement if you hear thunder and stay there until it goes away.
Dang! Should have included this in the prior update: According to one of the weather observers Omaha around the area of 168th and Fort received 6-8 inches of rain in under 5 hours.
Another Update on the Little Sioux Scout camp... the death toll remains the same but they are adjusting the injured to at least 40 again. There were 96 teen age boys there along with some adults. They did have apparently have 12 minutes warning but it is 1800 acres... and most of the kids choose to use a tent rather then a cabin when they stay there.
So that leaves roughly half the people there injured. They are still using heavy equipment to clear the roads in and out so they can get emergency vehicles in and out.
On a personal note... my phone is now out though I still have broadband.
UPDATE FOR DAVID KRONING: We tried to get through to the number you gave and got the error message for the switch in that area is currently flooded not with calls but with water. Our land line is out but the broadband is still up and I suspect that is going to be repeated across the area. We have power out around town as well.
Additional update on the Scout camp.. according to a Scout spokesman all the buildings in the camp are gone and the probable age of those there is likely to be between 13-15 for the most part and some may be as young as 12 or as old as 18. That is according to Dan Hunt of the local scout council. At least 4 dead and 40 injured now confirmed by Iowa homeland security and no standing structures.
Even more on the camp: Mercy Hospital in Sioux City activated their disaster plan and medivaced via their own Helicopter four victims from the camp. They flew a Helo in this weather to get kids out. Not disclosing the extent of the injuries.
First victim received at the hospital at 8:13 Helo in the air about 7pm... Not going to be to neat and tidy on noting the updates so bear with me...
Mercy Hospital is the same one that dealt with the air crash in Sioux City 20 years ago and they are a good bunch for disaster preparedness.
At least one victim evaced to Creighton medical center
UPDATE on the camp... it is confirmed that there is not a single standing structure at the camp and it looks like at least one helo took victims to Sioux Falls SD.
And if you are watching CNN right now they are covering it a bit and you can thank my brother for that... he has been dominating their blog for the last couple of hours.
Perhaps the final update: They are beginning to release names of the victims locally, but I am to slow to put them up. Right now the NBC affiliate is interviewing their storm chaser from severestudios.com who got hit on air or more aptly closely overflown by the rain wrapped tornado live. It was strong enough to spin the car around 180 degrees as we watched. If I get more information of the scout camp I will put it up but CNN is on the job right now thanks in part to my brother.
UPDATE: Just heard that there are no critical injuries amongst the scouts. All children have been reunited with family.