I don't really have much to say right now, I just saw the images on The Weather Channel and I'm shocked by what they're showing. Entire buildings are wiped completely out, scrubbed clean down to the foundation. Trees are either completely gone or stripped clean, there are deceased strewn about, and just...wow.
I apologize to those of you looking for it today, I've had a busy day and simply didn't have time to devote to a severe weather liveblog today. I'll try to keep this updated and operated as a severe weather liveblog as the situation warrants, but I want to focus on the devastation in Joplin MO, Minneapolis MN and anywhere else tornadoes have hit today.
Keep political and dickish comments out of here. If you're a dick, you'll get hidden. Count on it.
Newest updates at top. Scroll down for initial post, pictures, and older updates.
Update 7
Video from inside a store as the tornado hits them square on. The audio is...intense, and do not listen to it if you're susceptible to nightmares. It's really hard for me to listen to this, oh my god. Skip to about 2 minutes.
Update 6 914PM Central
Tower cam footage of the mile-wide tornado going through Joplin.
Update 5 836PM Central
Sorry for the lack of updates. There's so much chaos and focus on the saving of lives right now that the information that's out there is either rumor or redundant. When new info comes through, I'll post it. Not getting any pictures from people on the ground (except for those from TWC) because of the total destruction of the cell phone network in this area of Joplin.
Update 4 720PM Central
Another screenshot from The Weather Channel showing the St. Johns Medical Center. Look closely at the white smoke behind the hospital on the left, that's the fire and area they're afraid might explode. Click to open in new window.
Update 3 705PM Central
The Weather Channel says that they think that the fire at the hospital could cause an explosion, and they're evacuating the area. Like the tornado wasn't bad enough. Jesus...
Update 2 700PM Central
Please go to THIS DIARY by imonlylurking for information on the Minneapolis tornado earlier this afternoon. It's much better than anything I can post here.
Update 1 657PM Central
Another picture of St. Johns Regional Medical Center, which is on fire and has sustained extremely heavy damage in the tornado. Click to enlarge on Twitpic's site.
Original Post
Photo of TWC from Twitpic, showing the hospital heavily damaged in the tornado:
Here's another screenshot of The Weather Channel that I took a few minutes ago. This is EF-4 or EF-5 damage here. Just...wow.
Click to enlarge
Here's the radar image of the storm as it went through Joplin...you can see the very well defined hook on the storm, as well as the debris ball just southeast of Joplin:
Click to enlarge in a new window
And here's the storm relative velocity image, showing the winds.
Click to enlarge in a new window
