STORM2K

This is just now taking place, it's breaking news right now that a Wal-Mart in Mobile has recieved serious wind damage. A local TV reporter is on the scene and he's said it is unbelievable, he said there's several people on carts being taken into ambulances.Apparantly the roof on the back end of the store was blown off, there isn't any footage yet because of all the lightning in the area.

I'll update as more info becomes available.

They just had a update, 15 people have been injured.Nothing life threatening though.

I was downtown when the deluge began. For once, I was caught unawares. Government Street (US 90) is covered with water. I estimate over 2 inches of rain over the past 90 minutes, and radar indicates more thunderstorms to the north. I'd stay away from Government (and all areas with poor drainage) if possible, but rush hour approaches soon.

People confused the wind gusts with a tornado. I have seen no evidence of tornadic activity with these thunderstorms, but the wind gusts can really throw you for a loop if you aren't aware of them.

BTW, if you want vanity, I have it for you. I was getting my hair coloured and styled.

Here is a link to some pictures on the WPMI website. Sure looks like a funnel cloud.

http://www.nbc15online.com/news/local/s ... 0a&rss=217

I can't believe the NWS didn't even issue a severe thunderstorm warning, it certainly looked worthy of a warning on radar IMO.It got even stronger over the bay and they didn't issue a marine warning.

Given what the first and last pictures show, a tornado warning would have been more appropriate.

Steve

That last photo definitely shows a tornado.

Storm Report from the National Weather Service in Mobile...

NOUS44 KMOB 040104
PNSMOB

ZCZC BHMPNSMOB ALL
TTAA00 KMOB DDHHMM
ALZ051>064-FLZ001>006-MSZ067-075-076-078-079-040300-

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
805 PM CST TUE JUL 3 2007

...SURVEY RESULTS FROM THE MOBILE COUNTY SEVERE WEATHER DAMAGE
OF 3 JULY 2007...

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SURVEY...EYE WITNESS REPORTS...AND RADAR
DATA INDICATE THAT A THUNDERSTORM DOWNBURST OF 50 TO 55 MPH WAS
LIKELY THE CAUSE OF MOST OF THE DAMAGE THAT OCCURRED AROUND 220
PM NEAR THE INTERSTATE-65...DAUPHIN STREET INTERCHANGE.

A SHORT LIVED...GUSTNADO (A VERY WEAK TORNADO ALONG A GUST FRONT)
WITH A RATING OF EF0 (WINDS ESTIMATED LESS 55 MPH) DEVELOPED ALONG
THE LEADING EDGE OF THE OUTFLOW BOUNDARY NEAR THE DAUPHIN WAY BAPTIST
CHURCH JUST ON THE WEST SIDE OF INTERSTATE-65. MINOR TREE DAMAGE
OCCURRED ALONG DAUPHIN STREET NEAR THE CHURCH AND ONE CAR WAS BRIEFLY
LIFTED OFF THE ROADWAY AND DAMAGED WHEN IT WAS BLOWN INTO A TREE. THE
OCCUPANT OF THE CAR WAS WEARING A SEATBELT AND WAS UNINJURED...BUT
THE BACK WINDOW OF THE CAR WAS SHATTERED AND SOME BODY DAMAGE TO THE
VEHICLE OCCURRED. IN ADDITION...A 5 BY 8 FOOT SECTION OF ROOFING
MATERIAL WAS BLOWN OFF THE DAUPHIN WAY BAPTIST CHURCH...RESULTING IN
WATER DAMAGE TO THE CHURCH`S INTERIOR. THE TORNADO QUICKLY DISSIPATED
AFTER THE BRIEF TOUCHDOWN.

THE MOST SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE THEN OCCURRED JUST EAST OF INTERSTATE-65
AT THE SUPER-WALMART ON THE I-65 SERVICE ROAD. EYEWITNESS
REPORTS AND A NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STORM SURVEY INDICATE THAT A
THUNDERSTORM DOWNBURST OCCURRED NEAR THE WALMART STORE. A LARGE
SECTION OF THE ROOF AT THE BACK OF THE STORE WAS TORN AWAY AFTER HIGH
WINDS...ESTIMATED TO HAVE BEEN AROUND 55 MPH...BLEW A LARGE AIR
CONDITIONING UNIT OFF THE ROOF. AS A RESULT...SIGNIFICANT WATER
DAMAGE OCCURRED TO THE INTERIOR OF THE STORE. WIND DAMAGE ALSO
OCCURRED IN THE GARDEN SECTION OF THE STORE...WHERE LIGHT WEIGHT
ROOFING MATERIALS AND NUMEROUS OTHER SMALL OBJECTS WERE BLOWN ABOUT
100 YARDS DOWNWIND FROM THE STORE. SEVERAL MINOR INJURIES WERE
REPORTED.

THE OUTFLOW BOUNDARY THAT CAUSED THE DAMAGE AT I-65 MOVED TO THE
SOUTHEAST WHERE SEVERAL PEOPLE SAW A FUNNEL CLOUD NEAR HIGHWAY 90 AND
THE LOOP. THE ONLY DAMAGE THAT COULD BE FOUND IN THIS AREA WAS A TREE
TOP BLOWN OUT AND SEVERAL TRANSFORMERS WERE BLOWN.

SHEPHERD/BEELER

$$

That same storm blew over our house before it dropped the tornado. We didn't have any wind damage, but the lightning fried our laptop and cable modem. It also knocked the power out to half our house. Fortunately no other electrical equipment was damaged and it was just a matter of flipping circuit breakers and pushing a ground fault switch button to get the power back on. And we had to purchase a new laptop. Actually, we had just been in the Dauphin St. area, near Dauphin Way Baptist and Wal-Mart running errands about an hour before the storm hit. I am so glad the kids and I were not out driving and doing errands in that mess! I remember many times shopping in Wal-Mart as a bad storm came through and deciding to just continue to shop until the storm passed. I know it could've happened anywhere, but it is scary.

I am skeptical of the NWS 50-55mph estimate. That just doesn't seem like it would be enough to cause the damage the storm did. IMO, the NWS is giving a lower-than-severe wind estimate in order to try and cover their backs for not issuing a warning for the storm in the first place.

Extremeweatherguy wrote:I am skeptical of the NWS 50-55mph estimate. That just doesn't seem like it would be enough to cause the damage the storm did. IMO, the NWS is giving a lower-than-severe wind estimate in order to try and cover their backs for not issuing a warning for the storm in the first place.

Not fair and not warranted. An official survey has been made and the officials found what they found. You have no idea of how the unit was tied down, etc. Cheap shot imo with nothing but your own thoughts to base it on.

Sometimes storms that are not officially severe can have a downburst or similar in one areaq that causes something like this. Do you know how to predict downbursts? I don't and I don't know anyone that does without a lot of specialized equipment which we all know is basically only located at airports.

I agree with David. EWG, perhaps 55mph doesn't seem as strong to you since you think you get high winds near that fairly often. Maybe you were just unintentionally overestimating those times at your house, so now it doesn't seem like 55mph could cause that wind damage. I dunno... just a thought.

That's possible. However, I rarely estimate winds that high. Usually what I report are gusts into the 40s (and some times they are confirmed by local airport reports), and I do not expect much significant damage from brief gusts to that level. In the case of the walmart damage though, I really do not think it would have been that much of a stretch for the NWS to have said 58mph (only a 3mph difference). The only reason they stuck with the lower number (IMO) was to try and verify the fact that no warning was issued. I know this opinion is probably not fair or warranted, but this is just what I believe personally. I am not asking anyone else to agree with me.

BTW: My personal wind estimations should be a bit better now. While in Washington and Alaska on a boat that had an anemometer I experienced many different wind speeds (all the way up to 58 knots [67mph] at one point) and can now judge how winds feel and look a little bit better than before. Hopefully this will make a difference in future storm reports from my immediate vicinity.

50-55mph SUSTAINED winds can do quite a bit of damage, and I think that's a good estimate after seeing the damage in that area.

But I agree, this storm should've at least had a severe thunderstoms warning.There were several reports of hail and funnel clouds from that storm.They didn't even issue a marine advisory over the bay, I guess they were on lunch break that hour or something.

Extremeweatherguy wrote:The only reason they stuck with the lower number (IMO) was to try and verify the fact that no warning was issued.

Interesting observation ... but I've never known Mobile NWS to get spanked for not calling an STW or TW after the fact. I think they're immune from civil liability in any case, so why wouldn't they tell the truth? They really have nothing to lose ... and just because it hits 60 MPH in one place doesn't mean that's not very localized, and the winds at the sensors wouldn't be much different. I've personally seen 40+ MPH gusts down at DIP/I-10, and just up I-65 the wind is blowing less than 10 MPH.

55 mph?? I must agree, not possible. Sustained ok, but not gust speed.
I agree, completely inconsistent with damage and 15 injured by flying debris. I experienced a wind squall of 35 g 50 mph for 2 hrs increasing to 50 mph g 69 mph for 15 minutes. Damage consisted of numerous downed tree branches, a few downed billboards, a few downed trees, occasional downed fence, a few roof shingles off (like 5 or 6 in a 1km by 1 km square, city of Toronto, Canada) and a few powerlines down. No injuries from flying debris. Even in the downtown corridor with skyscrapers 70+ stories high funneling winds, no unusual damage except a few windows blew out of the top floors of the skyscrapers.
The walmart event sounds like 90 mph plus, as that's what's needed to drive debris into somebody to injure.

The last photo is clearly a tornado.