This map shows the location of the storms and tornados that swept across the southern United States earlier this week, killing more than 50 people and ravaging homes and businesses.
At least 54 people were killed and hundreds injured Tuesday and Wednesday by dozens of tornadoes that plowed across Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama in the nation's deadliest barrage of twisters in almost 23 years. In spite of the disasters, state and local emergency management officials once again discovered that they could call on Amateur Radio operators to help out and get communications up and going again after the infrastructure failed.
According to ARRL Southeastern Division Director Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, "Four people were killed in Alabama as the storms damaged homes, caused flooding and downed trees and power lines. North Alabama SKYWARN, ARES and scores of Amateur Radio operators were up all night long, providing vital communications to the National Weather Service and Emergency Management Agencies all across the region. Once again, Amateur Radio operators played a critical role before, during and after the storms. I am proud of the level of professionalism and critical information that these operators provided our served agencies."
Hundreds of houses were damaged or destroyed across the region. Authorities had no immediate cost estimate of the damage. The storms flattened entire streets, smashed warehouses and sent tractor-trailers flying. Houses were reduced to splintered piles of lumber. Some looked like life-size dollhouses, their walls sheared away. Crews going door-to-door to search for bodies had to contend with downed power lines, snapped trees and flipped-over cars. Near hard-hit Lafayette, Tennessee, cattle wandered through the debris. At least 12 people died in and around the town; more than 30 were killed in Tennessee alone.
"It looks like the Lord took a Brillo pad and scrubbed the ground," Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen said as he surveyed the damage from a helicopter. "I don't think that I have seen, since I've been governor, a tornado where the combination of the intensity of it and the length of the track was as large as this one," he said. "That track had to be 25 miles long. [The twister] didn't skip like a lot of them do...It's just 25 miles of a tornado sitting on the ground."
Most communities had ample warning that the storms were coming. Forecasters had warned for days that severe weather was possible. The National Weather Service issued more than 1000 tornado warnings from 3 PM Tuesday-6 AM Wednesday in the 11-state area where the weather was heading. The conditions for bad weather had lined up so perfectly that the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma put out an alert six days in advance.
Tennessee
Tennessee Section Emergency Coordinator Lowell Bennington, WD4DJW, said that approximately 25 hams in Madison County had participating in SKYWARN activities before the storm arrived; one ham actually spotted the twister. "Two hams reported to the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency-West, assisting in passing radio communication. A couple of hams assisted Madison County EMA in setting up their Mobile Command Post. On Wednesday, 10 teams were dispatched to do Damage Assessment. These teams were composed of 3 individuals, one of whom was an Amateur Radio operator," he said.
Bennington said that hams in Middle Tennessee "utilized our vast networks of linked 2 meter repeater systems as well as our UHF-linked system in support of the National Weather Service, Tennessee Emergency Management, law enforcement agencies and participating local EMA offices. Operators from Wilson County were dispatched to the Nashville NWS office and they operated from there until around 3:30 AM Thursday, giving and taking weather reports."
Alabama
Alabama ARES District 6 Emergency Coordinator Doug Hilton, WD0UG, said his area was hit hard by a fast-moving line of severe weather; District 6 covers the Northern counties of Alabama. Hilton contacted the NWS office in Huntsville early Wednesday regarding possible SKYWARN activation. "After discussing the situation with NWS personnel, it was decided that since this was going to be a long event, that would probably last all night, it was best not to tie up the local repeaters early on. I opened an informal SKYWARN net to get weather information out to the amateur community during the afternoon, and several Madison County hams participated in the net. We closed the net after about an hour and re-opened it that evening at 7," he said. Madison County ARES was activated that evening and other hams in the area joined in. Hilton said Northern Alabama has a linked-repeater system that covers all 10 counties during emergency conditions.
The storm churned into Western Alabama from Mississippi about 9 PM. The main part of the storm started its destruction at 3 AM. Hilton said, "The storm was a killer, and the extra lead time that people got from the great staff at NWS probably led to a reduction in casualties." A massive long-track EF-3 tornado hit Lawrence County and caused 3 fatalities and more than 20 people were injured." Hilton said the NWS estimated the twister to be 1/2 mile wide with a path length of 18.7 miles, causing "extreme destruction of property." An EF-4 tornado with peak winds of 180 MPH went through Jackson County, causing 1 fatality.
Hilton said hams were able to provide many timely situation reports, "and 'ground truth' is always the best indicator of reality. Many of the hams who stayed up all night were also prepared to leave their homes at a moment's notice to go anywhere in the District, if needed. The incredible teamwork of this ARES/SKYWARN team and the level of professionalism was something to behold."
Kentucky
Chris Shaw, W4BGN, Kentucky District Emergency Coordinator, said several confirmed tornadoes touched down throughout his state. "Kentucky hams activated weather nets, while others were out and about spotting for severe weather. Allen and Monroe Counties in South Central Kentucky were especially hard hit. Some repeaters lost power and hams quickly adapted, going to emergency simplex frequencies on 2 meters. The communications went very smooth and seemed to be beneficial to many. Hams worked throughout the night to help provide communications, especially to those areas without power."
Federal Response
President Bush gave assurances that his administration stood ready to help. Teams from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) were sent to the region and activated an emergency center in Georgia, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Wednesday. "We're going to keep watching this."
"Loss of life, loss of property -- prayers can help and so can the government," Bush said. "I do want the people in those states to know the American people are standing with them." On Wednesday, Bush called the governors of the affected states to offer help and to tell them that "the American people hold those who suffered up in prayer."
While the weather was unusually severe, winter tornadoes are not uncommon. The peak tornado season is late winter through midsummer, but the storms can happen at any time of the year with the right conditions. "All the clues were there. It was just unfortunate that it came out the way it did," prediction center director Joseph Schaefer said. Greg Carbin, warning coordination meteorologist at the Oklahoma center, said there were 67 eyewitness accounts of tornadoes, but some of those were probably twisters that were counted more than once; the actual number is probably more like 30 or 40, he said.
As more ARES groups relay information to ARRL, we will update these reports. -- Some information provided by The Weather Channel
 Previous: DXCC Pushes to Get Ahead |  Next: Surfin': Finding More DX and VNAs |