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Category 6 has moved! See the latest from Dr. Jeff Masters and Bob Henson here.Two EF-3 tornadoes confirmed from Christmas Day; heavy snows hit 19 states
Winter Storm Euclid continues its U.S. tour today, and is pounding New England with heavy snows, high winds, and coastal flooding. The impressive storm set a record for most tornadoes spawned on Christmas Day, as 13 tornadoes have been confirmed (with at least 12 other suspected tornadoes still unrated.) The previous record for most tornadoes on Christmas Day was twelve, back in 1969. Yesterday, Euclid spawned an additional confirmed tornado in North Carolina. No more tornadoes are expected today.
Euclid has dumped more than six inches of snow in 19 states--Arkansas, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Maine, and Texas. According to the latest NWS Storm Summary, the greatest snowfall so far has been at Albion, Illinois, where 18.3" has fallen. This will likely be exceeded in Maine, where up to two feet of snow is expected before the storm ends on Friday. Fortunately, the tornadoes from the storm are not being blamed for any deaths, though strong thunderstorm winds killed two people on Christmas Day due to falling trees. At least two of the Christmas Day tornadoes were rated EF-3. The EF-3 that hit Pennington, in Southeast Texas, completely destroyed a feed store and a restaurant, and had winds up to 150 mph. The other EF-3 hit McNeil, Mississippi, and was rated a weak EF-3 with winds of 140 mph. The tornado cut a path 24 miles long, injured 8 people, and damaged or destroyed 46 homes. Only four other EF-3 tornadoes have been recorded on Christmas Day since 1950, according to the Tornado History Project. The latest in the year an EF-3 tornado has touched down is December 31. This occurred just two years ago, in 2010, when five EF-3 tornadoes raked Arkansas, Missouri, and Illinois.
Powerful southwest winds from the storm created a significant storm surge of 5 - 6 feet which caused moderate coastal flooding this morning at Sandy Hook, NJ and King's Point, NY. The storm surge in New York City at Battery Park reached 5.9 feet, but occurred near low tide, so only minor flooding was reported. Some peak wind gusts from the storm:
66 mph at Tuckerton Shores, NJ
64 mph at Dover AFB, Delaware
64 mph at Boone, NC
60 mph at Eatons Neck, NJ
Figure 1. Damage from the tornado that hit Maxie, MS on Christmas Day was EF-2. This tornado did EF-3 damage near McNeil, MS. Image credit: NWS Jackson.
Figure 2. Storm reports from Christmas Day, 2012, from NOAA's Storm Prediction Center, show a preliminary 35 tornado reports.
Video 1. This remarkable video from surveillance cameras at a Walgreen's in Mobile, AL during the December 25, 2012 EF-2 tornado show cars and debris flying through the parking lot, and it is fortunate no one was killed. I like the reaction of the guy pushing his cart outside the door into the tornado. Whoa! Not a good idea! This was the second tornado to hit Mobile in the past week, as an EF-1 tornado also hit the city on December 20.
Our new featured blogger, meteorologist Lee Grenci, offers a detailed analysis of the Christmas Day tornado outbreak.
Jeff Masters
Euclid has dumped more than six inches of snow in 19 states--Arkansas, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Maine, and Texas. According to the latest NWS Storm Summary, the greatest snowfall so far has been at Albion, Illinois, where 18.3" has fallen. This will likely be exceeded in Maine, where up to two feet of snow is expected before the storm ends on Friday. Fortunately, the tornadoes from the storm are not being blamed for any deaths, though strong thunderstorm winds killed two people on Christmas Day due to falling trees. At least two of the Christmas Day tornadoes were rated EF-3. The EF-3 that hit Pennington, in Southeast Texas, completely destroyed a feed store and a restaurant, and had winds up to 150 mph. The other EF-3 hit McNeil, Mississippi, and was rated a weak EF-3 with winds of 140 mph. The tornado cut a path 24 miles long, injured 8 people, and damaged or destroyed 46 homes. Only four other EF-3 tornadoes have been recorded on Christmas Day since 1950, according to the Tornado History Project. The latest in the year an EF-3 tornado has touched down is December 31. This occurred just two years ago, in 2010, when five EF-3 tornadoes raked Arkansas, Missouri, and Illinois.
Powerful southwest winds from the storm created a significant storm surge of 5 - 6 feet which caused moderate coastal flooding this morning at Sandy Hook, NJ and King's Point, NY. The storm surge in New York City at Battery Park reached 5.9 feet, but occurred near low tide, so only minor flooding was reported. Some peak wind gusts from the storm:
66 mph at Tuckerton Shores, NJ
64 mph at Dover AFB, Delaware
64 mph at Boone, NC
60 mph at Eatons Neck, NJ
Figure 1. Damage from the tornado that hit Maxie, MS on Christmas Day was EF-2. This tornado did EF-3 damage near McNeil, MS. Image credit: NWS Jackson.
Figure 2. Storm reports from Christmas Day, 2012, from NOAA's Storm Prediction Center, show a preliminary 35 tornado reports.
Video 1. This remarkable video from surveillance cameras at a Walgreen's in Mobile, AL during the December 25, 2012 EF-2 tornado show cars and debris flying through the parking lot, and it is fortunate no one was killed. I like the reaction of the guy pushing his cart outside the door into the tornado. Whoa! Not a good idea! This was the second tornado to hit Mobile in the past week, as an EF-1 tornado also hit the city on December 20.
Our new featured blogger, meteorologist Lee Grenci, offers a detailed analysis of the Christmas Day tornado outbreak.
Jeff Masters
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