Footage in from MSNBC on tornado damage in Joplin MO and Minneapolis MN.
For several more pieces of footage, please click here
For several more pieces of footage, please click here
Tornadoes ripped through parts of the Midwest today killing at least 24 people in a Missouri town where a hospital was damaged, and at least one person in Minneapolis.
These storms were part of a series that battered the Midwest tonight. Tornado warnings and watches were posted from Texas to Michigan.
Those storms followed a tornado Saturday night that swept through a small eastern Kansas town, killing one person and destroying at least 20 homes, as severe thunderstorms pelted the region with hail that some residents described as the size of baseballs, authorities said today.
AP Photo/The Capital-Journal, An
AP Photo/The Capital-Journal, An
AP Photo/The Star Tribune, Marli
AP Photo/The Capital-Journal, An
AP Photo/The Star Tribune, Marli
AP Photo/The Star Tribune, Marl
AP Photo/The Capital-Journal, An
Jaime Green/Wichita Eagle
AP Photo/The Star Tribune, David
Jaime Green/Wichita Eagle
Jaime Green/Wichita Eagle
AP Photo/The Capital-Journal, An
Photos from Detroit Free Press
Picture above shows the damage to St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Joplin, Mo., after it was hit by a tornado on Sunday
A tornado steamrolled across Joplin, Mo., Sunday night, directly hitting a hospital and causing many deaths, according to various reports.
The city, which took a direct hit from the tornado, according to the reports, was left isolated in the destruction, with telephone connections largely cut off.
“The power lines have gone down – we can’t reach anyone there,” said Bill Davis, a meteorologist at the Springfield office of the National Weather Service. He said any assessment of exactly how strong the tornado was will have to wait until tomorrow, when experts drive to Joplin, but he said that on a scale from 1 to 10, the tornado looked to be “on the 8-9 level.”
The News-Leader of Springfield quoted Ryan Nicholls, the head of the local emergency management office, as confirming that there were 24 fatalities. The number of injuries was unknown, the newspaper said. But in a separate call to the office, officials said they were still trying to determine how many fatalities there were.
The storm blew out the windows of St. John’s Regional Medical Center, a large structure on the city’s south side, and swathes of its walls were ripped off.
One Joplin resident, Donald Davis, described to the News-Leader driving through the city, saying that Joplin High School had its windows broken out and part of the roof missing. A church across the street was demolished, he said.
He also described damage to a grocery store, and a large building, the Hampshire Terrace Apartments.
“They’re flattened,” Mr. Davis said. “You just can’t believe it. There must have been 150 units. One lady had a bathrobe around her. Others just had blankets around them.”
Mr. Davis of the National Weather Service said there was a tornado in May 2008 near Joplin that “very much looked like this supercell,” it but missed the city. Still, that tornado, he said, had more than a dozen fatalities.
Check back for updates, photos and videos
Post from The New York Times
By NOAM COHEN
Published: May 22, 2011
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – It has been more than a decade since Middle Tennessee has dealt with swarms of cicadas.
The last time the 13-year periodical cicada emerged from the ground was in May of 1998.
Come May of this year, most of Middle Tennessee will again see the cicadas, according to Dr. Frank Hale, entomologist at the University of Tennessee Extension.
He said the periodical cicada that will emerge this year is known as Brood XIX.
Various populations are called broods and scientists use Roman numerals to designate which brood they are referring to.
Brood XIX is expected to emerge from the ground in May “and they will come out by the millions,” according to Dr. Hale.
He added, “Brood XIX is the biggest brood that we have in Middle Tennessee. It is encompassing most of Middle Tennessee, even some counties in east Tennessee and probably a few west of here.”
The cicadas will start appearing in early May and live for about five to six weeks.
Most Middle Tennesseans remember the cicadas in 1998.
“They were everywhere. You couldn’t walk outside without getting hit in the head with them and they were big,” Zora Mallory recalled. “I am not scared of bugs but I don’t like bugs and I would rather they not be around me. You would walk outside and they would crunch under your feet.”
“I just remember all the noise,” Anita Jean-Pierre Anita Jean-Pierre. “Very noisy and they also freak me out.”
“They were just every where,” Ray Farris added. “[They] covered your windows, covered your cars, dogs and cats chasing them and hiding from them. It is just a nightmare for some people and then we aren’t used to it down here in the south.”
Cicadas are completely harmless but they are very loud and the noise could affect outdoor events in May like picnics or weddings.
The female cicadas can also cause damage to young trees when laying eggs.
Females prefer branches about the size of a pencil.
They cut into the underside of the branch and lay their eggs.
Dr. Hale recommends covering young fruit and ornamental trees with a thin cloth to keep the cicadas away from the branches.
Posting from WKRN-TV News2 Nashville
If you could sit back and watch clouds and the sky move all night and day, what might you see? One answer from the island of Tenerife, captured over the course of the year, includes sequences that are not only breathtaking but instructive. Visible in the above time-lapse movie include clouds that seem to flow like water, a setting sun that shows numerous green flashes, the Milky Way Galaxy rising behind towering plants, a colorful double fogbow, lenticular clouds that appear stationary near their mountain peaks, and colorful moon coronas. The above video was shot solely from the Teide National Park on Tenerife in the Canary Islands of Spain, off the north west coast of Africa. The video also features an unusual type of plant in several scenes — can you identify it?
El Cielo de Canarias / Canary sky – Tenerife from Daniel López on Vimeo.
Posting from Astronomy Picture of the Day
A volcano in Iceland sends ash 20 kilometers into the air, European air traffic not affected as of yet.
On this first video, watch carefully… at 0:53 you can see the lightning…
A Cherry Hill High School East sophomore who challenged Tea Party champion Michele Bachmann to a constitutional debate says she is concerned for her personal safety.
“A lot of them are calling me a whore,” 16-year-old Amy Myers said, referring to anonymous comments reacting to online news reports about her challenge to the 55-year-old Minnesota congresswoman.
In a letter addressed to Bachmann and dated April 29, Myers leveled pointed criticisms at the Tea Party Caucus founder.
“I have found quite a few of your statements regarding the Constitution of the United States, the quality of public school education and general U.S. civics matters to be factually incorrect, inaccurately applied or grossly distorted,” Myers wrote.
“As one of a handful of women in Congress, you hold a distinct privilege and responsibility to better represent your gender nationally. The statements you make help to serve an injustice to not only the position of Congresswoman, but women everywhere.”
Myers and her father, Wayne, posted her letter to Bachmann on CNN’s iReport website on May 6. News outlets including Yahoo and The Atlantic picked up the story over the weekend.
Amy and Wayne Myers said the comments on conservative websites alarmed them most. Several commenters threatened to publish the Myers’ home address.
Others threatened violence, including rape, they said.
“They’re targeting me just because I’m challenging Bachmann,” Amy said.
To view the CNN iReport, click here
The Courier-Post had scheduled a video interview with Amy Thursday. On Wednesday, a somewhat panicked-sounding Wayne Myers phoned to cancel, citing the alleged threats.
“I got a call from the principal that the main office received threatening mail,” said the computer programmer and single father.
“The school hasn’t received any phone calls of a threatening nature, but has received calls inquiring whether Amy is actually an East student, whether she wrote the letter, and inquiries of that nature,” said Susan Bastnagel, spokeswoman for Cherry Hill public schools, in response to an emailed query.
Amy, who is running for sophomore class president, denied she called out Bachmann just for publicity.
“I wanted her to accept the challenge,” the aspiring veterinarian said. “I just wanted her to see what she’s doing is wrong and it hurts the way women look.”
After some prodding, Amy conceded she did not actually believe Bachmann would agree to a debate.
“I was just trying to prove that when a 16-year-old notices somebody in Congress is doing something wrong, she should reflect on what she is doing and try to fix those errors.”
Click here for the full posting from CourierPostOnline
________________________________________
Found this post, authenticity is not verified:
From Amy’s father:
WayneMyers
12:23 PM on May 20, 2011
I am Amy’s father.
After reading this article, and probably not reading the original articles at City Pages & Yahoo, several seem to be posting many false beliefs and accusations about my daughter’s actions or mine. It hasn’t yet escalated to calling her names and the like, but after seeing some of these posts… it won’t be long.
I was a register Republican who voted for Reagan, Perot, GHWB, Clinton the second time, NEVER for GWB and then Obama. On a state level, I never voted for a Democratic governor – including voting for Christine Whitman and Chris Christie. I voted for the late John Adler this past time, but voted for Chris Myers the time before that. I fought against Corzine’s plan to monotize the toll roads. It is true that I donated $250 to President Obama’s 2008 campaign and registered myself as a Democrat. I did it in an attempt to get Obama could win the NJ Primaries. I don’t know if I can switch back to being an Undeclared voter or not. I vote split ticket – for the best candidate. I am not a party shill and no one party owns me. I have a mind and I pass free and critical thinking skills onto my children.
My daughter’s actions were her own. Her writing of the letter was her choice. As a parent, I wholly support my daughter. Amy is in Honor’s English, AP History as a sophomore and was appointed Op-Ed for the CHHSE newspaper. You should really see her articles; two at Yahoo’s Lookout site. You should then read her City Pages articles before you continue to throw accusations and cast your politically influenced comments.
As an Independent who leans to the right, (making only 3 democrat votes in my life), I am rather disgusted in my former party – the Original party of Reagan back in 1980, before the Moral Majority and Libertarians gained control. It is true. If Reagan was in the New GOP, he’s be run out on the rails. To see my former party followers write such filth about a child is simply disgusting – This includes the Sean Hannity Forum!
Outside Seattle WA, a man was in the woods with his dog playing when a horrific accident occurred… a large stick was impaled directly through his dogs heart. The dog survived…. Watch here.
