Saturday, March 3, 2012

Friday Tornadoes Span 10 States, Kill Dozens

Mar 3, 2012; 10:27 AM ET
An employee of Henryville High School examines the remains of the building following severe storms Friday, March 2, 2012, in Henryville, Ind. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
A massive severe weather outbreak stretching from the Ohio Valley to the Gulf coast spawned dozens of tornadoes across 10 states on Friday, marking one of the largest outbreaks on record this early in a season.
For some areas, it was the second tornado outbreak this week.
Though the task of counting the actual number of tornadoes will stretch into next week, there were at least 80 reports of twisters on Friday stretching from the morning to the late evening hours.
The most concentrated area of tornadoes stretched across the Ohio Valley, from southern Indiana and Ohio south into Kentucky. Here, at least 34 people lost their lives, including 14 in Indiana, 16 in Kentucky, three in Ohio and one in Alabama.
There have been unconfirmed reports of five possible fatalities in the Carolina's as of Saturday afternoon.
Rescue workers, including the National Guard, continued to dig through rubble and debris early on Saturday in an effort to locate more survivors.
To streamline the aid process, Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear declared a State of Emergency late on Friday.
In Indiana, the towns of Henryville and Marysville sustained direct hits from tornadoes during the early afternoon hours, leading to extensive damage.
Residents of Marysville, Ind., survey the tornado damage to their homes Friday, March 2, 2012 in Marysville, Ind. (AP Photo/Brian Bohannon)
"Marysville is almost completely gone," Clark County Sheriff's Maj. Chuck Adams told WHAS-TV in the wake of a tornado.
In Henryville, the town's high school was nearly demolished while school buses were thrown into nearby businesses. Fortunately, everyone at the school was safe and accounted for.
A 2-year-old girl was found safe and alone in the middle of a farm field outside Henryville. Authorities were searching for her family.
Several homes were destroyed by another tornado in nearby Holton, Ind., where a car was flipped over several times by the fierce winds.
A map of severe weather storm reports from Friday received by the Storm Prediction Center as of 5:30 a.m. EST Saturday.
A possible tornado destroyed a trailer and damaged a silo and barns in New Liberty, Ky.
Farther south in Tennessee, at least 29 people were injured as tornadoes touched down across 10 counties. In Alabama, more than a hundred homes suffered heavy damage.
There were more than 700 reports of severe weather in all on Friday and Friday night. Two hundred twenty of them were from strong thunderstorm wind gusts or wind damage, while 414 were from large hail.
The threat for severe weather will shift deeper into the Southeast today, stretching from the Florida Panhandle to the eastern Carolinas. While a few storms could turn gusty, the overall threat for tornadoes will be much lower.

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