April 29, 2014

An outbreak of severe weather spawned multiple tornadoes over the last two days that left at least 30 people dead in the South and Midwest United States. Slowly moving west to east, the massive storm system cut a swath of destruction from Oklahoma to Alabama. At least 13 tornado-related deaths were reported yesterday in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama. The greatest damage yesterday was in Louisville, Mississippi, where a twister flattened a mobile home park, leveled substantial brick structures, and took the roof off a medical center. Six people were killed in Louisville and surrounding Winston County. In Tupelo, in northeastern Mississippi, another tornado severely damaged every building in a two-block area.

On Sunday, April 27, the same storm system generated tornadoes that left 17 people dead in Arkansas, Iowa, and Oklahoma. At least 15 people were killed when a single half-mile-wide funnel left an 80-mile- (130-kilometer-) long trail of destruction through the suburbs of Little Rock, Arkansas.

A tornado is a rapidly rotating column of air that can develop under a large, anvil-shaped thundercloud. First, a dark wall cloud forms underneath the thundercloud. In most cases, a twisting, funnel-shaped cloud then descends from the wall cloud and touches the ground. Almost all tornadoes in the Northern Hemisphere rotate as shown in the diagram—counterclockwise when viewed from above.  (World Book illustration by Bruce Kerr)

Meteorologists predicted today that the storm system could bring more violent weather to the South. National Weather Service forecasters are warning residents of northern and central Georgia of a threat of tornadoes.

Additional World Book articles:

• Tornado Alley
• Twisted: More Terrible Tornadoes (a special report)
• Weather 1925 (a Back in Time article)
• Weather 2011 (a Back in Time article)
• Weather 2013 (a Back in Time article)