Video: Tornadoes hit close to home
posted at 3:30 pm on May 26, 2008 by Ed Morrissey
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Almost anywhere one chooses to live in the US (and the world), natural disasters become a part of life. Growing up in Los Angeles, earthquakes became a part of life, causing death and destruction only often enough to frighten those who live elsewhere. In the coastal South, they live with hurricane season, and in New England they have deadly nor’easters. In the Midwest, we have tornadoes, and they can hit with almost no warning at all — as they did last night nearby us:
As a storm roared over his head, shaking his house and sending the family belongings flying all over the place, all Jason Akins could do was put his arms over his wife, two sons and two neighbor kids and hope for the best.
“I was worried something was going to fall on us,” said Akins, a Hugo resident who went in a matter of seconds from enjoying a carefree Sunday barbecue to holding on for dear life in his basement.
Akins’ house was severely damaged when thunderstorms packing large hail and a possible tornado swept through this small St. Paul suburb, killing at least one person and destroying dozens of other homes during a devastating rampage through the north metro area.
A 2-year-old child was killed and the child’s sibling was critically injured, Washington County Sheriff Bill Hutton said. The children’s parents also were hospitalized. At least five other people were injured and taken to hospitals.
A series of tornadoes in Iowa killed nine people yesterday as well. We live within 20 minutes of St. Paul, in a different direction, and we had been expecting some strong storms all day. They never came close to us, and the severe-weather sirens never activated. Our storm alarm never sounded. The first time I heard about the tornadoes was when a very good blog-friend e-mailed me to make sure we didn’t get hurt.
Keep the people of Hugo and the stricken areas of Iowa in your prayers today.
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Ed, Do you all have cellers? Do you get warning of storms? I am happy things are well with you. Please keep up with the weather.
I will keep all in my prayers.
L
letget on May 26, 2008 at 3:37 PM
More birth pangs.
SaintOlaf on May 26, 2008 at 3:44 PM
I live in Oklahoma, and have been through 2. The Oklahoma weather stations can tell you what STREET the tornado is on. We are drilled with tornado precautions almost daily this time of year.
I’m saying prayers for all families affected.
Janna on May 26, 2008 at 3:47 PM
Having experienced Hurricane Hugo I had a second of cognitive dissonance. My heart goes out to the Citizens of Hugo, MN.
tmitsss on May 26, 2008 at 3:58 PM
My thoughts exactly. I was in central SC when Hugo came right over top of us in 1989!
SouthernGent on May 26, 2008 at 3:59 PM
Agreed. Gary England is the man. I would also recommend http://www.weathertap.com as a good weather monitor site for the internet junkie too occupied to turn on a TV (me). Keep safe guys.
Meric1837 on May 26, 2008 at 4:18 PM
I just finished writing about finding hope in the midst of suffering in my blog. Please click my username to see it.
jgapinoy on May 26, 2008 at 4:19 PM
Glad you and yours are OK, Ed.
Rosmerta on May 26, 2008 at 4:38 PM
Expect Al Gore to be selling his particular brand of manure on the backs of these people soon too.
Maxx on May 26, 2008 at 4:40 PM
Most of the injuries in Iowa were to people that had taken to their cellars. The houses just fell on top of them.
Jimmybob on May 26, 2008 at 4:51 PM
Nevertheless they were obviously safer there than out in the winds of the Tornado.
Maxx on May 26, 2008 at 5:30 PM
Wow. That’s awful. I grew up in that area, and there really isn’t anything you can do to protect yourself except go to your basement and get under something.
capitalist piglet on May 26, 2008 at 5:39 PM
Somebody needs to tell Al Gore(and sharon stone) what these events really are…. birth pangs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbUhIHS1nks
SaintOlaf on May 26, 2008 at 5:50 PM
Olaf — earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, landslides, hurricanes, tsunamis, volcanos, etc., have been going on since the Earth was formed and for millennia before the first humans walked it, but now you presume to know the intention of God in order to inform us that the ones we’re getting today are signs of the coming Apocalypse. If you’re so smart, tell us: why wasn’t the 1631 eruption of Mount Vesuvius such a sign? How about those earthquakes in 9th-century Persia or 16th-century China? How about all the earthquakes that the geological record show hit California tens of thousands of years before there were even any human beings living here?
Your pronouncements are on the order of those of Fred Phelps and his family in their obnoxiousness. In fact, why don’t you go join them in protesting a Memorial Day observance or something?
Alex_SF on May 26, 2008 at 6:13 PM
I live in Minneapolis (about 20 miles SW of Hugo) and have been to Hugo a few times. The vast majority of single family houses in MN have basements, and there are storm sirens in almost every city and town.
The sirens didn’t go off here either- in fact it wasn’t raining or even windy here when I heard about it; 10 miles NW of here it was very windy.
Hollowpoint on May 26, 2008 at 6:41 PM
Hey, that’s over the top and uncalled for. SaintOlaf is doing nothing more than quoting Revelation, you can either believe that or not. But comparing him with Fred Phelps, that blasphemer nut and protester at troop funerals just shows that YOU are the real bigot and hater here.
Maxx on May 26, 2008 at 6:44 PM
Why isn’t it a fair comparison, Maxx? Both see tragic catastrophes befalling other people and pronounce that they happen to know that these particular events are brought about by God and the reasons why — often before the victims are even in the ground. Respect for the victims and their families doesn’t matter; what’s important to them but the opportunity to seize on calamity to push their own religious agendas and to flatter their own arrogant pride as the oracles of their messages.
As for the “real bigot and hater” epithet: I didn’t call anyone a bigot or hater, and I don’t know where you got the idea that your personal opinion on who is or is not one was of any interest to me other than mild amusement value.
Alex_SF on May 26, 2008 at 6:55 PM
Alex_SF on May 26, 2008 at 6:55 PM
I really think you owe SaintOlaf an apology for comparing him with Fred Phelps. Phelps is a bigot and a hater and that’s what you called SaintOlaf, just not appropriates and totally uncalled for in my opinion. I’m sure no one here at HotAir will hold their breath for your apology. But it was an ugly thing to say.
Maxx on May 26, 2008 at 7:11 PM
Indeed.
And this increase in natural disasters is a sign of the last days. As we grow closer to Christ’s return, earthquakes and other disturbances on the earth will continue to grow in frequency and intensity. That is the key. They will increase in frequency. They are not meant to utterly destroy; they are meant as warnings. The Bible says “All these are the beginning of sorrows.” Matthew 24:8
apacalyps on May 26, 2008 at 7:15 PM
Alex-
You don’t owe anybody anything. Olaf and Phelps are just different varieties of the same thing: deluded perspectives based on superstition. It’s an entirely legitimate comparison.
hippiepunk on May 26, 2008 at 7:21 PM
Do I detect an intolerance toward Christians?
Maxx on May 26, 2008 at 7:37 PM
With Alex making an analogy between Olaf and Phelps, I will make an analogy between Maxx and Jesse Jackson. Maxx, is your “anti-Christian” radar operating 24/7 just searching for some offense in which to claim victimhood?
Please, Maxx, Olaf and Apacalyps, save your controversial interpretations for another day. The focus of this post is on the poor victims of the natural disaster. Unfortunately, this is tornado season in the Midwest, and every year we see these same stories of people suffering from deadly tornadoes. Thankfully, the path of destruction is usually small, although that gives small comfort to the unfortunate people in the path.
DCGamer on May 26, 2008 at 8:00 PM
Oh?
I thought that Christians were the most generous & selfless group of people on Earth.
I thought that Christians are the first NGOs to respond to any disaster (which is the context of your slam).
I thought that Christians are more likely to adopt domestically & internationally.
I thought that Christians were the most likely to work full-time to serve the poor both here & abroad.
I now know that Christians only do absurd deeds.
jgapinoy on May 26, 2008 at 8:03 PM
To the atheist who is bent on proving that there is no One to be accountable to, it is necessary to compare every Bible believer to Fred Phelps & Jesse Jackson, rather than to Mother Theresa, Franklin Graham, & the hundreds of thousands who labor to help the suffering anonymously.
jgapinoy on May 26, 2008 at 8:08 PM
Yes.
And I agree the Christian thing is not with the topic. But I didn’t take us there, I merely responded.
Maxx on May 26, 2008 at 8:08 PM
Nothing controversial about it at all. It’s pretty simple in fact. The closer we get to Jesus’ return, earthquakes and other disturbances on the earth will continue to grow in frequency and intensity. They will increase in frequency. Now go check the records being broken regarding the weather the last few decades. There has been a tremendous increase in natural disasters in the United States. The first sentence in Ed’s story is “Almost anywhere one chooses to live in the US (and the world), natural disasters become a part of life.” Funny, DCGamer tells us to keep what Scripture says out about “natural disasters”, yet, he then goes on to give us his secular opinion for half a paragraph. Sometimes we also call them Global Warmists. This sounds to me like “the debate is over.”
apacalyps on May 26, 2008 at 8:42 PM
Last night we had rain and lightening,but nothing
compared to the Duluth area,the radar site for that
area was red,and purple,absoluetly nasty!
We had really weird clouds,someone took pictures abd
posted it on our cities website.
Scroll down to View photo gallery at the bottom of the
article,does anybody have any thoughts of these clouds?
http://www.sootoday.com/content/news/full_story.asp?StoryNumber=32302
canopfor on May 26, 2008 at 8:52 PM
Anybody got NUMBERS? Statistics. Weather data. Numbers do not lie. I don’t have the numbers. So I can’t say for certain, but…
My collie says:
And it’s NOT the Starbuck’s coffee, either.
A tornado swept through Laramie, Wyoming this past week. My brother (who lives there) said that it damaged the junior high school (a block from his house), and picked up a steel-truss church steeple at the church he attends and tossed it to the opposite end of the parking lot.
People! We’re talking about Laramie, Wyoming here. 7200+ feet in elevation. The interstate highway 5 miles out of town is 8200+ feet in elevation. Tornados just DON’T happen there. The last tornado to do significant damage in Wyoming was in Cheyenne something like 20 years ago — and even though Cheyenne is 6000+ feet in elevation, it is on the plains of Nebraska (for all practical purposes).
I’m tellin’ you, something “X-Files”-ish is going on here.
My collie says:
Where are Mulder and Scully when ya’ NEED ‘em?
CyberCipher on May 26, 2008 at 9:05 PM
Yes.
jgapinoy on May 26, 2008 at 9:13 PM
In the link I just gave, they give a couple of natural explanations for the increase in tornadoes. But from 200 to 1600 in 55 years?
jgapinoy on May 26, 2008 at 9:15 PM
In the link I just gave,
jgapinoy on May 26,2008 at 9:15PM.
jgapinoy: The first graph speaks for its self,wow!
canopfor on May 26, 2008 at 9:29 PM
No tornadoes but golfball and baseball sized hail that shredded our siding and wooden deck though I will gladly take that over the tornadoes that landed southeast of us. Minnesota is scary this time of year.
Bishop on May 26, 2008 at 10:02 PM
canopfor on May 26, 2008 at 9:29 PM
ck back to the other thread.
jerrytbg on May 26, 2008 at 10:11 PM
Hurricanes are up, too.
jgapinoy on May 26, 2008 at 10:36 PM
More being reported because more people live there. Better technology to detect them etc etc etc. Occam’s Razor, please.
lorien1973 on May 26, 2008 at 10:38 PM
Yes, I referenced that, but an eightfold increase from 1950 to 2005?
jgapinoy on May 26, 2008 at 10:44 PM
Let’s look at all natural disasters.
jgapinoy on May 26, 2008 at 10:48 PM
About a year and a half ago, we had a series of storms rip through our rural neighborhood. I was 30+ miles away at work watching the NWS radar via the web.
Around 9:30 AM, we had the “code 33″ issued which means to evac to the basements at work. I took my laptop with me - gotta love wireless. That storm passed through my neighborhood with heavy rain, small hail and some wind.
Back in my office, I was watching more storms on the radar - two more storms ripped through the neighborhood as well. Needless to say, I was concerned, but it looked like the worst may have been some wind and rain and small hail. So it was 11 AM, and three storms had already been through - all along an west to east line maybe 10 miles wide.
Shortly after lunch, we had another code 33. I quickly brought up the NWS radar page and there was a bright violet-white circle directly over my house. I said out loud ‘That can’t be good” and went down in the basement again and awaited the all clear.
I got a call from my wife who went home from work after the storm cleared asking me to get home ASAP, which I couldn’t because there was yet another code 33 for which I had to wait until an all clear.
Our Victorian farmhouse had over dozen windows busted out our pickup had window smashed out and had hand sized dents on every body panel except the tailgate. Windows were knocked out of the machine shed, the machine shed’s roof held, but was dented. The ground was dimpled from the baseball sized hail. The roof of the garage and the house, both less than three years old were totalled. The (plastic) gutter on the garage was shattered, much of the metal gutter on the house was gashed and dented. Some of the siding of the house was knocked off. The LP gas line to the house even had a dent in it. Last, a large tree was broken off.
We had very good insurance coverage which covered nearly all of the damage. Those dimples in the ground were proof to the adjuster that the hail was indeed baseball sized. It took about a year before things were back to normal. Total damage was around $35,000.
Our neighbors all lost roofs and windows, crops were damaged most places and totalled in some other places due to getting flattened by wind. Two of the houses were less than a year old. This was considered by weather folks and adjusters to have been a 100-year storm, but no tornado.
I know how much grief, frustration and work it was getting my house fixed and some of the pain experienced by my neighbors whose insurance wasn’t as good as ours, but I can’t even to begin to imagine the pain of those whose homes were completely destroyed and had lost family and friends.
The pictures from Hugo and Iowa are devastating.
Dr. Bob on May 26, 2008 at 11:09 PM
Have you ever considered the possibility that data reporting has allowed us to document the increase?
jerrytbg on May 26, 2008 at 11:23 PM
“so called” increase.
jerrytbg on May 26, 2008 at 11:30 PM
There was a tornado about 6 or 7 miles that destroyed some homes near my home about 3 weeks ago.
Certainly was an eye opener driving by the houses.
modnar on May 26, 2008 at 11:35 PM
Yes, data reporting is better than it was in 1950, obviously. But an eightfold increase demands more in the way of an explanation.
The link I provided at 10:48PM says that all natural disasters have quadrupled in only the last 20 years.
jgapinoy on May 26, 2008 at 11:45 PM
Good job, jgapinoy. Clearly, natural disasters are increasing world-wide.
apacalyps on May 27, 2008 at 1:39 AM
An amazing fact that I don’t know if anyone else here would find surprising, but over 75% of all the tornadoes in the world happen in the US.
Sorry jgapinoy, but I don’t buy it. Data collection and interpretation has change considerably in the last 50 years. The US did not start officially collecting tornado data until 1953 and it was 20 years after that that they adopted a standardized system of data collection. Many parts of the world still don’t collect tornado data and if they started doing so the number of reported tornadoes would most likely increase. Any noticeable increase in any natural disaster numbers is directly attributable to improved data collection methods in my view. Also there are certain disasters that would have to be ignored if one is trying to make a strong case that “man made global warming” is causing an increase in natural disasters, such as volcanoes and earthquakes.
NotCoach on May 27, 2008 at 2:24 AM
A severe tornado season was predicted with the return La Nina in the Pacific Ocean. If, as some suspect, the Pacific Decadal Oscillation has reversed from the warm regime that started in 1976, then La Ninas will be more frequent and El Ninos less for the next 20-30 years.
Feedie on May 27, 2008 at 3:02 AM
Oh bloody hell, can’t you two just rape AP’s iPhone so you can get banned already?
It was a freakin’ tornado. They’ve been occuring for approximately forever.
If you were better Christians, you’d know that the end will come like a thief in the night, unable to be predicted by you two morons based on news reports of a couple natural disasters.
Hollowpoint on May 27, 2008 at 4:14 AM
I worked with a woman who grew up in Hugo, MN — back when it was mostly all farms. She’s now retired and living on her sister’s farm in Centerville, which isn’t too far from Hugo. One thing I remembed about her, was how amazed she was at all the housing developments that were going up in Hugo and the other northern suburbs on the old farmland and fields. She’d talk about the tornadoes that used to tear through those empty fields back when she was growing up, and wondered how long those developments would last.
Now it makes me wonder, whether tornadoes do follow the terrain, cropping up in certain areas more than others, or if this was just a random act of chance.
jacquie on May 27, 2008 at 7:11 AM
Hey, way to let your emotions guide you rather than the facts! Obama, here’s someone clinging to bitterness rather than religion!
Yes, Jesus said he will come ‘as a thief”, catching us by surprise. but he & the prophets also gave us many signs of the times to look for. “When you see these things, look up, for your redemption draws near!”
jgapinoy on May 27, 2008 at 10:06 AM
A relevent passage from Luke chapter 21:
It is true that the end will come like a thief in the night, no one knows the hour or the day, and humans will continue to marry, have children, and all the rest, right up to the day that it happens. It is also true that Jesus warned us about the snake-oil salesmen holding up signs that say “The end is near.” as evidenced in this passage.
However, it would simply be foolish to stick one’s head in the sand and pretend that something unusual is not happening. I witnessed the late 50’s and ALL of the 60’s. I can say with some degree of certainty that the natural disasters ARE INDEED increasing in frequency. Dismissing all of this as “bad record keeping back then” is simply disingenuous.
CyberCipher on May 27, 2008 at 10:20 AM
Typical snide remark (very popular with the scoffers). In the Book of Life, the answers aren’t in the back, Hollowpoint. Let’s go down the list. Tell me. What do you think Matthew 24 is all about?
“But the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.” Daniel 12:10
apacalyps on May 27, 2008 at 12:40 PM
I agree. Beyond war and rumours of war, the climate is changing all over the world. The records show it, not to mention anecdotal evidence such as yours substantiating it. Look, what the scoffers will do is they will say we have better record keeping and this accounts for this tremendous increase in natural disasters, but honestly what else are they gonna tell you? This is the only way they can explain the weather change. It’s sad, they’ll say, “There has been no rise in these disasters!!” all the while ignoring the wordwide indoctrination taking place that says global warming is the cause for this weather change and that man controls the earth’s “eco-system,” not God. Ignorance is bliss; they are having a blizzard, leave them alone.
apacalyps on May 27, 2008 at 5:41 PM