Tornadoes Sweep Across Midwest, Southeast US:

On May 9 and 10, a series of tornadoes swept across the Midwest and Southeast United States. Throughout the storms, Amateur Radio operators who had received the call for assistance responded promptly. An EF2 tornado blew through Stafford County, Virginia on May 9, causing damage to more than 140 homes. On May 10, Picher, a town in the upper northeast corner of Oklahoma, received the brunt of another storm system: an EF4 tornado zoomed through the town, killing six Picher residents. National Weather Service (NWS) officials said the Picher tornado was 1 mile wide at its widest point with wind speeds of 165 to 175 miles per hour. The damage from the Picher storm system extended into Missouri and Georgia, and 22 fatalities are blamed on that storm, 15 in Missouri alone; the Picher storm spawned five twisters in Oklahoma and two in neighboring Arkansas.

An EF2 tornado cut a 4-mile swath through Stafford County on Thursday, May 8. According to Stafford County Emergency Coordinator Curt "Bart" Bartholomew, N3GQ, ARES members handled more than 100 traffic messages during the surge. The American Red Cross, the Stafford Sheriff's Office, the Stafford Sheriff's Office 911 Center and the Stafford Emergency Management Division all received communications support from ARES, and ARES members set up a SKYWARN net 9 PM, May 8 to 1 AM, May 9.

Spotsylvania County Emergency Coordinator Tom Lauzon, KI4AFE, reported that the Rappahannock Area Chapter of the American Red Cross requested ARES support for communications between their headquarters in Massaponax (in the Fredericksburg/Spotsylvania area) and nearby Gayle Middle School in South Stafford County. "The radio room at the Red Cross, K4TS, was staffed from 7:30 AM-6 PM on Friday, May 9," Lauzon said.

At least 160 houses were damaged in a Stafford County neighborhood, said County Administrator Anthony Romanello, including 30 that have been declared a total loss. Stafford County Fire Chief Bob Brown estimated the damage at more than $15 million. Residents said the tornado blasted in at about 10:30 PM Thursday amid a "lurid red-and-green sky laced with lightning that sent many rushing into their basements, " Romanello said.

The Stafford County tornado was one of two that struck Virginia as thunderstorms rolled northeast across the state Thursday night and Friday morning. The NWS confirmed that a smaller tornado, producing 86 to 110 MPH winds, struck Henry and Franklin Counties south of Roanoke about 8 PM Thursday. In addition, straight winds of about 100 MPH damaged several buildings along a mile-long path in Spotsylvania County and Fredericksburg, the weather service said. In central Virginia, the storms flooded some roads and toppled trees. The storms dropped an estimated 1 to 5 inches of rain in central Virginia, and possibly more in places.

In Oklahoma, ARRL Oklahoma Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator Mark Conklin, N7XYO, said served agencies were contacted and ARES groups in the area were placed on standby status: "Amateur Radio SKYWARN spotters were very busy and were of great help to the National Weather Service office in Tulsa during the storm events."

Ottawa County Emergency Management said that homes, businesses and vehicles were destroyed in a 20-square-block area at the south end of Picher. In some cases, only a home's concrete slab remains. The storm also downed power lines, utility poles and trees. The Oklahoma Corporation Commission reports about 6300 homes and businesses are without electric service due to the storms. The American Red Cross opened a shelter at the First Christian Church in Miami.

Once a boom town of about 20,000, Picher's population had dwindled to about 800 after waste from lead and zinc mines turned the area into an environmental disaster and Superfund site. Oklahoma Emergency Management Director Albert Ashwood said the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is unlikely to grant assistance to homeowners to rebuild in the town. Jeff Reeves, 43, who has followed his grandfather and father as Picher's fire chief, has lived in Picher all his life and has watched it slowly decline. He told reporters, "With everything else that's going on here, I'm not sure there is a recovery."

Source:

The ARRL Letter Vol. 27, No. 19 May 16, 2008

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