Midwest Weather

[scarlett09]

Just wanted to make sure all of our Midwest peeps are alright.

They've been talking about tornados north of Minneapolis and a couple in KS, WI, IL, MO. The footage coming in from Joplin, MO is heartbreaking - homes completely leveled and a hospital - St. Johns I think? - with its windows blown out, and no power as the backup generators were hit. A Weather Channel reporter is walking around that area and he's definitely seen fatalities.

Please be careful and I'm thinking of you all!

[SuzySunshine]

We had crazy winds, rain and hail but no tornadoes. I guess I need to call my parents, I didn't realize KS had any.

[Cinderella]

I hope everybody is alright.

[scarlett09]

We had crazy winds, rain and hail but no tornadoes. I guess I need to call my parents, I didn't realize KS had any.

Glad to hear you guys are alright. I don't know exactly where the tornadoes/severe storms were, other than the town of Reading, KS that they keep reporting on, but SE Kansas took a hit today.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110522/us_nm/us_weather

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110523/...d2VyZnVsdHdpcw--

[diggitydot]

Crazy wind and rain here, too, but the nearest tornado warning was 2 counties away.

[SuzySunshine]

Oh yes, I knew about the Reading tornado from last night - I thought you meant there were more today. I talked to my mom, they have had beautiful weather all day, not even rain.

So far my Joplin friends are accounted for and I have some friends here whose family is from just east of there and they are ok but they still have a lot of friends in Joplin they need to hear from. Very sad about the hospital there, I hope they're able to get all of those patients out safely.

[HouseofWool]

Wow - I didn't realize how large the storm was. By us, it wasn't too bad, but a tornado touched down just blocks from my sister's house who lives 15 minutes from us. She said that within seconds of the tornado sirens going off, all of the kids complained that their ears hurt. They headed into the basement and the power went out. It is bad in their area. A gas main was broken near one of the hospitals, but the hospital itself did not lose power. Just blocks from the hospital entire buildings were demolished. There are 3 or 4 areas in town, where the tornado skipped through the area. There were probably half a dozen spotted in the area.

I am loading pics up on facebook that my dad took of the damage (he is the assistant chief of police, so he had reason to be out and about).

ETA: here is a link to another gallery of pics of the damage.

[diggitydot]

Apparently there's also a fire at the hospital in Joplin that they're worried could end up exploding. Holy shit, it's REALLY bad.

[scarlett09]

Oh yes, I knew about the Reading tornado from last night - I thought you meant there were more today. I talked to my mom, they have had beautiful weather all day, not even rain.

So far my Joplin friends are accounted for and I have some friends here whose family is from just east of there and they are ok but they still have a lot of friends in Joplin they need to hear from. Very sad about the hospital there, I hope they're able to get all of those patients out safely.

Glad your parents and your Joplin friends are alright! Yeah, I just saw the bad weather in KS, had no idea what was going on. I just turned on the TV to see what was going on here because it got cloudy and looked like it had rained at some point. Then I saw all of this craziness!

HoW - wow! I hope your sister and all of her neighbors are alright and that your dad stays safe.

[ladymoreta]

It is just awful. I have an aunt who lives there, and she's okay. She is a nurse, but I'm not sure if she works at that hospital.

[bokelley]

I am going to guess and ef5 in Joplin. Just heartbreaking.

We had sirens last night and woke the kids and hung out in the basement for a bit, but it ended up being nothing here. Today was stunning -- really beautiful, and when I finally came in and learned about the Joplin tornado just 150 miles away I was stunned.

[GrayMatterWife]

There's a tornado in Missouri?

I wish the STL local news didn't completely and totally suck. I might watch and actually know what is going on around here.

[diggitydot]

Holy shit. The Today Show is showing footage of the storm and ensuing devastation. Truly unbelievable. Records and x-rays have been found 60-70 miles away from the destroyed hospital.

[GrayMatterWife]

89 dead thus far. So terrible.