• Welcome to TalkWeather!
    We see you lurking around TalkWeather! Take the extra step and join us today to view attachments, see less ads and maybe even join the discussion.
    CLICK TO JOIN TALKWEATHER

Discussion of April 27, 2011 Outbreak

I usually read the thread (and I will) every year,
our TW community came together in ways I’ll never forget: from our Mets discussing the forecast (for a week) to personal accounts as it happened in real time to helping communities months and months later. The part I think I hate to remember is knowing that people were going to die and there’s not a thing anyone could do…
 
MichelleH said:
How has it been 14 years already? Praying today for all those who dread this day every year. We will never forget this day or those who were lost.
Click to expand...
It still hurts to look back! My husband was chasing and was in the area where the house collapsed on a young girl, the house had just been hit but he couldn’t hear anyone to know they were home… it stays with him when he thinks about this day!
(I assured him, there was nothing he could have done, it took a while to rescue her and her Mama but it was too late for the girl…
 
Right around this time, the infamous midday MCS was moving across North Alabama, going down in history. Not because of the actual content of its storms, but what boundaries it kicked down for later. Probably one of the most significant instances of a mesoscale factor raising the ceiling even more of a high-end environment that I can think of.

Per Lyza’s research, you had up to an additional 8+ supercells fire along this boundary.

Credit for screenshot goes to @Equus

1745771738139.png
 
ColdFront said:
Right around this time, the infamous midday MCS was moving across North Alabama, going down in history. Not because of the actual content of its storms, but what boundaries it kicked down for later. Probably one of the most significant instances of a mesoscale factor raising the ceiling even more of a high-end environment that I can think of.

Per Lyza’s research, you had up to an additional 8+ supercells fire along this boundary.

Credit for screenshot goes to @Equus

View attachment 40431
Click to expand...

That MCS/outflow boundary was a double-edged sword. There's no doubt it helped focus the intense tornado threat across north Alabama, but it also stabilized large portions of middle TN up into KY/IN/OH that were in SPC's 15% hatched risk. Without that, you might not have had *quite* as many violent tornadoes in that concentrated corridor, but the areal extent of violent tornado production for the outbreak as a whole might have been closer to rivaling 4/3/74. So pick your poison, really.
 
Last edited:
CheeselandSkies said:
That boundary was a double-edged sword. There's no doubt it helped focus the intense tornado threat across north Alabama, but it also stabilized large portions of middle TN up into KY/IN/OH that were in SPC's 15% hatched risk. Without that, you might not have had *quite* as many violent tornadoes in that concentrated corridor, but the areal extent of violent tornado production for the outbreak as a whole might have been closer to rivaling 4/3/74. So pick your poison, really.
Click to expand...
Yep. Outlooks from that day expected all hell to break loose up there. Your wind fields and SRH numbers were actually more impressive up into the northern sector. The main storm mode was going to be a broken line of cells that initiated in a line west of Louisville and down into Tennessee that would then trek east. I do think with a pristine warm sector up there, as you noted, you would have had supercells in the same vein as the Cordova/Tuscaloosa/Enterprise cells spread out over a very wide area.

From SPC outlook that day:

THIS SHOULD ALLOW THE MOIST AXIS TO BE LOCATED FROM WEST OF NASHVILLE NEWD TO NEAR LOUISVILLE WHERE NUMEROUS SFC-BASED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO INITIATE LATE THIS AFTERNOON. THE
LOW-LEVEL JET AND MID-LEVEL JET ARE FORECAST TO BE JUXTAPOSED ACROSS
THIS CORRIDOR SUGGESTING SHEAR PROFILES WILL BE VERY FAVORABLE FOR
SUPERCELLS AND TORNADOES EVEN IF DESTABILIZATION IS NOT AS GREAT AS
IS EXPECTED. THE CURRENT THINKING IS THAT A BROKEN LINE OF TORNADIC
SUPERCELLS WILL INITIATE ALONG THE WRN EDGE OF THE MODERATE RISK
AREA AND TRACK EWD ACROSS CNTRL KY AND MIDDLE TN EARLY THIS EVENING.
THE LOW-LEVEL SHEAR ENVIRONMENT WILL BE VERY FAVORABLE FOR TORNADOES AND A FEW LONG-TRACK STRONG TORNADOES MAY OCCUR. THE MODERATE RISK
AREA HAS BEEN EXTENDED WWD ACROSS PARTS OF MIDDLE TN AND CNTRL KY TO
ACCOUNT FOR THIS POSSIBILITY. LARGE HAIL AND WIND DAMAGE WILL ALSO
BE POSSIBLE WITH SUPERCELLS THAT DEVELOP.
 
Last edited:
ColdFront said:
Yep. Outlooks from that day expected all hell to break loose up there. Your wind fields and SRH numbers were actually more impressive up into the northern sector. The main storm mode was going to be a broken line of cells that initiated in a line west of Louisville and down into Tennessee that would then trek east. I do think with a pristine warm sector up there, as you noted, you would have had supercells in the same vein as the Cordova/Tuscaloosa/Enterprise cells spread out over a very wide area.

From SPC outlook that day:

THIS SHOULD ALLOW THE MOIST AXIS TO BE LOCATED FROM WEST OF NASHVILLE NEWD TO NEAR LOUISVILLE WHERE NUMEROUS SFC-BASED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO INITIATE LATE THIS AFTERNOON. THE
LOW-LEVEL JET AND MID-LEVEL JET ARE FORECAST TO BE JUXTAPOSED ACROSS
THIS CORRIDOR SUGGESTING SHEAR PROFILES WILL BE VERY FAVORABLE FOR
SUPERCELLS AND TORNADOES EVEN IF DESTABILIZATION IS NOT AS GREAT AS
IS EXPECTED. THE CURRENT THINKING IS THAT A BROKEN LINE OF TORNADIC
SUPERCELLS WILL INITIATE ALONG THE WRN EDGE OF THE MODERATE RISK
AREA AND TRACK EWD ACROSS CNTRL KY AND MIDDLE TN EARLY THIS EVENING.
THE LOW-LEVEL SHEAR ENVIRONMENT WILL BE VERY FAVORABLE FOR TORNADOES AND A FEW LONG-TRACK STRONG TORNADOES MAY OCCUR. THE MODERATE RISK
AREA HAS BEEN EXTENDED WWD ACROSS PARTS OF MIDDLE TN AND CNTRL KY TO
ACCOUNT FOR THIS POSSIBILITY. LARGE HAIL AND WIND DAMAGE WILL ALSO
BE POSSIBLE WITH SUPERCELLS THAT DEVELOP.
Click to expand...

Ironically, I was actually remembering the outlooks slightly wrong. The really massive expansion of the MDT/15 hatch northward into IN/OH didn't occur until 20Z, after the stabilizing midday MCS had occurred.

REMNANTS OF THE MORNING MESOSCALE CONVECTIVE SYSTEM AND ITS
ASSOCIATED SURFACE COLD POOL...JUST EAST OF UPPER PORTIONS OF THE
LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY INTO THE TENNESSEE VALLEY...REMAIN A
COMPLICATING FACTOR CONCERNING CONVECTIVE POTENTIAL. HOWEVER...
LATEST OBSERVATIONAL DATA SUGGEST THAT THE COLD POOL MAY BE IN THE
PROCESS OF WEAKENING. AND BOUNDARY LAYER MOISTENING ASSOCIATED WITH
THE PRECEDING RAINFALL...COUPLED WITH LATE AFTERNOON INSOLATION AND
MODIFYING LOW-LEVEL THERMODYNAMIC PROFILES ASSOCIATED WITH STRONG
DYNAMIC FORCING FOR UPWARD VERTICAL MOTION...PROBABLY WILL
CONTRIBUTE TO SUFFICIENT DESTABILIZATION TO JUSTIFY EXPANDING
MODERATE RISK SEVERE PROBABILITIES NORTHWESTWARD AND NORTHWARD
THROUGH MUCH OF THE REMAINDER OF THE OHIO VALLEY.
Click to expand...
 
CheeselandSkies said:
Ironically, I was actually remembering the outlooks slightly wrong. The really massive expansion of the MDT/15 hatch northward into IN/OH didn't occur until 20Z, after the stabilizing midday MCS had occurred.
Click to expand...
Curious as to what they were seeing at the time to expand it that far north, especially north and east of Louisville.

I was only a sophomore in high school at the time, but I do remember the day in eastern KY. We had a pretty nasty line come through in the morning, then later the remnants of the midday MCS triggered tornado warnings. However, between the late morning and evening it was overcast, but you could still tell destabilization had occurred. Very soupy air and I can remember it had the weird feel of warm air after a rain shower, kind of like you may experience at the beach. So instead of cooling things off, it just felt soupy, wet, and warm.
 
I can’t believe it’s been fourteen years. May the beautiful 238 who unfortunately passed away rest in peace.

I legitimately still cannot fathom how violent, destructive, and tragic that day was. And I will never not be amazed at the fact that there were likely a lot more than 4 EF5s that day.
Without a doubt one of the most famous days in meteorological history.
 
14 years later. April 27th, 2011, April 27th, 2021 (10 years), and April 27th, 2025 (14 years). Same cap, same road, but different jacket.
 

Attachments

  • 027.jpg
    027.jpg
    1.8 MB · Views: 0
  • Resized_20210425_160355_133038009828780.jpeg
    Resized_20210425_160355_133038009828780.jpeg
    167.3 KB · Views: 0
  • image000002.jpg
    image000002.jpg
    188.8 KB · Views: 0
And then on this day one year ago, I got a street named after me in Smithville.
 

Attachments

  • image000000(3).jpg
    image000000(3).jpg
    246.9 KB · Views: 0
JPWX said:
14 years later. April 27th, 2011, April 27th, 2021 (10 years), and April 27th, 2025 (14 years). Same cap, same road, but different jacket.
Click to expand...
Really Interested to hear your insight on this. Up there in my post, and to start I was way out of the main risk area in eastern KY, I talked about how “primed” or “unique” it felt outside that day on 4/27/11. You were right there in the high risk, did it feel like a powder keg or “unique” before the event kicked off that day?
 
ColdFront said:
Really Interested to hear your insight on this. Up there in my post, and to start I was way out of the main risk area in eastern KY, I talked about how “primed” or “unique” it felt outside that day on 4/27/11. You were right there in the high risk, did it feel like a powder keg or “unique” before the event kicked off that day?
Click to expand...
So leading up to April 27th, when I heard about the upcoming threat, I was like Ugh here we go again.

The night before, I did a mass email to some friends and family about Wednesday's threat. I also talked about the Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning threat and mentioned how Wednesday afternoon would be the main time. Early that morning (1:30ish), we were put under our first Tornado Warning. I got up out of bed quickly and ran to our computer to pull up radar. I saw this huge shield of rain. Well, I went back to bed after the warning expired and thought it may not be as bad as first thought. Because I had always heard early morning storms can stabilize the atmosphere. Woke back up at 6am that morning and looked over the latest data. I started getting a bad feeling, but assumed it would just go away. I got to school late and found out that we had been put under another tornado warning. I was stunned because there was nothing but a isolated storm on radar when I looked before I left the house. I was like that storm rapidly intensified and that was the other thing that stood out. I knew we would be put under a PDS Tornado Watch by noon. It wasn't until we were changing classes that afternoon around 1:30pm when it hit me that something definitely was off. As soon as I walked outside, (to date I have never encountered this with any other outbreak since then), it was like walking into a ocean of warm/moist air. You could literally taste and feel the moisture. The Sun was out in full force and the sky was clear. I knew then that something bad was gonna happen. My school let out at 2:30pm. Everyone wanted to know including my teachers if we would see a tornado. I would always say it was possible. Before we dismissed, one of my teachers asked me that question. I told him: "Even if Smithville doesn't get hit today, I believe that in the near future, we will be." Right after I said that, I knew without a shadow of a doubt what would happen. And there was nothing I could do. My sister and I went to my grandma's house to wait until my dad came to pick us up. It was after 3pm when he got off from work and came to get us. We pulled up in our driveway as soon as the sirens went off one final time. I threw my backpack down and raced towards our computer. The Tornado Warning read that a strong tornado was located south of Calhoun City. My dad had gone outside on our backporch and called me to come out there. He thought he had seen rotation passing over the house. I looked up and didn't see anything. However, I did noticed the clouds were moving very fast. It got a bit chilly and felt like the temperature dropped some before the tornado hit (I haven't found anything to back me up on that though). It was then I heard a sudden low rumble off in the distance. Couldn't see anything because we had a large oak tree in our backyard blocking the view of the approaching tornado. The rumble got louder and I didn't have to see it to know what it was. We raced inside. Dad, sister, and I. Mom was coming home from work and was literally just 4 cars behind it. She saw everything. We got down in the hallway first then my dad threw us all into the bathroom just off from the hall. No sooner had we all got in there, the hallway became a wind tunnel. Bricks, wood, glass, glass shattering all came flying down. I can still hear the sound. You didn't have time to get scared or anything. It was there and gone in under 10 seconds. We all got up and walked outside. I was in total shock and all I did was just feel all over my body just to make sure I wasn't cut/bruised. What I saw still haunts me. One of my cousins lost everything. Their house was completely gone with just the foundation left. I had Star Wars lightsaber collection in my room at the time. Only two were left. Obi-Wan and Darth Vader's lightsabers. I still have them and both still have the dirt on both from the tornado. It definitely changed my perspective and it was the final puzzle piece that solidified my meteorology degree.
 

Attachments

  • Obiwan.jpg
    Obiwan.jpg
    1.5 MB · Views: 0
  • Vader.jpg
    Vader.jpg
    1.2 MB · Views: 0
14 years.

Philadelphia
New Wren
Hackleburg
Cordova
Smithville
Flat Rock
Tuscaloosa
Rainsville
Ohatchee
Ringgold
Barnesville

Cullman
Bridgeport
Haleyville
Eoline
Enterprise
Chilhowee Lake
New Harmony
Lake Martin
Pine Log
Lake Burton

Fun fact: The Huntland, TN EF3 has officially been added to the DAT (back in 2024, actually!) and is listed as a separate tornado on Wikipedia. Path length of 16.30 miles. Hackleburg tornado is 102.3 miles and apparently has had the death count corrected to 71.

Also on this day, the Vilonia, AR EF5 (I REFUSE to call it an EF4) in 2014, the Marietta, OK EF4 in 2024, and a few other significant tornado events I can't quite recall now.

TBA: a lot of videos and other media about all the major 4/27 events, especially 2011's.
 
Last edited:
AJS said:
You know those days that don’t feel real? Like it’s so hard too comprehend that it actually happened? This is in my opinion one of those days.
Click to expand...
I have the exact feelings about this day. Like it was all a bad nightmare but at the same time I can recall in almost slow motion everything that I was seeing unfold from halfway across the country. One of the few days in my lifetime where I can remember it so vividly even after all these years. I can't imagine what all of you that were affected had to go through that day.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top