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FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2011
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THE TIMES LEADER www.timesleader.com
STORMS Continued from Page 1A
SARAH HITE/THE TIMES LEADER
A barn off Idetown Road in Lehman Township was destroyed by heavy winds Thursday morning. Residents estimate the barn, built in the early 1800s, is the oldest in the township. AP PHOTOS
People reclaim some of their belongings in the Alberta City neighborhood Thursday after a tornado struck Tuscaloosa, Ala. the day before.
“When I looked back, I just saw trees and stuff coming by,” said Mike Whitt, a resident at DCH Regional Medical Center who ran from the hospital’s parking deck when the wind started swirling and he heard a roar. The National Weather Service said the deaths were the most since a tornado outbreak killed 315 people in 1974. A research meteorologist at the Oklahoma prediction center, Dr. Harold Brooks, said the average tornado is on the ground for a couple of miles, measures a couple hundred yards wide and packs top winds of 100 mph. He said most reasonably built structures can withstand storms like those, but the ones that hit Wednesday appeared much stronger. “There’s a pretty good chance some of these were a mile wide, on the ground for tens of miles and had winds speeds over 200 mph. Well, that’s obviously a bigger problem,” he said. In Alabama, where as many as a million people were without power, Bentley said 2,000 national guard troops had been activated and were helping to search devastated areas for people still missing. He said the National Weather Service and forecasters did a good job of alerting people, but there is only so much that can be done to deal with powerful tor- Debris is strewn everywhere after a tornado hit Pleasant Grove nadoes a mile wide. just west of downtown Birmingham, Ala.
Possible tornado in Lehman By SARAH HITE shite@timesleader.com
LEHMAN TWP. – Some say it was a wind shear. Others believe a tornado whipped through wooded areas now cleared of trees. While a representative from the National Weather Service will put speculation to rest this morning, one thing is clear – strong winds during an early morning storm Thursday cut a path of destruction through Lehman Township. Lehman Township Police Chief Howard Kocher estimated the damage spanned about 1,000 yards long and 200 feet wide from Jackson Road crossing onto Old Route 115. Mike Weaver on Old Route 115 said he took the brunt of the damage as a tree service broke down the fallen pines on his 13-acre property Thursday afternoon. “The police woke us up in the morning to make sure we were all right,” said Weaver. “I didn’t realize the extent of the damage until I walked down my driveway.” Jeff Arnott, of Arnott Tree and Stump, said he estimates about 200 trees were affected on the Weaver property, which could add up to at least two or three weeks of work. Weaver said he heard one tree cracking near his home – the closest one is about 30 feet from his bedroom.
“All the trees went the opposite way, thankfully,” said Weaver. James Welby of the Back Mountain Regional Emergency Management Agency said crews from Dallas Borough and Jackson and Lehman townships responded to reports of trees down between 5:30 and 6 a.m., but the workers didn’t see the extent of the damage until daylight. Welby said there were no reports of loss of life or injuries due to the storm. Two barns were reported to be damaged by the gusty winds, including what Barry Edwards said is the oldest barn in Lehman Township, just off Idetown Road. “I went to go get the paper at eight in the morning, and it was still standing,” he said. “By nine, it was down.” Chris Lathrop, of Lehman Township Road Department, said the barn was built in 1809. Edwards added it was built by Amos Brown and was in use up until the 1950s. Bill Hewitt, the barn’s owner, was not available for comment. Kevin McMahon, who lives just down the road from the Weavers, said he didn’t expect to see between 50 and 60 trees lying horizontal in his backyard. He thought the storm was just that, as thunder and lightning with heavy rains at night seemed to be commonplace this week.
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ter and two grandchildren, survived by hiding under their front porch. Friends down the street who did the same weren’t so lucky — Stewart said he pulled out the bodies of two neighbors whose home was ripped off its foundation. Alabama’s governor says the state’s death toll has risen to 194 after devastating storms rolled through the state. Gov. Robert Bentley said at a news conference Thursday that 194 people had died because of the storms, which spawned tornadoes that decimated entire towns across the South. At least 280 people had died, including deaths reported in Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi and Georgia. Dozens of tornadoes were reported across the region into Wednesday night. President Barack Obama said he would visit Alabama today to view damage and meet with the governorandfamiliesdevastated by the storms. Obama has already expressed condolences by phone to Gov. Robert Bentley and approved his request for emergency federal assistance. The National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., said it received 137 tornado reports into Wednesday night. The storms forced authorities in some places into makeshift command posts after their headquarters lost power or were damaged, and an Alabama nuclear plant was using backup generators to cool units that were shut down. A tornado expert at the Oklahoma center said it appears some of the tornadoes were as wide as a mile and likely packed a wallop that only1in100 twisters ever reach. It could be days, however, before scientists make an official determination. Some of the worst damage was in Tuscaloosa, a city of more than 83,000 that is home to the University of Alabama. Neighborhoods there were leveled by a massive tornado that barreled through late Wednesday afternoon.