Mount Vernon, Ohio Tornado! (with videos)

[jkvernon]

About 2 hours ago I got a call from my brother who was freaking out because the sirens were going off there. My brother is a college student in Mount Vernon and keeps me updated on all the weather happenings. Anyway my brother was saying that the sirens were on for a few seconds, it got kinda windy, then it did nothing but rained a little. About an hour ago he called again and was freaking out because he was walking through campus and there was tree and other debris EVERYWHERE. My mom happened to have the news on and they were going all over it. They're saying there's a very good chance that a pretty strong tornado went through town. That's all I know at this point. My brother had his camera on already when the sirens started and caught some of the windup. Then he got some of the wind down. Nothing to see but campus housing and wind/rain but here they are. I'll post the videos he made in a couple minutes. They have 2001s, and TBolt 1000Ts.

Edit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_xnFIf-Xls

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tXXPS_Ii1M

[quiksmith10]

Hmm, no tornado reports so far today. It might have been straight line wind damage instead though. They appear to be more of the line nature, verses the individual celled thunderstorms (supercells) that are more commonly associated with tornadoes. There are many high wind reports listed through Ohio that were associated with these storms. With the possibly of a tornado, the NWS might send a team out to Mount Vernon to see if it was indeed a tornado. If you check out the local forcast office's page over the next couple of days, they might display a damage report.

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/today.html

[jkvernon]

Here's the news coverage.

http://www.mountvernonnews.com/

http://www.10tv.com/ (video coverage on the right side)

[jkvernon]

One other thing I forgot to mention was what I saw. I got off work at 4:00 today and as soon as I walked out of the mall I was shocked at how dark and windy it had gotton. The clouds were very very low and had that flat wall cloud look to them. As I continued to walk out, this massive cloud of dust shot right up and around and began lifting towards the sky as the clouds above it began to lower. It didn't last to long however, maybe about 2 minutes at most. At the time I was convinced it was a developing tornado but later on I thought, nah what are the chances. There were no warnings out or anything either with this particular storm, only a bow echo at the front. Anyways tonight as I watched the news, right after the Mount Vernon "tornado" coverage they showed a clip from the exact same area I was of the exact thing I saw talking about how this was a developing funnel cloud/tornado. these were the only actual funnel cloud/tornado reports in Ohio today. Made for an interesting afternoon. I know this may not be siren relevant but it still fits with the post.

[jkvernon]

If you check that 10tv link there's a video link of the tornado in which you can hear Mount Vernon's sirens being noon tested. One thing the news guy makes a mistake on is the fact that the sirens there did in fact sound yesterday after the building was blown apart at 84 Lumber. A very weak tornado was confirmed there. (Can you tell how big of a deal this is? hehe)

This brings up and interesting question. what's your opinion on sounding sirens over a funnel cloud sighting or waiting until a warning is confirmed?
Also, should sirens be sounded for severe thunderstorm warnings as well as tornado warnings?

[quiksmith10]

Yep, you are indeed right. The NWS came out and confirmed. Note the first listing of severe weather reports from the link below:

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/yesterday.html

As far as sounding sirens when funnel clouds are reported, I know Indianapolis has gotten into some trouble with doing this. A few months ago, they sounded the siren at the "report" of a funnel cloud, even though there wasn't any kind of warning issued for the storm at all. The problem was, it turned out to be scud associated with a shelf cloud, a formation that is non-tornadic. With this said, I believe agencies should not sound their sirens with a report of a funnel cloud. There are problems with the reports and many false reporting because the general public, and even the local law enforcement, don't know the specifications of a funnel cloud. I think the sirens should only be sounded in the event of a warning, or if it comes from a known qualified individual.

I known that some agencies will sound their sirens in the event of a severe thunderstorm warning that is accompanied by a tornado watch for the area. Without the two coinciding, I think the siren system would get used too much, and possibly loose it credibility, if it was sounded for just severe thunderstorm warnings.