"Are you going to issue a tornado forecast?" [asked the general]. We both made abortive efforts at crawling out of such a horrendous decision. We pointed out the infinitesimal possibility of a second tornado striking the same area within twenty years or more, let alone in five days. "Besides," we said, "no one has ever issued an operational tornado forecast." [more inside]
posted by LobsterMitten on Apr 18, 2011 - 9 comments

The Tornado History Project: Google Maps meets historical data Tornado data turned into Google Maps that you can slice and dice any way you want: By State, by Date range, by Fujita number. Even records the path of long-track tornadoes. Hours of fun for weather weenies (like me!) and those interested in investigating trends over time. [more inside]
posted by spock on Aug 19, 2010 - 14 comments

On August 28th 1990, between 3:15 p.m. and 3:45 p.m. a devastating tornado ripped a 16.4 mile-long path through portions of Kendall and Will counties in northern Illinois. At its strongest, the tornado was rated F5, the highest rating a tornado can be given. A total of 29 people were killed and 350 more were injured. [more inside]
posted by IvoShandor on Aug 19, 2010 - 23 comments

On March 7, 2009, TornadoVideos.net (TVN) launched the beta version of their Live Streaming system. It's an interactive map that tracks each member of the TVN team as they criss-cross the country chasing storms, complete with live video. You can sign up (main page, top left: "Chase notifications") to be alerted when a chase is in progress. [more inside]
posted by nitsuj on Mar 25, 2009 - 8 comments

Twenty-nine years ago today, a single storm spawned 148 tornadoes across the American Midwest, including twenty-three F4 and six F5 tornadoes. Here are a couple of sites about this incredible storm. If you're feeling a little uneasy after seeing some of these images, maybe you can assuage your fear by boning up on your tornado safety tips; and, as an added bonus, learn how to detect tornadoes using your television.
posted by Johnny Assay on Apr 3, 2003 - 23 comments