Tuscaloosa Birmingham tornado

A large wedge tornado tracked across Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, including the southern and eastern portions of Tuscaloosa around 5:10 p.m. CDT and continued northeast. Debris from the tornado was reported to be falling from the sky across Birmingham over 20 miles away in Jefferson County. Skycams operated by local Fox affiliate WBRC (channel 6) and ABC affiliate WBMA-LP/WCFT/WJSU (channels 58, 33 and 40; branded as "ABC 33/40") captured video of the tornado as it struck Tuscaloosa. Several stores and restaurants in a business district at the intersection of McFarland Boulevard and 15th Street, near the DCH Regional Medical Center, were destroyed by the tornado; buildings were also reported destroyed on 35th Street, between Interstate 359 and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. As the tornado traveled east to 35th Street and Kauloosa Avenue, the Tuscaloosa Environmental Services and Cintas facilities suffered severe damage. Numerous homes in the Rosedale and Forest Lake neighborhoods, as well as a P&P Grocery store in Rosedale, were devastated. The University of Alabama suspended its operations, cancelled its softball and rowing competitions, cancelled its final exams period, and postponed its commencement until August 6.

The remains of an apartment complex in Tuscaloosa, AL.

Television cameras, including another skycam operated by WBMA-LP/WCFT/WJSU, captured the mile-wide tornado as it moved east-northeast across the western and northern suburbs of Birmingham around 6:00 p.m. CDT. Initial reports indicate significant structural damage and a mile to 1½ mile wide damage path.

Unofficial surveys have categorized the damage from the tornado that hit Tuscaloosa and the northwestern suburbs of Birmingham as EF4 and possibly EF5, among them by Dr. Greg Forbes of The Weather Channel. Forbes, a student of Dr. Ted Fujita and a major contributor to the Enhanced Fujita Scale, did an aerial tour with the NWS office in Birmingham, Alabama. The overall death toll is uncertain, but initial reports from Tuscaloosa and Birmingham indicated at least 36 people were dead and over 600 injured in the Tuscaloosa area and at least 10 people confirmed dead from Concord and Pleasant Grove. The number of fatalities is highly uncertain due to ongoing search and rescue efforts and is subject to revision following surveys on the track of the tornado from the National Weather Service. Confirmed deaths from this cell stand at 45 in Tuscaloosa County and 19 in Jefferson County on April 29. President Barack Obama and First lady Michelle Obama visited Tuscaloosa on April 29, taking a ground tour of some of the affected areas. He was quoted as saying that he has "never seen devastation like this." He stated further that he had already declared a federal state of emergency in Alabama.

[edit]Non-tornadic events

Minor thunderstorms were reported as far north as Northern Ontario on the evening of April 26. Heavy rains and minor flooding were also reported in Northern Ontario from April 26-28. Windstorms were also reported in Southern Ontario which resulted in some injuries, including one death. Strong Thunderstorms and heavy downpours which led to flooding was also reported in multiple areas across Upstate New York with heavy flooding in the Syracuse, New York area. Interstate 81 was briefly shut down downtown at traffic hour and Upstate University Hopspital also closed briefly due to flooding in the lobby.

Aftermath

Alabama Governor Robert J. Bentley declared a state of emergency in the state of Alabama, due to storm damage from severe thunderstorms earlier on April 27, as well as the forthcoming severe weather later that day. In addition, state of emergency declarations were also placed in Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Oklahoma, because of the flooding and tornadoes.Following the tornado outbreak on the evening of April 27, President Barack Obama granted a federal emergency declaration for the state of Alabama, giving federal assistance, including search and rescue assets to the affected region. More than 2,000 National Guard troops have been deployed to Alabama, assisting local and state first responders in search and rescue efforts. It was announced on April 28, 2011 that Obama would be visiting the affected areas of Alabama on the 29th.

Fatalities by state

State Deaths As of local date & time

Alabama 238 29 Apr 2011 2:52pm CDT

Tennessee 34 29 Apr 2011 10:00am CDT

Mississippi 33 28 Apr 2011 7:45pm CDT

Georgia 15 29 Apr 2011

Arkansas 13[62] 28 Apr 2011 8:00pm CDT

Virgini 28 Apr 2011

Kentucky 1 29 Apr 2011

Total 339

*With no confirmed tornadoes in Kentucky for the 27th, it is possible this is a flooding-related death.

Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant

The Chattanooga Times Free Press reported that the Tennessee Valley Authority had lost the ability to transmit power from its Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant. The loss of ability to transmit power from the plant had forced it to perform a cold shutdown while being run with diesel generators. Chief Operating Officer Bill McCollum of TVA stated that it could be weeks before the plant is up and running again. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission stated at a press conference "The plants' conditions are stable and are being placed in a cooled-down condition.

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