Saturday was a busy day for the Alabama Storm Trackers as we made our way across Mississippi for tornadic storms that fired early in the day…..but our goal was to journey to parts of Central Arkansas where a major tornado outbreak was expected to unfold in the afternoon.

We witnessed several wall clouds and strong rotation near the Oxford, Mississippi area with a storm that eventually went on to produce numerous tornadoes across northeast Mississippi.  Later in the day….we witnessed more of the same near the Pine Bluff and DeWitt, Arkansas areas.  We were hit by a weak ground circulation just northeast of Pine Bluff, AR with several chasers behind us as a funnel crossed overhead.  This storm became ragged and eventually fell apart.  We believe that lack of mid level dry air and weaker low level shear values than from the day before may have been the saving grave for that part of the world. 

We were followed by a camera crew from KARK out of Little Rock and interviewed numerous times by The Weather Channel LIVE while on these tornadic storms.  We relied on the spotter network to provide ground truth and up to the minute information to the National Weather Service during this time period. 

Into the overnight hours….we crossed the Mississippi River at Helena, AR and progressed northward toward Tunica as tornadic storms roared into the Memphis metro area.  Hearing some reports of a tornado, but no damage….we decided to progress eastward and begin our journey home toward Birmingham on US Highway 78.  As we moved toward Tupelo we saw a supercell thunderstorm begin to really get it’s act together as it crossed the highway behind us and moved northeast into Tippah and Benton Counties.  This storm dropped an EF-3 tornado with estimated winds of 140 mph near the Ashland Mississippi area.  Two people died in a manufactured home during this storm.  We knew looking at the radar signature that it was picking up debris.  Another storm produced damage in the Corinth, Mississippi area from an apparent tornado.

This was a high risk bust, but still a lot of lives were lost.  The tornadoes not only made the headlines, but the historic flooding that is still ongoing in Central Tennessee.  Nashville at this hour is still under quite a bit of water and it will likely change the city forever.  Flooding kills just like tornadoes….and many more actually.  Please keep in mind…turn around…don’t drown. 

It was great to meet several chasers on this expedition including Randy “Outlaw” Hicks just south of Little Rock.  We have several photos and video clips that we will be uploading over the coming couple of days as we get some down time.  I hope everyone enjoys a more sunny week….instead of a tornado filled one.