Violent Storms Ravage South, Flood Midwest

Evacuations In Illinois; Mississippi, Alabama, Rocked By Tornados, Winds

(CBS/AP)  This is not supposed to happen - not in January at least. Tornado after tornado, like the one that flattened homes in Dire County, Tennessee today.

"Just looking at it and knowing it's not there anymore, you cannot imagine what it's like,”

Just 11 days into the New Year, at least 87 tornadoes have already touched down in the U.S., compared to 27 by this time last year.

Twisters have been ravaging the Gulf Coast and Midwest all week. In Vancouver, Wash., where tornadoes are almost unheard of, a rare twister touched down Thursday in a residential area, downing power lines, uprooting trees and tossing shopping carts into cars. There were no reports of injuries, fire department spokesman Jim Flaherty said.

Connie Storey told CBS affiliate KIRO that she endured “the longest 15 seconds of her life” when a tornado swept her off her feet when she was walking her dog, Max, in the Hazel Dell community just outside of Vancouver.

“The wind suddenly became so fierce that it threw me across the street and into a cyclone fence,” said Storey.

She clung to the fence, while also holding onto her 140-pound dog, as branches, shingles, recycling bins, and garbage cans flew past her. “I kept praying nothing would hit me,” she said.

Meteorologists blame a blast of warm weather for the strikingly severe events that have occurred this week.

“Sometimes that's all you need, just that slight amount more of warmth and moisture to bring about severe weather,” said Greg Carbin of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) told CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes. “There's a very fine line between a heavy rain shower and a tornado.”

Thirty-three states reported record highs this week.

In Detroit, the average January temperature is 31, but this week it hit 64. In a city that's normally blanketed in snow this time of year, there's not a flake to be found.

Elsewhere, powerful thunderstorms packing heavy rain and high winds pushed across Alabama and Mississippi on Thursday, causing scattered property damage and at least two traffic deaths.

Several tornado watches or warnings were issued Thursday in both states, but no touchdowns were immediately confirmed.

In Mississippi, a motorist was killed after colliding with a Lamar County deputy head-on during the height of the storm, while a single-vehicle accident in Jones County claimed another life.

Authorities there said the vehicles involved in both crashes may have hydroplaned during downpours, though investigations are continuing.

A tornado that touched down in eastern Mississippi Wednesday lifted a school bus and slammed it into the gym of a school, reports CBS News correspondent Cynthia Bowers. Students were taking shelter in hallways, and there were no deaths. Ten students were injured, two of them seriously.

In Alabama's Lamar County near the Mississippi line, at least two houses were destroyed in Sulligent, the National Weather Service said.

In nearby Vernon, rescuers freed a woman who was pinned in her vehicle after a tree fell on it, said Don Dollar, an administrative assistant with the city. She was taken to a hospital, but her condition was not available Thursday afternoon.

Just across the state line, buildings and buses were damaged at a school in Caledonia, Miss., said Lea Stokes, a spokeswoman for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.

In eastern Indiana, the Tippecanoe river crested at a record high, then finally began to recede but not quickly enough for families who were anxiously wondering when and if they'll be able to go home, reports Bowers.

To the southwest in Choctaw County, one woman was injured and barns at a large dairy farm were heavily damaged during the peak of the storms Thursday afternoon, county emergency management spokesman Steve Montgomery said. At least one other person in the county was hurt in the storm, but the area hospital said the injuries did not appear to be serious.

The severe weather shut down many schools, including the University of Alabama and the University of North Alabama.

In east-central Illinois, meanwhile, days of springlike weather that brought heavy rainfall and melting snow caused severe flooding that forced hundreds of people to evacuate.

Floodwaters were as deep as 6 feet in Watseka, were residents left about 235 homes. Fire Chief David Mayotte said officials used a dozen boats to rescue about 535 residents, plus 75 pets, starting shortly after midnight Wednesday and continuing into Thursday morning.

"Most of the people who have lived here a long time say it's the worst flooding they've seen," said Carl Gerdovich, director of the Iroquois County Emergency Service Disaster Agency. Floodwaters in the area were dropping Thursday.

Watseka residents Tracy Hendry and her two daughters spent Wednesday night at Trinity Church. Hendry sent her daughters to stay with relatives on Thursday, but planned to sleep there a second night.

She said she recently moved out of her house and her belongings were stored in her mother's garage, which was knee-high in water Thursday.

"I lost everything," she said. "I'm just taking it as it goes."

Gov. Rod Blagojevich declared state disaster areas in Iroquois County and Livingston County, where about 200 homes were evacuated when the Vermilion River went over its banks.

In Creede, Colo., skies cleared and the winds were calm as two helicopters and searchers on skis searched for two snowboarders missing since last weekend amid brutal weather in the southwestern Colorado mountains.

Michael George and Kyle Kerschen, both 27 and both from Albuquerque, N.M., were reported missing on Saturday near the Wolf Creek ski resort about 170 miles southwest of Denver.

[super_hans]

heh

[ajmystic]

I feel sorry for all those who lost homes and possessions in the floods and tornados. Will the government be declaring these areas a disaster like they do after a hurricane? I''m sure many of these people did not have flood insurance or tornado insurance. While some of the people affected knew they lived in a flood plane, many of the flooded areas are beyond the "normal" flood plane and those people would not have been able to get flood insurance even if they applied. Many insurance companies do not carry tornado insurance, but they will not pay on tornado claims, calling it "an act of God". I am relieved that there have been very few deaths due to this severe weather, but these people deserve help from federal agencies, just like any of the states that have hurricanes or earthquakes.

[bogusbones]

These are climatic changes caused by a number of complex forces. Don''t delude yourselves for one minute that the weather is not changing, be it cold, hot, dry or rainy. In the next ten years millions are going to be affected by the changes in weather patterns. Since these changes occur somewhat slowly and sporadically, there will always be a "logical" explanation that things aren''t changing.
Compare to geologic changes. Sometimes they take eons but they do happen. If you don''t care what happens to your children and grandchildren, then ignore the inescapable signals.

[au_fait]

hey cwazywabt, where is your comment for the snow in bagdad. When will everyone acknowledge we do need do things for the environment, but not because the lie known as GW. In general nothing is static. Changes have been occuring, are occuring and will continue to occur. man has some input, but not to the extent that is said.

[hawksprings]

cwazywabt, the climate changes. Get used to it.
Here in the Rockies, we''re having a cold winter with lots of snow. Snowpack is above normal almost everywhere.

I just read a small article buried in the back of my newspaper that said the tropical Pacific Ocean area is 2-3 degrees BELOW normal right now, it''s called "La Nina" and it affects our weather in a huge way.

But you won''t see that news trumpeted from the headlines, because the Ocean supposedly is getting warmer and warmer, not cooler. And we mustn''t have anything that disputes "The Consensus on Human-Caused Global Warming."