Sixty One Tornado reports from Midwest Super-storm of October 25-27, 2010

Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma continues to receive updated storm reports

Storm damage reports from October 25-27, 2010 continue to come in from the ferocious Midwest Super-storm of 2010. The US National Weather Service (NWS) reported on October 26, 2010 the Midwest super-storm was rated the strongest non-coastal Low pressure system in the Continental US (CONUS). The city of Bigfork, Minnesota recorded a barometric pressure of 28.20 inches or 955 MB at 5:34 PM CDT on Tuesday.

That pressure is what is normally found in a Category 3 hurricane with 115 MPH winds. Widespread high winds of between 35-45 MPH were reported over a large portions of the Midwest and Southeast on Monday and Tuesday, with gusts over hurricane force. Storm Warnings on Lake Superior brought sustained winds to the Rock of Ages lighthouse on Isle Royale of 68 mph with gusts to 78 mph at 3 AM  EDT on Wednesday morning.

On Wednesday the onslaught continued with high winds and tornadoes in the Southeast and Mid Atlantic states during the mid afternoon hours. The worst severe weather affected the Greater Atlanta, GA metro area and just outside of Washington, DC, the nation's capital.

Tentacles of this super-storm reached from southern Louisiana in the south, to Newfoundland, Canada to the northeast and as far westward as Montana at its peak strength on Tuesday. That is over 2.5 million square miles of territory.

At the peak of the severe weather outbreak on Tuesday, there were 20 simultaneous tornado warnings in effect at one time over the Midwestern US into the Tennessee Valley. Numerous tornadoes hammered states from Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and Georgia.

Meanwhile over North Dakota and western Minnesota on Tuesday, a raging blizzard with temperatures in the lower 30's, wind chill factors near 10 F along with 70 MPH wind gusts and near zero visibility made travel dangerous and near impossible over a wide swath of that region. A preliminary snow total of 9 inches of snow near the town in Western Minnesota. Three to eight inch totals were reported over a wide area of North Dakota.

This highlighted link, courtesy of the NWS Chicago, Illinois, a snapshot chronicle of 4 Illinois tornadoes that struck on Tuesday. This highlighted link gives an in-depth look into the "super-storm of 2010".

On Thursday, a  report from the NWS in Peachtree City, GA confirms an EF-0 tornado, with 75 MPH winds did touch down in Cherokee County, Georgia on Wednesday, snapping numerous trees. Below is the preliminary report on the tornado in the Greater Atlanta, GA metro area-

• PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED
• NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
• 1008 AM EDT THU OCT 28 2010
•  
• ..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
• ..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
• ..REMARKS..
•  
• 0345 PM TORNADO 4 ESE HOLLY SPRINGS 34.15N 84.45W
• 10/27/2010 F0 CHEROKEE GA EMERGENCY MNGR
•  
• A STORM SURVEY WAS CONDUCTED BY THE CHEROKEE COUNTY EMA
• DIRECTOR. A SMALL TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN BRIEFLY ON OAK
• MEADOW DRIVE CAUSING NUMEROUS SNAPPED TREES WHICH FELL ON
• HOMES. THREE HOMES HAVE MAJOR DAMAGE AND TEN HOMES HAVE
• MINOR DAMAGE. THREE OUTBUILDINGS AND THREE CARS WERE
• DESTROYED BY THE FALLING TREES. THE TORNADO LIFTED NEAR
• THE INTERSECTION OF WATERS ROAD AND EAST CHEROKEE DRIVE.
• PATH LENGTH 3/4 MILE AND PATH WIDTH UP TO 75 YARDS.
• ESTIMATED WIND SPEED UP TO 75 MPH.

Preliminary storm report totals from the Storm Prediction Center as of 3 PM CDT, October 28, 2010:

• 61 Tornado reports
  
•  
• 344 Winds reports/7 high wind reports over 58 MPH, including a peak gust of 81 MPH
  
•  
• 6 large hail reports > 1" in diameter
•  
• Preliminary storm report total-411

According to the Chicago branch of the National Weather Service the following are the six lowest pressures measured in the U.S. Great Lakes region:

• 1. October 26, 2010 Super-storm (955 MB/28.20")
  
• 2. Great Ohio Blizzard January 26, 1978 (958 MB/28.28")
  
• 3. Armistice Day Storm November 11, 1940 (967 MB/28.55")
  
• 4. November 10, 1998 storm (967 MB/ 28.55")
  
• 5. White Hurricane of November 7 - 9, 1913 (968 MB/28.60")
  
• 6. Edmund Fitzgerald Storm of November 10, 1975 (980 MB/28.95")

A truly memorable storm has effected the lives of over 100 million Americans over the last two days. This storm will be remembered by many for years to come.

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