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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Weather scientists are retracing the footprints of this week's monstrous tornadoes the way detectives would investigate a crime scene: talking to witnesses, watching surveillance video and even taking the measurements of the trees ripped from the ground.
The result will be a meteorological autopsy report on the disaster, revealing once and for all how many twisters developed and how powerful they were.
"First priority is finding the dead and taking care of the injured and getting utilities back up," said John Snow, dean emeritus of the College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences at the University of Oklahoma. "But in parallel to that, we want to get as much data and find as much data as we can."
Researchers have to be on the scene fast — usually within days — to keep the scientific evidence as fresh as possible, Snow said.
In one of its first official assessments of the tornadoes' strength, the National Weather Service on Friday gave the worst possible rating to the one that raked Mississippi and said it was the strongest to hit the state since 1966.
With at least 318 confirmed dead, Wednesday's outbreak surpassed a series of tornadoes in 1974 to become the deadliest day for twisters since 1932. The storm eight decades ago was also in Alabama.
As they survey damage from the ground and air, researchers from the weather service and the national Storm Prediction Center are asking questions about the buildings that were destroyed. Were they brick or wood or a combination? Were they secured to a slab or set on concrete blocks? What type of roofs did they have?
Answers to those questions will help explain how the strong the twisters were. For example, a mobile home will be completely demolished by winds of 110 to 135 mph. But a well-built home can withstand much stronger winds.
The result will be a meteorological autopsy report on the disaster, revealing once and for all how many twisters developed and how powerful they were.
"First priority is finding the dead and taking care of the injured and getting utilities back up," said John Snow, dean emeritus of the College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences at the University of Oklahoma. "But in parallel to that, we want to get as much data and find as much data as we can."
Researchers have to be on the scene fast — usually within days — to keep the scientific evidence as fresh as possible, Snow said.
In one of its first official assessments of the tornadoes' strength, the National Weather Service on Friday gave the worst possible rating to the one that raked Mississippi and said it was the strongest to hit the state since 1966.
With at least 318 confirmed dead, Wednesday's outbreak surpassed a series of tornadoes in 1974 to become the deadliest day for twisters since 1932. The storm eight decades ago was also in Alabama.
As they survey damage from the ground and air, researchers from the weather service and the national Storm Prediction Center are asking questions about the buildings that were destroyed. Were they brick or wood or a combination? Were they secured to a slab or set on concrete blocks? What type of roofs did they have?
Answers to those questions will help explain how the strong the twisters were. For example, a mobile home will be completely demolished by winds of 110 to 135 mph. But a well-built home can withstand much stronger winds.
