Tornado Deaths Reach 280

By Douglas V. Gibbs

America's deadliest tornado outbreak in almost four decades has now claimed at least 280 lives in six states. The majority of the deaths have occurred in Alabama, where large cities served as ground zero for the killer twisters.

Technology's warning capabilities was unable to stop the carnage. With larger than usual storms bearing down on heavily populated areas, it was just too much for the entire population to prepare for. These supercell storms came astonishingly quickly, were astonishingly thick, and the most powerful tornado of the group threw debris around freely as it leveled neighborhoods.

The loss of life is the greatest from an outbreak of U.S. tornadoes since April 1974, when 329 people were killed by a storm that swept across 13 Southern and Midwestern states.

It is believed that the tornado that struck Tuscaloosa, Alabama, was an EF5, which is the strongest category of tornado, with winds of more than 200 mph.

Now, intense flooding is invading the affected areas along the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

Tornadoes devastate South, killing at least 280 - Associated Press, Yahoo News

Historic Flooding Unfolding Along Mississippi, Ohio Rivers - AccuWeather