Enterprise, AL, Americus, Ga, Hit by Tornadoes
Posted by Jeff Gammons on 02 Mar 2007 at 8:07 am
Tagged as: Storm Photography, Current Severe WX
Unfortunately the start to the pre-spring severe weather season turned out to be a deadly and destructive one over the southern states on Thursday. March came in raging with a major severe weather outbreak, with a outbreak of violent and deadly tornadoes. Southern and Central Alabama had it’s share of tornadoes and damage, starting with the small town of Enterprise, Alabama. The town was hit directly by a long-track dangerous tornado, that did damage to homes and business, flipped cars, and severely damaged the local High School where several people were killed. Storm spotters at one point reported two tornadic circulations in town producing widespread damage. There were several more tornadoes that hit locations in Alabama that caused injuries and deaths.
The deadly storms then moved into Georgia, where later in the evening the town of Americus, Georgia was hit hard by a strong tornado, where another 6 were killed by the severe weather outbreak. The total dead from this whole storm system is at 17 this morning, and dozens injured. Tornado video is starting to make it’s way on to the networks and the damage video scenes are also very impressive with the amount of damage in so many locations. So the clean up process begins today after a deadly start to March and the Battle of the Seasons.
The storm system is now on the east coast with a small threat later today in the Mid Atlantic and Florida for severe storms. We will be monitoring the Florida storms later today and will update if anything is intercepted.
More later.
Related Tornado Post:
Storm Chasers Capture Seymour, Texas Tornado Video - April 13, 2007
(2 votes, average: 3.5 out of 5)
Loading ...
Reports of 2 fatalities in Baker county, but still unable to confirm. Americus is very ugly. Heavy damage.(Yawn) Need a big cup of coffe this morning.. Morning Jeff…
Latest report was 7 fatalities in Baker County.
What a night. So much devastation… Glad you’re safe, Rick. Be careful if you get something Jeff…
Glad to see you survived your tornado warning last night Dew. Jeff, it time for you to have all the fun now.. Be safe.
Rick
Ooohhh Jeff, you see MD 259??? Looks like things are heating up down your way. Enjoy. Be safe.
I think we are hogging Jeff’s blog again.
Yawn! Hey all. Just getting in from some full day errands. Between the tornado deaths and the Atlanta bus crash, it’s a real depressing day on the national networks. The Enterprise damage imagery is unreal today. This was a very violent tornado, and if was no warning lead time, the death toll likely would be much higher.
Am watching the MD 259 attm, but still things are lacking good forcing. Just like yesterday in FL, there was everything in place for impressive Supercells, but the only thing missing was good forcing, lack of surface convergence. Err
Going to go relax for a bit, the try and catch up on the flood of emails with “tornad” and Enterprise” in them. This happends a lot during big media weather events. Mostly students asking basic cool questions. Just take some time to get a reply back to all of them when 137 come in within one day.
Be back later, or real late if storms end up developing.
I am a weather fanatic! Am totally fascinated by storms; missed my calling! Great work! Be careful and safe!
Hi Lynda!
Thanks for stopping by and welcome.
I have seen the damage in Americus, I know there is much need for the people and businesses there. I work for Lowe’s in Albany and we have offered to supply practically anything that is requested to help out (materials that is). Now I know the infrastructure of the Red Cross is hurt pretty badly , but I can’t figure out why our offer has gone un-taken… Any ideas out there?
And I meant at NO cost……
Was worried when ya hadn’t shown up today. I have had 4 hours of sleep out of the last 30. I just got in from riding with EMS. Off to get some well deserved rest to. Jeff, I will place the chase report on the www.stormtracker2.com blog in the morning.
Rick
Rick M., It doesn’t make sense… Perhaps, you’re just not talking to the right people. See if you can locate the Red Cross Director, the EMS director. With my work with the local Red Cross, I know that emergency situations such as this, things can get chaotic, and unless you talk to the right people, people don’t know enough to even know how to accept such an offer. Don’t give up.
Rick, Glad you made it home safely and are finally getting a chance at some much deserved rest.
Jeff, Lacking real weather. Outlook this morning for you wasn’t all that impressive either… Maybe next time. Sounds like you have your hands full with email anyway.
~Dew
Rick, looking forward to the chase report.
Dew, good luck on the Jax trip.
Chase report just completed. Not Pulitzer Prize material but close
I enjoyed the report, Rick. (Jeff, tried to get there following your link, looks like it’s still going to his old blog.)
Good Jax trip, even if I had to miss the Skywarn meeting… Glad to be home and heading off to bed. I am pooped.
[…] Tornadoes are damaging, killing, and debris throwing monsters and many people are kill every year in the United States from tornadoes, and from the damage and debris produced by them. This past week has giving us all a great reminder of how dangerous tornadoes can be and how much they can kill within just a few minutes. During last weeks severe weather and tornado outbreak in the Southeast United States, a total of 20 people were killed due to tornadoes. Most of the people killed in last weeks violent tornadoes was in Enterprise, Alabama and Americus, Georgia. Both of these locations had plenty of tornado warning lead time, but still many were killed. […]
Hi I just stumbled upon your webpage, I live in Americus, Ga.
my town was hit with a major tornado on 3/1/07, the damage
was devastating… however I just read a blog entry on your page referring to the Enterprise, Ala. & Americus
areas ” Had plenty of tornado warning and lead time yet still 20 people were killed”. I just wanted to comment on this so people will not be mislead or understand the situation that night a few minutes after 9:00pm, first off Americus has a tornado siren warning system that is way out dated that requires manual offset, which never occured, I watched the weather channel @ 7:50 and had no tornado “warning” which I have very well come to understand the difference in warning and watch, especially living in S.W. Georgia most of spring you live in a tornado watch
on a daily basis therefore under a tornado watch in our area life does go on without hesitation, until 3/1/07 I was @ the local Winn Dixie writing my check to pay for my items that had just been bagged when my mom called me screaming there had been
a tornado “warning” , remind you she had been glued to the t.v. all day until not even 6mins after the warning the tornado hit Americus I had just left Winn Dixie before it destroyed Winn Dixie
I live @ 1 mile from there when I arrived to my home I knew it was coming when I got to my home the torrential rain had ceased the sky was really grayish with a strange haze, I have asthma and it became really hard to breath then I could feel a rumbling with wind picking up , but before i left my home for the grocery store I heard of no warnings, on the way to the store I heard no warnings on the radio , my friend that lives across town heard 1 warning MOMENTS before it hit and she has a weather alert radio, so to say plenty of warning was given is to say our community neglected to adhere to the WARNING which is not so.
I also just read a blog entry referring to the Enterprise, Ala & Americus, Ga area tornado. You obviously do not live in Americus, Ga because there were no siren warning given here to warn the people of Americus, Ga. Yes, tornadoes do kill and I should know. I lost my husband, Jerry Dukes in the Americus tornado. You see, I talked to him just a few minutes before this tornado hit. He was at a friend’s home and this friend could not get certain channels on the old television that he owned. I advised my husband that a tornado was about to touch down in Americus, but by the time that I did this, it was too late, because the tornado was hitting. I was his warning, not a siren
Cathy,
I am so sorry for your loss. I actually met Jerry once. I bought my car from him at the dealership in Cordele. he was a very nice man and very professional.
We live at Southland Heights apartments over on the south end of town. I remember huddling in the bathroom that night and saying to my fiance as it hit that people in our town were dying. Most of us consider ourselves lucky, but there are obviously people that weren’t.
Your family is still in my prayers.
To: Mr Plummer
Thank you very much for the the kind words that you said about Jerry. My family & I would also like to thank you for keeping us in your prayers.