Tornadoes in the USA in January 2023: This is the current situation

Die USA are affected by tornadoes. So explains National Weather Center, Washington Post, CNN, Fox News in a report dated 01/12/2023. Autauga, Chambers, Dallas, Coosa, Elmore and Tallapoosa Counties, Alabama, were the most affected.

Tornadoes in the USA: The current situation in January 2023

An eighth person has died after violent storms knocked down a tornado over Alabama and Georgia on Thursday, while authorities assessed the “enormous” damage. All of the dead were adults found near their homes.

Gov. Kay Ivey (R) declared states of emergency in six counties in Alabama where the tornado caused the most damage: Autauga, Chambers, Coosa, Dallas, Elmore and Tallapoosa. Gov. Brian Kemp (R) declared a state of emergency for all of Georgia in response to the extreme weather.

No deaths were reported from hard-hit Selma, Alabama, but Mayor James Perkins described the damage as “enormous.” Schools in Dallas County, Ala. which includes Selma, were closed Friday as engineers inspected the buildings for structural damage, said Leroy Miles, vice president of the county’s school board.

Hundreds of students and teachers would not have made it to their classrooms anyway, he added, because of debris clogging the streets. As of Thursday, up to 200,000 Southern customers reported power outages. As of Friday afternoon, 15,000 customers in Alabama were without power, mostly along the storm’s track in central state, according to poweroutage.us. About 20,000 customers in Georgia reported power outages.

The rotating thunderstorm, or supercell, that caused the deadly Autauga County tornado first formed in Louisiana Thursday morning and then moved 500 miles to eastern Georgia. The storm created tornadoes along its path, sending up debris up to 20,000 feet. Some tornado debris was blown more than 10 miles from the storm’s path.

What does tornado mean?

Tornadoes occur when there is a sharp contrast in temperature and the air rises or is lifted. The heat of condensation released and strong vertical wind shear create a rotating updraft tube. These can reach diameters of more than a kilometer and the winds can reach hundreds of kilometers per hour. These have enough power to destroy houses and landscapes.

Interesting facts about the USA

In the USA, 327.17 million people live on an area of ​​9,629,091 km². The capital of the country located on the North American continent is Washington.

Last major disasters in the US

The GLIDE (GLobal unique disaster IDEntfier) ​​project for the documentation and identification of disasters lists the current disaster under the GLIDE number TO-2023-000005-USA.
In the past, catastrophic events have repeatedly occurred in the USA. A total of 38 catastrophes have been listed in the GLIDE database since 2019, 6 of which were also tornadoes.

+++ Editorial note: This text was automatically created on the basis of current data from the GLIDE project. We accept feedback and comments at zettel@news.de. +++

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