The biggest tornado watch/warning area I have ever seen

***OBIO*** · May 25th, 2011, 11:39

60% of Ohio
100% of Indiana
50% of Illinois
50% of Kentucky
80% of Missouri
50% of Mississippi

All under tornado watch or warning at this moment.

Will be keeping an eye on the weather for the next 7 hours here and getting things ready to spend a good part of the evening down in the basement.

For those in the affected areas....keep your eyes on the skies and your ears on the radio and tornado sirens.

OBIO

***Kiwikat*** · May 25th, 2011, 12:44

My NWS Meteorologist friend is out there chasing in Ark-Kansas right now. Watching his live stream on severestudios.com...

Today is going to be another one of those days. If you're in a watch area, especially one of the PDS watches, keep your eyes on the sky and stay safe!

**Tako_Kichi** · May 25th, 2011, 12:53

The top edge of this storm system is also affecting us up here in Canada.

I just jumped online to check email, forums and the weather radar before powering down and unplugging EVERYTHING computer related from the wall outlets before the next line comes through.

Over the years I have had at least three computer systems fried by close lightning strikes and the last time it came up the phone lines into the house rather than the power lines and it blew up four telephones, the DSL modem and two computers connected to that modem (despite the power leads being unplugged from all equipment). Now I unplug the phone line from the modem as well as the power lead.

Stay safe out there!

**stormtrooper271** · May 25th, 2011, 13:00

I am listening to Dayton Skywarn on my radio, I just hope nothing major comes our way.

***Kiwikat*** · May 25th, 2011, 13:05

The radar is going absolutely crazy right now. Missouri is covered with tornado warnings. Today is going to be deadly.

**Brian Bigler** · May 25th, 2011, 15:46

We had several tornadoes in our county this morning however there was no damage reported. It sure kept myself and other officers busy on storm duty. As the last of the storm was receding we could hear on our radios that Sedalia had a tornado on the ground. Brings a lot home to you after the mess in Joplin. We do have deputies down there as well assisting in search and rescue.

***Willy*** · May 25th, 2011, 16:43

They put us under a watch a bit after noon and it's in effect until 3am.

***PRB*** · May 25th, 2011, 16:51

Originally Posted by Willy

They put us under a watch a bit after noon and it's in effect until 3am.

Looks like red alert for Memphis area Willy!

***Willy*** · May 25th, 2011, 21:02

About all we got was a light show off in the distance all around us. That and a "basement party". Hope everyone else faired as well.

***OBIO*** · May 25th, 2011, 22:25

We've been under a good dozen severe thunderstorm warnings thus far, the most recent one just ended. Currently under flood watch and flash flood warnings. Tornado watch ended at 9 pm. Have had intermittent severe lightning and strong winds, torrential rains, followed by periods of calm and quiet. I fear to see how much of the veggie garden has washed away. During a couple bright lightning flashes, I was able to see down to the pond....it is flooded out of its banks and the field around it looks like extensions of the pond. The frogs are happy as larks right now....when it's calm, I can hear the bullfrogs, toads and tree frogs singing their little hearts out out in the pond, the marsh and the woods.

OBIO

**Astoroth** · May 25th, 2011, 23:41

High winds, and more of the wet stuff, but no severe weather tonight. One of the local schools had their bus barn collapse due to the high winds, but only minor damage to the buses.

***Daveroo*** · May 26th, 2011, 11:04

even northern california south of Chico had several tornados on the evening of the 25th....

**Tako_Kichi** · May 26th, 2011, 11:43

We had high winds, torrential rain and very active lightning/thunder sessions right through the night and early morning hours. You'd just get out of one line of cells and think it was over when another line would blow through.

The ground looks (and feels) like it is trying to revert back to it's native swampland. This whole county was a massive swamp until drainage ditches were dug in the late 1800's turning it into some of the most fertile arable land in the whole of Canada. The highest point in the county is only about 50ft above 'normal' lake levels and we have Lake St.Clair to the north, the Detroit River to the west and Lake Erie to the south so we are surrounded on three sides by water. The water tends to collect due to the lack of natural run-off and localized flooding can be an issue. All the ditches are running 'high' at the moment and the forcast is for more rain/storms for the next seven days.

Basement flooding is always an issue around here (due to the high water table) and sump pumps can run 24/7 and I bet they are working overtime right now trying to keep all the water out. I just hope the power stays on or lots of people are going to have basements chest deep in water!

***OBIO*** · May 26th, 2011, 13:34

Survived the night! One severe storm cell after another.....for 14 hours or so. Tons and tons of rain (not that we needed any more of it yet), lots of high winds, more lightning than I could keep track of. No damage in our yard....other than the pond being churned up and muddy looking...will put the fish of biting for a day or three, which sucks because I just got my 5 foot, 100% carbon construction, ultra-light fishing rod and reel combo back into use....it's a great rod for catching the Blue Gill in the pond with and even greater fun when I catch a nice 20 to 24 inch Large Mouth Bass on it.

OBIO