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Tornadoes Rip Midwest and South; Katy Perry Teams Up with "The Sims"; Storm Death Toll Rises with Georgia Death; Tornadoes Rake South, Midwest; Protecting Coral Reefs; Deadly Twisters Turn Towns into Rubble
Aired March 03, 2012 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM this Saturday, March 3rd. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.
North Carolina becomes the latest target of a deadly storm system that swept through multiple states. The National Weather Service confirms a tornado left a path of destruction across parts of the Charlotte, North Carolina area. Across 11 states, more than 30 people have lost their lives, and many more injured.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) concrete blocks. It took the house. They fell over on him and her and it -- they say they're going to have to amputate her toes and his leg. And he's in critical condition and he's waiting for a flight to the University of Louisville.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: We'll have more on the damage from this storm system in a moment.
Other news we're following, nearly two years after the worst oil spill in the U.S., BP has agreed to pay nearly $8 billion for those affected by the 2010 Gulf of Mexico disaster. An explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig killed 11 people. It took three months for workers to contain the oil spill. Fishermen, hotel owners and Gulf Coast residents were all impacted by the disaster.
The Republican presidential candidates hope to build some momentum today that will carry them into super-Tuesday. Washington state is holding its caucuses right now. Ron Paul is the only candidate still campaigning there. The other three hopefuls have moved on to Ohio. It is one of 10 states holding primaries or caucuses on Tuesday.
Players from the New Orleans Saints could be in trouble for a cash pool that paid players to injure opponents. An investigation by the NFL found that then defensive coordinator Gregg Williams ran the program. He now says it was a mistake.
As many as 27 players funded a pool that doled out $1,500 to knock out an opposing player. The payout was $1,000 when someone had to be carried off the field. The NFL says players involved could face suspension. All right, now back to that severe storm. One of the hardest hit areas of Indiana was the town of Henryville, just north of Louisville. Josh Levs joins us now with some pretty incredible images that we just got from that area.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, it's just come in to us from the newsroom this afternoon. Hello again, Fred. Hello to all of you.
Folks, this is some of the most dramatic video that we have seen from these storms and these tornadoes that ripped through parts of this country.
Let's take first a look at this little piece of video to set it up. OK, here's what you're seeing here. This is inside a gas station in Henryville. There's a man named Mike Kaiser, who had just not long before gotten inside that gas station and he got a little bit of video. You can see a little bit out the window as the tornado came through.
Then he steps outside. Let's watch this next video together. There it is. We're going to stay on this video. Look at that. This is incredibly powerful. And he tells us the story of what had happened.
He says these tornadoes came through and actually flattened the gas station across the street from where he was. He says it's blind luck that he'd come inside this Shell gas station...
WHITFIELD: Wow!
LEVS: ... instead of another. Look how huge that is. We have also heard...
WHITFIELD: It's a monster.
LEVS: ... from him. He told us a little bit about his experience. Fred, let's listen to that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE KAISER, HENRY, INDIANA RESIDENT: The vehicles that was on 160 were being turned over in front of us. We saw the Marathon station across the street completely leveled, nothing left of it. It then kept moving to the east, and then you could tell it hit the school with all of the turbulence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: All right. And we'll get back to that video that shows the huge tornado. So obviously, Fred, we want to know all we can about this. I mean, it's incredibly powerful, some of the most...
WHITFIELD: It is.
LEVS: ... dramatic video we've seen from these storms.
WHITFIELD: Incredible. Really an understatement. LEVS: Yes. Look at that.
WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Josh.
All right, Jacqui Jeras with me now. You were looking at those images, as well.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Oh, wow.
WHITFIELD: That is a monster of a tornado.
JERAS: It really is.
WHITFIELD: But we understand now some 97 or so tornadoes have reported to have dotted many of these states along the way.
JERAS: Right.
WHITFIELD: All that kind of intensity?
JERAS: No, not necessarily. I think we're going to find all different kinds of intensities. In fact, the National Weather Service out, of course, assessing that damage today.
And if you look at that video again, it's so amazing because that was a developing tornado. It was an intensifying process, and also multiple vortices. Did you see them?
WHITFIELD: Ye!
JERAS: There were little fingers that were coming out of it, and that gives you...
WHITFIELD: Oh!
JERAS: ... an idea of how strong that system was because it was sucking in all of the air from around it, taking up all of that energy, and tightening. Do you see how it's kind of tightening...
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: Even the man working who was at that station -- for him to stand still -- he must have really been fighting some pull...
JERAS: Absolutely.
WHITFIELD: ... or holding onto something while he's being fairly steady in taking these images.
JERAS: Kind of hard to tell how far away he is from that tornado, but I know the gas station across the street was obliterated, so I'm sure that he felt something.
Gas stations aren't necessarily a good place to be, by the way.
WHITFIELD: No! JERAS: Maybe better than your car, but the bathroom of a gas station...
WHITFIELD: Yes.
JERAS: That's where you would want to go.
And it kind of seems to me, Fredricka, that people were really aware of the risk that we had out there yesterday. You know, it was a high- risk day. We hadn't had a high-risk date since, what was it, May 25th of last year...
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: So usually, it's the springtime.
JERAS: Right.
WHITFIELD: But this is very unusual, this kind of winter system.
JERAS: It's a little unusual to see tornadoes like that in places like Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, a little more common to see it down here...
WHITFIELD: OK.
JERAS: ... into Dixie Alley. This is more where we would expect to see severe weather this time of the year, and that's where we're seeing it today.
Today is a different situation, though, than what we saw yesterday. I don't think we're going to see a lot of tornadoes like that. We'll see smaller, weaker tornadoes that don't last as long. But keep in mind, it doesn't take that strong of a tornado to cause a lot of damage, so we need to take the situation very seriously.
A tornado watch has been put into effect across southern Georgia, into northern parts of Florida. That includes you in Brunswick, Georgia. That includes you in Jacksonville, over towards Tallahassee. All along the I-10 corridor right now, those storms are going to be honing in and moving into your area.
And keep in mind, a watch means conditions are favorable for tornadoes to develop. It's when a warning is issued that one has either been spotted on the ground or Doppler radar is indicating strong rotation.
And that's what's going on in Gwinn (ph) County right now. And this storm is just to the west of Interstate 95, about to cross it. So those folks need to be seeking shelter now.
This is also -- there's a lot of rain. These are HP cells, as we call them, or high precipitation, which means it's very likely they're going to be wrapped in rain. So even though it's daylight out and you might be able to see the dark skies approaching, you might not see the tornado in that storm because it's going to be enshrouded in rain. This is the big line that we're watching here, from southwest of Tallahassee all the way up towards Brunswick, stretching almost all the way up towards the Hilton Head area. And that is a very intense line of storms. You can see the orange box here. That's the severe thunderstorm warning.
But I would say there's the potential for some of these individual storms within this line to start rotating. So everybody in here needs to be on high alert and be aware of that threat. And again, the watch area that we're talking about stays in effect until 8:00 o'clock tonight.
This is the larger-scale picture or the slight risk that was issued by the Storm Prediction Center for today, where they're expecting the greatest potential for that severe weather developing. So this will likely stay together and move farther on down to the south. I think we'll lose a little bit of energy with this tonight as that sun goes down and we lose some of that daytime heating.
But some of this could continue overnight. And Fredricka, that's what's been so deadly with some of these storms is that sometimes people -- it's dark out...
WHITFIELD: Right. You get (INAUDIBLE)
JERAS: ... and people are sleeping...
WHITFIELD: Right.
JERAS: ... and they don't know what's going on. But just an amazing event, so many reports, 98 yesterday, like you mentioned. So far, seven reported today. But some of the -- you know, those numbers are going to change. They're just preliminary. They might be multiple reports of the same tornado. But you can kind of see how some of these are lined up.
WHITFIELD: And that's where the Weather Service comes in and they try to confirm.
JERAS: Right. And they're doing that today. I know they're out assessing the damage.
WHITFIELD: All right, Jacqui, thanks so much. Appreciate that.
All right, so hard hit from that storm system, Indiana, particularly the city of Marysville, a new video just in to CNN showing the destruction. A sheriff's spokesman is saying that Marysville is, quote, "almost completely gone." Those are the words. Only foundations remain where homes were standing just hours ago. And there's barely a tree left standing upright, if you can see in these images.
A similar scene just a couple miles of west, in Henryville. Emergency crews and volunteers are still looking for survivors in what remains of that town. At least 14 people were killed when the tornado hit ground in southern Indiana. At least 17 of the more than 30 storm deaths were in Kentucky, where the governor has declared an emergency. The National Guard has been called in to help search for the survivors there.
CNN's Jim Spellman joining us live now from West Liberty, Kentucky, with an update on the situation there. So give me an idea, what are they up against as they conduct these searches?
JIM SPELLMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fredricka, take a look at this. This is the very edge of the storm damage here in West Liberty -- just throwing trees around, taking roofs off of buildings.
You can see power lines down here. This is an active search and rescue team, Fred. This town is on lockdown, but a little bit earlier, we were given special access up Main Street here with the state patrol as they do their rescues. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
This is West Liberty, Kentucky, hit hard by Friday night's tornadoes. This is the mobile command center that they've set up here. This town is on lockdown right now as they focus on search and rescue. Here's why they need that command center. This until last night, Friday night, was the police department. This right here is a police car that was flipped on its side.
You can just see here this destruction as this tornado tore through here. It was Friday night, right around dusk, around 7:00 o'clock when the tornado came through. Some buildings like this one completely leveled, and you can just see piles of bricks. You can see here the spray paint here from agencies that have been searching, establishing that there's nobody trapped in here.
That's really the focus right now, is search and rescue here. And it's painstaking work. They have to go from building to building and dig through all the crevices and voids.
The state police here tell us that with communications down, cell phone towers down, very hard to establish cell phone connections or any kind of Internet connection. It's really hard to know exactly who may be still stuck here. So they have to just do these house-by- house, building-by-building searches.
Some of these buildings made it a little bit better. You can see here windows blown out, others destroyed, like we showed you. And over here on the other side of the street, you'll see the courthouse. This was sort of the town center right here on Main Street. It's just really devastating that this tornado went right through the heart of this small town here in Kentucky, really the worst possible path for such a destructive storm.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
The latest word, Fredricka, is that they've confirmed one person died here in West Liberty. They're having a hard time pinning down any potential number of people who may be stuck in these structures because, like I mentioned, cell phone towers are down. There's no Internet. So it's hard to know exactly who may be in there. That's why they have to do these door-to-door searches, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Right. Incredible. All right, thanks so much, Jim Spellman. Appreciate that outlook there.
So from Kentucky to Indiana and extensive damage in Georgia, as well. This is the airport in Paulding County, west of Atlanta, Georgia. New information is coming in from this area, and we'll have a live report from there right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, confirmation now of one storm-related death in Georgia. It happened in Alpharetta, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. There's a lot of damage in several Georgia counties.
Let's bring in Jennifer Mayerle now. She's in Paulding County, where we see an awful lot of damage. But last report, you mentioned, miraculously, no reports of deaths or severe injuries. However, there is confirmation of one death in a nearby county.
Are search and rescue teams, you know, certain about the damage and the toll there in your county? Are they still searching just in case for survivors or those injured?
JENNIFER MAYERLE, REPORTER: They said that right now, they don't believe they are looking for anyone else. There were no reported injuries, no deaths here in Paulding County, and that's the good news from here because so many homes have damage. There's more than 100 homes with moderate to minor damage, about six homes are (ph) calling (ph) with major damage, and that's on the street where we are right now in Yorkville, near Dallas here in Paulding County.
And just take a look right over my shoulder, the home next door, the roof has completely come off. You can even see an air-conditioning unit looks like it was flung right into the side of that home.
And if you can believe this, we're actually on the second floor of a home, where all the walls around me completely came out. The dresser here is still standing. Here's the bed here in this bedroom. And there's still the wall frame.
But now I'm already walking into the living room. And again, the walls, the ceiling has completely come off. This is actually the room where the family was watching TV when the storm came through. And the son actually said, Dad, you can't wait any longer, you have to get out now. You have to run down the stairs and get to safety.
But I want to show you something really unbelievable because the walls in the front of the home have gone down. Take a look at this. This is the kitchen table. And the wall is just leaning on that table. And the refrigerator door is actually holding that up. Otherwise, that whole side of the wall would've completely come down, as well.
And this is a lot of what we're seeing here in this neighborhood here in Yorkville, a lot of the second story of the homes completely came off.
But what we're also hearing is a lot of stories of survival. For instance, this family, they had three people that got downstairs inside a closet and just closed that door. They had to hang on tight to keep the door from opening up. And they said it just took just a few minutes, and when they walked out of that closet, the rest of the home around them was gone.
The home next door, there was a family there, a husband, a mother and a 6-month-old baby. They also got into a closet. The husband put his arms around them and he kept them safe.
So the good news here in Paulding County is that there were no injuries. The people heeded the warning. Even though it was at the last second, they got down to a place in just enough time to stay safe, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Gosh, that is extraordinary, just looking at that kind of bird's-eye view there, as well. All right, Jennifer, appreciate that. We'll have much more on the storm damage that swept through at least now 11 states across the country.
All right, now let's talk about something else that hits close to home for much of the country, rising gas prices. A lot of us are now paying close to $4 a gallon. Can someone do something to keep the price from going up again in the future?
Our Ali Velshi has this week's "Fortune Brainstorm."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALI VELSHI, HOST, "YOUR MONEY": I'm joined now by Bill Richardson. He's the former governor of New Mexico and former energy secretary under President Clinton.
Governor, thanks for being with us. Clearly, the president -- and this always happens when gas prices go up -- is under political pressure to do something about gas prices.
You were the energy secretary. Are there short-term options? And should we even be involved in short-term solutions when we talk about gas prices increasing?
BILL RICHARDSON, FMR. SECRETARY OF ENERGY: Well, we need long-term solutions. We need to have energy diversification for energy security. That means -- I think the key alternative fuels are natural gas and renewables. We need to move in that direction with natural gas as a bridge.
We also have to have more energy efficiency, more fuel efficiency. I think the president has pushed that.
Short-term, you know, maybe the strategic petroleum reserve. I wouldn't sell barrels. In the Clinton administration, what we did, we put some barrels on the market and that helped reduce the price a little bit. But that's short term. Other steps that we need to take, obviously is work with the consumer countries, with Japan, with Europe, to get them to work on OPEC countries.
I used to be criticized, Ali, when I was energy secretary. I'd go around to the OPEC countries, to the Saudi Arabias, and I'd say, The price is too high. Actually, at the time, it was about $25. I'd say, Increase production. And generally, the OPEC countries in those days were in the mood to help us. But they're not anymore.
But there are no short-term solutions. But the fact is, this president, under this president, there's been an increase in domestic oil and gas drilling.
VELSHI: Governor Richardson, thank you. I'm Ali Velshi with this week's "Fortune Brainstorm."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And we'll return to our coverage of the strong storm system that's causing thunderstorms right now in some states. IReporters are sending the images of the devastation. You'll see some of those images and hear those eyewitness accounts next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, we're watching a storm system that is moving along the Florida panhandle right now after slamming the Midwest and parts of the South this morning. The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado hit North Carolina earlier today.
Joining me right now is Andrew Doud from our affiliate WSOC. He's in East Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, which is near Charlotte. So Andrew, tell us more about what people are seeing as they're heading back to these neighborhoods.
ANDREW DOUD, WSOC CORRESPONDENT: Well, frankly, a lot of devastation. We're already starting to see the rebuilding begin here. If you take a look behind me, you can see where police are still monitoring who is allowed in and out of this subdivision. Right now, they're only letting people who live here through.
But if you take a look down here, you can start to see where some of that rebuilding is going on. You can see people putting tarps on the roofs of that house, where the shingles were blown off from this storm.
From the air, you get a picture of just how extensive this devastation is. This storm cut a 3.8-mile path of destruction through two counties. In the neighboring subdivisions, some houses were completely destroyed. Others are missing a roof and shingles.
Three people were taken to the hospital as a result of this storm. Fortunately, no one was killed. But certainly many people have to be lucky to be -- to have escaped uninjured, including the Watson (ph) family, who we talked to earlier today, who say they were upstairs and the storm that came through did the most damage to the first floor.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much for that look there at the devastation.
Our iReporters are giving us a vivid picture of the trail of destruction left by that deadly storm. Josh Levs is back with some more iReports for us -- Josh.
LEVS: And Fred, you know, a lot of it is that kind of devastation that we were seeing right there. But we've also been getting iReports from some people who witnessed the storm as it came through, including some tornadoes.
Take a look first at this video. Look at that tornado there. We're going to stay on this video. I'm going to tell you what you're seeing. This was taken in Borden, Indiana. And it was within viewing distance, just a couple of miles of Henryville, Indiana. Look at that, absolutely wild. It's huge. It's huge.
And this is one of the videos we've been getting that shows these tornadoes and just how huge they were as they came slicing through some areas there. This was taken by one of our iReporters, Chad Hinton, who was sent home from work. They were told to take shelter at home. And he set up his camera in his car as he was driving, and that is what he saw there.
Now, there are other places that did not get tornadoes but did get things like hail. Take a look at this next video here.
Look at that. We're going to stay on this. Look how hard that flag is flapping there, and the hail that was falling -- Chattanooga, Tennessee. Ted Gottwald, or iReporters, sent out this. He said that there were -- there was hail at least the size of golf balls. I've seen some close-ups of people holding individual bits of hail, and in some cases, it looks substantially larger than golf balls. It's absolutely amazing, all this pounding.
And these are just some of the images that have been coming through from people who were in the pathway of these storms and seeing the damage and destruction right outside their windows.
I want to emphasize, we don't show anything in which people went to danger to take video or photos.
Let's go in here. This is CNN.com, and these are some photos that we got from iReporters, and in some cases, from agencies that send out news photos. And I just want to scroll through some of these from throughout stricken regions, several states here represented in these photos.
And what you're seeing are destroyed homes, destroyed livelihoods, roads that have become impassable, some buildings just completely demolished. And in many cases, just very, very sad. You can see a sense of just how powerful this was.
Now, you see all this, it might make you want to reach out and help people. Look at that there. That was a bedroom. It might make you want to reach out and help people who are in this situation. And if you want to, we have a section for you on CNN.com that's called "Impact Your World." And if you go there right now, CNN.com/impact, it talks you through how you can reach out to organizations that are helping people right now and that will be helping people in the coming days.
I've also got everything linked up for you that you might want to see on FaceBook and Twitter, and at the blog, CNN.com/josh. Go ahead and take a look there. And obviously, you can post messages there and share your stories as well as your photos and videos of the aftermath of these storms, Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right, sounds good. Thanks so much, Josh. Appreciate that look.
LEVS: You bet. Thanks.
WHITFIELD: All right, when we come right back, a pop star teams up with a popular video game.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATY PERRY, SINGER: I've always kind of thought of myself as a cartoon a little bit, and it wouldn't be so bad to actually be a Sim now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Next on "Gaming and Gadgets," singing superstar Katy Perry tells us about her new venture with the Sims game.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, now to our "Gaming and Gadgets" segment. Pop star, Katy Perry and video game maker, Electronic Arts, joining forces in the new game "The Sims 3, Showtime, Katy Perry Collectors Edition."
Our technology analyst, Marc Saltzman caught up with the singer to find out about her new game.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARC SALTZMAN, SYNDICATED TECHNOLOGY WRITER: One of the biggest names in music has teamed up with one of the most successful video game branches of all time.
Pop star, Katy Perry has partnered with "The Sims" to create the collectors edition of the "The Sims 3 Showtime." I caught up with the California girl here in L.A. to chat about her involvement.
KATY PERRY, SINGER AND SONGWRITER: The gaming world is like the biggest thing since anything. It's like overrides films. It overrides so many other different forms of entertainment.
Of course, I wanted to be a part of it. I recorded "Hot and Cold," my song from the first record in Simlish for "The Sims." And ever since then, we've kind of had like an ongoing dialogue and they approached me and said we want you to be even more a part of the "Sims."
And I was like, OK, well, I've always thought of myself as a cartoon a little bit and it wouldn't be so bad to actually be a "Sim "now. So it's very fun. I mean, the reason why I'm involved in it is because it's pure fun and it's creative.
"The Sims" have all of the same things us humans have. They eat, they use the bathroom, they die, unfortunately. Can we create a game where you don't die? But they have a really great sense of humor in "The Sims."
They picked me to be a part of it. So, of course, they have a sense of humor. You can change my hair color more than I actually change my hair color in real life, which is exactly why I wanted to be a part of "The Sims."
I remember growing up playing games and you know, find like a warped tunnel or a shortcut of or something and you're like, great, I just went to level five, you know, but with "The Sims" you really have to put in the effort, and you have to keep them alive. You have to keep them fed. You got to do all of those things like you do in real life.
And I love that you have to start out and really like go through all the right steps to get to that success point. I don't think that people should ever think that in life this comes easily or comes to you on a silver platter.
And in "The Sims," it doesn't come easily and doesn't come on a silver platter. You have to work for it. Like me, I started out playing at coffee shops and you know, on the side of street with my guitar case open and that's how you start in "The Sims," a deejay, a magician, a singer, an acrobat.
You can twirl fire and do all of them at the same time. So basically you can be the most talented "Sim" ever. I think it's -- I know funner isn't a word, but I think that funner and "The Sims" is synonymous. It is now. You know, I'm glad I could be part of that.
SALTZMAN: "The Sims 3 Showtime Collectors Edition" is now available. For CNN in Los Angeles, I'm Marc Saltzman.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right, fun stuff, or funner, scary. For more high- tech ideas and reviews, just go to cnn.com/tech and look for gaming and gadgets tab. We'll follow Marc Saltzman on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. No, funner, not a word, kids, don't do it.
All right, amazing video of a tornado taken at an Indiana gas station. Just take a look at the size and the power of that funnel cloud right there. What was it like to live through that? You'll find out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Things are changing by the minute as we track this massive storm system. So let me get you up to speed. More than 30 deaths from that massive storm system from across a number of states.
CNN now confirming one death in Georgia. The National Guard troops have been deployed to the hardest hit states of Kentucky, Indiana, and Missouri. The monster system is still moving in parts of Florida and Georgia are getting hit right now with high winds and heavy rains.
Jacqui Jeras in the weather center right now. Particularly Florida you were talking about. A good part of the panhandle and parts of the midsection too that needs to be on the lookout.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, absolutely, but this is the main line that we're concerned about at this hour, Fredricka. That's across South Georgia and northern parts of Florida. Tornado watches in effect, meaning that tornadoes are possible.
The conditions are favorable for development and we've had 10 reports of tornadoes so far today. Now right now, the good news is, there is not a tornado warning in effect. This is the first time I've seen that in about four, or five hours or so.
But we do have severe weather still embedded and the main threat at this time is that we could see a lot of wind damage. Some of these thunderstorms, and we may also se flooding as a result. These are putting down very heavy rainfall.
But all within this line from really down here toward Panama City stretching through Tallahassee, over towards Brunswick. This is the line of spotty thunderstorms that could start rotating. So we need to continue to monitor this, very, very closely in the upcoming hours.
And if we get any warnings, we'll bring that up to date. Let's talk about where we stand. OK, outside of the 10 that I mentioned today, yesterday was a high-risk day. We get a handful of days like this per year. It's a rare event. It's the worst outbreak that we had since May 25th of last year, which you remember when we had the fatalities there.
Yesterday, 98 reports of tornadoes, 259 reports of wind damage that means winds of 60 miles per hour or more, 435 large hail reports, that means about an inch in diameter or more, bringing our total number of reports to 792.
That is really an amazing day. But keep in mind that those are preliminary numbers and they're likely going to shave down once all of the damage is assessed. Now, as we take a look at the spring season as a whole, you might be thinking, wow, March, seriously, are we having an outbreak like this early?
Well, typically we see the most tornadoes in the month of May and there you can see it on average, so it's much fewer. Usually maybe 92, and that's the 10-year average that we're talking about and we beat that in just one day.
You will see severe weather in southern parts of the U.S., Dixie Alley, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Georgia, but it's more unusual to see long track tornadoes like this in places like Illinois, Indiana, as well so really unusual.
And last but not least, this just really spells it out, Fredricka, this is from the last seven days. NOAA issued 413 tornado warnings. Imagine how all those meteorologists across the country are.
And so many of the local meteorologists too, it's all of the red boxes you can see from Nebraska stretching all the way down towards Florida.
WHITFIELD: I know it's hard to tell, but I hope this doesn't mean we're starting the season early and it matches the pace of two months typically from now even in April and may we could see that same kind of activity or is it just a collision of the cold and hot air?
JERAS: It's a possibility. You can't take one event like this and say this is a precursor to everything that we have to come. However, you do have to look at how warm this winter has been if we continue to see these above-average temperatures.
And all this moisture in place going in places that it shouldn't be this time of the year, any time, we get a little cold air advance and you get those clashes like you mentioned, we could see outbreaks in the upcoming days, weeks and months ahead.
WHITFIELD: OK, thanks so much, Jacqui.
All right, in an instant, the tornadoes destroyed homes and turned lives upside down. Here's what living through a tornado is like in one survivor's own words.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everywhere you look, there's just a story like this, a bus and a building, a mobile home completely flattened. Just major damage everywhere in this area.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Beating around our heads. Thank God we made it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was talking to my daughter across the street and I looked up and I seen debris everywhere. And next thing I knew, I thought it was a dream.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was gas leaks, the houses are all completely demolished back there. Completely, to the ground.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The building shook, the lights went off, the noise was incredible, and passed by right in front of us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Golf ball-sized hail, I can't honestly tell you what's going on.
CRYSTAL PENDERGRASS, STORM SURVIVOR: It was just like you were on a weighing scale this way and it kept going like this and the next thing I know I'm pushing tables refrigerators, freezers, whatever I had on me off of me.
MARY KAY WALLS, TORNADO SURVIVOR: And seemed like my house is just lifted up and then just dropped. The roof fell in and the glass was every place. And while I was on the table, I said, Lord, make this pass and it did.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, this weekend's big movie releases are about environmental appreciation, and a huge high school party. Are they worth your time and money this weekend?
Our movie critic, Matt Atchity, from rottentomatoes.com is here to give us some grades and his ideas. Joining us from Los Angeles, good to see you.
MATT ATCHITY, EDITOR IN CHIEF, ROTTENTOMATOES.COM: Thank you. Good to see you.
WHITFIELD: OK, so everyone looks forward to a Dr. Seuss anything, book, movie, television show. This time, you know, on the big screen "The Lorax." What's it about anyway?
ATCHITY: "The Lorax" is based on the book by Dr. Seuss about the title character, a small orange furry creature named "The Lorax" who speaks for the trees. A group of people led by a boy named -- voice by Ed Helms comes out and starts cutting down the trees.
"The Lorax" appears, this is going to cause problems. It's really an environmental message that Dr. Seuss came up with decades ago. If you're familiar with the book, you're familiar with this story, although it does get padded out.
You've got musical numbers, a subplot about a boy falling for a girl and trying to find the last tree to impress him. The great voice cast here Zac Efron, Danny Devito as "The Lorax," Taylor Swift.
The movie is cute, the kids would like it. I would say the story gets a little thin in spite of it being patted out. And the original environmental message gets knocked over the head. They kind of really play it handedly. It's a little overwhelming at times and comes off awfully anti-corporate at some points.
WHITFIELD: OK.
ATCHITY: But it's still mostly --
WHITFIELD: All right, let's look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoa. This is the most beautiful place, I have ever seen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right, so your grade, and this doesn't look like the Dr. Seuss movies, you know --
ATCHITY: Right exactly, it's 3D CGI. I mean, it looks good, but you know, ultimately loses a few points for being too hand fisted. I give it only a "C," unfortunately, but the kids will like it and there are worse films to sit through.
WHITFIELD: OK, and "Project X," we're going to look at clip, but set it up for me.
ATCHITY: "Project X" is about a high school party that goes wildly out of control, kid holds a birthday party while his parents are out of town and things -- everything that you see could go wrong, does go wrong.
WHITFIELD: All right, let's look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Evening, officers.
UNIDENTIFIED MAEL: Having a party?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we're having a small little birthday gathering for my friends.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of cars for a small party.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: OK, so bad stuff happens. How bad?
ATCHITY: Really bad. I have to tell you, I hated this movie.
WHITFIELD: Really?
ATCHITY: And it's not just the parent in me. I really didn't like this at all. I didn't think the story worked very well. It's not particularly funny.
You know, about 1,500 people show up to this party. It's not quite as chaotic or at least as fun as you'd like to think it is. At no point is it really enjoyable to watch this. And then on top of that, the movie is shot entirely with hand held cameras.
WHITFIELD: That would drive me nuts.
ATCHITY: So if you're the type of person who got sick during a movie like "The Blair Witch Project," this movie, you may not want to sit through it. I almost left, I was literally getting nauseous.
WHITFIELD: Yes, I don't like that either. That bugs me. So your grade, I'm not the movie critic.
ATCHITY: I graded it as an "F." I give it an "F." I would fail these students. I cannot recommend this film at all.
WHITFIELD: My goodness, that is strong. Tell it like it is. "Project X" more like project "F."
ATCHITY: Project "F," exactly.
WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Matt. Good to see you. And remember you can check out all of Matt's grades and reviews by going to rottentomatoes.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, this week's CNN Hero has watched the beauty of the sea disappear. Now he's working to bring life back to an underwater world in crisis. Meet Ken Nedimyer.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEN NEDIMYER, DEFENDING THE PLANET: I grew up diving in the Florida Keys and it was the most magical place. The coral reefs were so pretty. I decided that's what I wanted to do for a living was dive on coral reefs. In an area where there is live coral, there is always more fish.
Reefs provide protection for coastal areas and recreational opportunities for millions of people. I was diving for 40 years and over time I saw those coral reefs start to die. Coral reefs worldwide are in decline.
If coral reefs died completely, coastal communities would be bankrupt. Tourism would be virtually gone. A billion people in the world will be impacted. I started thinking, how can we fix this problem?
My name is Ken Nedimyer, grow and protect and restore coral reefs. We developed a system that is simple.
We start with coral this big and hang it on the trees. After about a year or two, it becomes this big then we cut the branches off and we do it again.
BILL CAUSEY: Ken's coral nursery is one of the larger in the wider Caribbean.
NEDIMYER: It's 2003. We originally planted six corals here. Now there are over 3,000 growing again in this area alone.
Before I felt helpless watching it die, now I think there's hope. It's not too late. Everybody can help. I see all those corals and all those fish. It's like this whole reef is coming back to life and making a difference is exciting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Remember, all of our heroes come from your nominations. Go to cnnheroes.com to share your inspirational stories.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Hundreds of National Guard troops are on the ground in tornado-damaged states, including Indiana. At least 14 died there. Earlier today, I talked to storm chaser Jeff Piotrowski as he surveyed the damage in the hard-hit town of Marysville.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF PIOTROWSKI, STORM CHASER (via telephone): They left here moments ago heading across doing additional damage surveys with a team of people. They moved in with search and rescue vehicles. In the south side of town, you can see there are about four to five homes that had heavy damage and are gone. The tornado tracked through the city on the southeast side. Everybody has been accounted for. No fatalities from what I understand.
WHITFIELD: So Jeff, pretty extraordinary. You're talking to us at the same time you're live streaming these images for us. We are seeing people walking around, perhaps are these residents surveying the damage or first responders who are there to help?
PIOTROWSKI: Both. We have a lot of local people here that are walking down the street. There are local residents. A lot of people have farms that have been here for a while, many generations.
One family is here on the south side of town, been here about three generations. Their entire farm is gone which is what's in the view right now. There are a lot of people helping to pick up the pieces trying to load them into trucks. That's what happened here at this time.
WHITFIELD: Now, Jeff, did most of the people there, were they hunkered down, prepared, ready for a storm coming their way?
PIOTROWSKI: Yes. Most of the people here heard the warning. A lot of local residents told me because it hit mid afternoon, a lot of people were at work and weren't at their house. That was very fortunate because the house that didn't get hit, the people were not at home. Most these structures that are heavily damaged are gone. Many were not in their homes when the tornado hit about 2:30 and 3:00 in the afternoon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
