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Washington Caucus is On-Going Today; Tornadoes Slam 11 States; Avoiding the Wrong Career Moves

Aired March 03, 2012 - 16:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: A tornado watch is in effect right now for parts of Georgia and Florida. Several states already got slammed by a massive deadly storm. Tornado reports are coming in from 11 states. More than 30 people are dead and National Guard troops have been deployed to the hardest-hit states of Kentucky, Indiana and Missouri.

Jacqui Jeras is here with me in the weather center keeping a close watch on all of this. Let's talk about what concentrated areas are kind of in the bull's-eye, so to speak right now. Florida among them.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, North Florida and southern parts of Georgia. It's really this squall line that we are looking at right here that has the most potential for producing tornadic storms. Right now there are no tornado warnings that are in effect. But some of those thunderstorms could produce wind damage in excess of 60 miles per hour. And sometimes those real down burst winds can cause as much damage as a tornado. So you still need to stay indoors.

Now another place that we are watching that's included in this tornado threat is Jacksonville, Florida. There you can see a live picture from Jacksonville at this time. It's extremely windy. That's why you see all that crazy shaking going on on the camera there. 86 degrees. It's a very warm, very moist, very ripe atmosphere. And as that cold front starts to come on down and move into the region, that's when we are going to start to see that severe weather threat increasing here in Jacksonville. We are talking maybe another hour or two away before we start to see that squall line begin to push in.

Now these thunderstorms with the energy and dynamics in the atmosphere with this, they could be holding together well after dark again tonight and through the evening, even maybe after you go to bed tonight as this line progresses southward. So that's something you really need to keep in mind. Remember those severe weather safety rules. The lowest level of your home, away from doors and windows. Put the bike helmets on the kids, put your babies in the car seats. Don't feel embarrassed to do these things. You need to do it. It's your best bet to keep yourselves safe throughout these storms for tonight.

We are starting to clear out behind this system. So improving conditions there. Just an incredible severe weather event that we have ongoing here, Fredericka. This is the risk area. Today is a slight risk day. So this is very different than the high risk that we had yesterday. The tornados that may occur this afternoon and evening are going to be really hard to see. They are very likely going to be wrapped in rain, which means it's in the middle of a rain shaft and you can't see through that to know the tornado is there. So when the sirens go off, when the NOAA weather radio, that I hope you have, goes off, you really need to seek shelter.

WHITFIELD: And really pay attention to the warnings versus the watches.

JERAS: Yes, absolutely. We've got some new video, too, by the way. Do we still want to have that video to show you out of Henryville, Indiana. This is just in. Yes, we have the video. Go ahead and roll that. We'll take a look at it. This is some of the damage that we've seen just coming in. I also think we've got some damage of the actual funnel itself. Wow. Look at that. That home right there next to it, just leveled. The one next to it appears to be fine.

I think, you know, we haven't seen a damage survey of this just yet, from the National Weather Service, but I don't think there is any question this is going to be at least an EF-3 or greater, a what we would call a severe or major tornado. Not every tornado we had yesterday was that powerful, but that was certainly one of the strongest ones out of the 98 reports that we had yesterday.

WHITFIELD: And there were some states that were hit by this storm and it's still questionable whether it was tornadic activity or whether there were straight-line winds that could cause damage, sometimes looks very similar to tornadic activity.

JERAS: It can. Well, one of the things that we look for in this has to do with what direction everything is falling through. Whether tree bark has come off of the trees. You know, if pieces of metal are twisted, all those things. You have to really get up in the air, too. So they're in helicopters today. They're looking at how long that path was, whether it was one tornado or maybe two that went through. It kind of looks like there are probably two tornados that went through the Henryville area.

WHITFIELD: Incredible. All right. Thank you so much, Jacqui. I know we'll be seeing you again later on in the hour.

So in the meantime, our CNN crews are seeing the destruction first hand. Jim Spellman is in Kentucky. Jennifer (INAUDIBLE) is in Georgia and Josh Levs is right here in Atlanta with I-reports. 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 survivors.

CNN's Jim Spellman joining us live now from West Liberty, Kentucky, with an update on the situation there. What are those National Guard troops encountering once they get there?

JIM SPELLMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, take a look at this. This is the chapel of a funeral home right here on Main Street in West Liberty, Kentucky. You can see the storm came through yesterday. Just ripped this wall off and most of the roof off. You just see the pews here. This is minor damage compared to what we saw farther up Main Street.

This town is on lockdown, the search-and-rescue crews here to finish up their work. We did get a tour a little bit earlier to some exclusive access. I wanted you to take a look at this, Fredricka.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SPELLMAN (on camera): This is West Liberty, Kentucky. Hit hard by Friday night's tornados. 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 is 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 this destruction as this tornado tore through here Friday night right around dusk, around 7:00 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 from agencies that have been searching, establishing there is nobody trapped in here. That's really the focus right now is search-and-rescue here. It's painstaking work. They have to go from building to building and dig through all the crevices and voids.

The state police tell us with communications down, cell phone towers down, very hard to establish cell phone connection 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 windows blown out. Others destroyed like we showed you.

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)

SPELLMAN: Just a few minutes ago we were given an update by the emergency manager here in Morgan County. He tells us that the search- and-rescue teams are almost done. They've gone through every building once. They are just going back and double checking. They haven't found any more people trapped today. That's good news here. The bad news that at least one person died right here in West Liberty, four people here in this county. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Very sad. Thanks so much. Appreciate that.

Well most people felt pretty powerless. But one Kentucky woman asked a higher authority to protect her from the storm.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) said lord take it away from us, lord. Take it Lord. (END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So that woman's prayer was answered. Her home was spared. But the town of West Liberty, as you just saw, was hit hard. At least three people there died.

So the storm swept through Georgia, as well, where there is confirmation of one death in the Atlanta suburb of Alpharetta, northwest of Atlanta in the city of Dallas, there was a lot of damage. But thankfully, no serious injuries. That's where we find Jennifer Mayerle. So Jennifer, give us some idea that the worst of the damage there.

JENNIFER MAYERLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There's a lot of damage. Actually, more than 100 homes with moderate to minor damage. But the area where there's a lot of major damage is the neighborhood we are in right now in an area called Yorkville, just outside of Dallas here in (INAUDIBLE) County. And you can see some blue tarps up there. People have ladders trying to fix some of their roofs. The house right next door to me, most of that roof is off except over the garage. And that's a lot of what we are seeing here in this neighborhood.

Take a look. Right over here, this right here actually used to be the garage of this home. You can see there's just articles from the home that completely blew out into the area. That used to be a garage. The garage is pretty much blown back into that tree line. And those trees back there are completely snapped. Most of them are just right over. And as we look towards the house, this was actually a bedroom right here. And a sign that's on that bedroom says, "moving sale." And I am told -

WHITFIELD: All right. Sorry about that. We lost that signal with Jennifer. We'll check back with her if we can.

All right. Meantime, some of the most compelling images of this storm system have come from amateur video and i-report. Josh Levs has been monitoring the video that's been coming in. He is joining us live right now. Josh.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And Fred, we are going to start off with some, take a look last hour, folks. This is some of the most dramatic video of tornados I've seen in a long time, probably you, as well. I'm going to set this up first by showing you a little piece of video from inside a gas station. Take a look here.

(VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: Mike Kaiser who was inside the gas station there in Henryville, Indiana and he says he didn't know these tornados were going to be out there and he went inside the first gas station he can get to. Now after this, he stepped outside. Take a look at this next piece of video here.

(VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: Look at that, look at that monstrosity. So incredibly powerful. And as Jacqui Jeras was explaining. You can see the multiple vortices inside the funnel there. You can get a sense of the power there and Mike told us if he had been in the gas station across the street, he would not have survived. The gas station was ultimately leveled. It reminds you of the randomness of where these tornados can strike and relatively leave alone. So some of it we're getting this really amazing amateur video.

We are also getting is i-report videos from different parts of the country showing in some cases tornados, in other cases the hail. Take a look at this that came to us.

(VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: We're going to stay on this. Take a look at this. Our I- reporter Ted Briggs who shot this in Nashville, this violent hail storms coming in. He tells us that he captured the worst of it. I want you all to know we are not showing video from people who made some active effort to go to danger to get video. He was able to get this video safely while at his house.

And I'll also tell you that I've been looking at images of the hail that's been on the ground in several places. In some cases it's even larger than what we are seeing than golf balls. We've gotten one new piece of video. This just came in. I want to show you here. I think we have this now.

Out of (INAUDIBLE) Georgia. It shows what the sky was like today. This is from Donny Gray Jr. who sent us this I-report today. We've been following the weather in Georgia and southern parts of Georgia today. (INAUDIBLE) That's what the sky look like to him. Now that's video. In some cases still pictures tell a story that's incredibly powerful, as well. So I want to show you some of these before we go. We can zoom in a little bit.

This is (INAUDIBLE) at CNN.com. In some cases we are using i-report videos, in some cases photos rather. In some cases we are using photos from news agencies that send these out. But take a look here. They are absolutely incredible. And you see homes that are destroyed. Livelihoods destroyed. Roads that are impassable, schools that no longer exist. Cars that have been smashed almost like toy cars. Absolutely incredible.

In some cases like this, this is a sign that says "home." (INAUDIBLE) in the storm and where you are able to see inside is just pure destruction. We're going to continue to follow all of your stories. Keep them coming to i-report. I'm also on social media with you at Facebook and Twitter. I'm talking to you all day long. And we've got people who will be doing the same throughout the night. So Fred, I will tell you, it's great to have people sending us these images. I'm going to emphasize again, do not ever go to any danger to take those pictures. But if you took them safely, get them us to.

WHITFIELD: That's right. Good point. All right. Thanks so much, Josh.

LEVS: Thank you, Fred. WHITFIELD: So through the devastation, there are many stories of close calls. An incredible luck survivors had making it through the powerhouse of a storm that tore up Indiana in particular. CNN's Susan Candiotti shows us what happened to one school bus lifted off its wheels.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This bus is actually, I think we can walk, if we have a moment - this bus is jack knifed from across the street into this diner. But it came sheared off the chassis here coming around the side here. Look. This is the chassis of the school bus. Here is the gas tank showing here the opening to the gas tank. This had 11 school kids in it, but not when this happened. It just got through dropping them off across the street here at Henryville High School. Just dropped off the kids because they knew they couldn't make it home. And so they sought shelter there in the offices of that building, hunkered down, rode out the storm. Again no reports of any serious injuries among the remaining staff and the 50, 60 or 70 or so students from both the grade school and the high school that are right across the street.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. That happened yesterday. But Susan Candiotti able to give us that look at that school bus 24 hours later. So Henryville High School and elementary school sheltered about 40 students from that storm.

Also from Indiana, we get this amazing story of survival. Rescuers found a 20-month-old baby girl in a field after an outbreak of the tornados there. She was alone and injured, but alive. And now she is at a hospital. A spokesman says the girl is in critical condition, but has been reunited with her family.

The storm threat is still on for Georgia and Florida right now. We are watching it for you all day long. National Guard troops are helping out with the devastation in Indiana. Very hard hit state. We'll talk to General Russel Honore about the deployment and the duty of those national guardsmen. And one of the best things about state farm is we're here anytime, anywhere, any way you want it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: So among the places slammed by that monster of a storm, Chattanooga, Tennessee, hit with huge hail stones.

Some of those hail stones are as big as golf balls, they say. It is the same massive storm system that spawned deadly tornados over southern Indiana and Illinois yesterday. At least 29 people were hurt in Tennessee. With reports of tornados touching down in nine counties, and this is a section of interstate 24 near Chattanooga. Last night motorists were stuck because of that storm. Many of them didn't get out of that situation until this morning. The storm knocked down power lines that blocked the interstate. In Henryville, Indiana, a man and his friend went into the rubble of their destroyed home for one reason, to make sure their dogs were safe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is trigger.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: They were part of the lucky ones as 14 people died in the state of Indiana.

Retired Lieutenant General Russel Honore joining me now from Baton Rouge. So General Honore, you led the military response to Hurricane Katrina disaster in Louisiana. So give me an idea, help people understand, how does the National Guard help when you have a situation like this, a major storm that wipes out so many communities, what is their first order of business?

LT. GEN. RUSSEL HONORE (RET.), LED HURRICANE KATRINA MILITARY RESPONSE: Normally, it is to assist in the search and rescue, help open roads so first responders can get in and help provide medical assistance as required. The National Guard units are localized force. As a matter of fact, we have an old saying in the Army, the National Guard troops in every area code, zip code in America. So they are a local force and they know the local people and they know the local first responders, so they can quickly start the work with those first responders.

WHITFIELD: This was an incredible storm sweeping through so many states. Tornadic activity reportedly in as many as 11 states. We know National Guard troops have been deployed to some of the hardest- hit states of Indiana, Kentucky and Missouri. And the numbers are big, general. We are talking about 250 troops in Indiana. Kentucky, 220 troops. Missouri 86 troops. You know, the size of, I guess, the deployment tells you what about the devastation?

HONORE: That it was significant in each one of those states. Now those states you mentioned, Fred, they have between 8,000 and 10,000 national guardsmen assigned to each state. So that capacity is relevant in those states so they can quickly respond to the governor's order to mobilize and assist the local citizens. So this is by design. The National Guard is paid for by the federal government. And the state pay a small part of their salary.

But this is why this is organized this way so the home team, they quickly respond and we see them now doing everything from presence patrol to relieve the local police so they can go around and make sure people are safe in their home, and to provide assistance in search and rescue and medical evacuation. Fred.

WHITFIELD: How long would you see them as being stationed in any of those hard-hit cities? Is it a matter of weeks or months?

HONORE: I would imagine matter of days. Those local officials will quickly get control of this. This is the immediate response, but within a matter of days, those national guardsmen, you'll start seeing them pull back off and going to their normal work, their lives, back to school. That's the great thing about the National Guard. They can respond quickly, but they can also stand down quickly and then local officials can take control of the operations.

WHITFIELD: I know you're a big proponent of weather radios. You gave me mine. Thank you very much. Still we used it last night. But I wonder, what advice can you give to people who may be in the Georgia or Florida areas right now who are getting all kinds of weather warnings? If you heard, Jacqui Jeras at the top of this newscast that those are areas that are not quite out of the woods just yet.

HONORE: I would say this, Fred. We have the biggest impact on lives at night when these storms, when there is a strong straight wind or a tornado. Be prepared for night operations. Have a flashlight. Have a pair of shoes next to your bed. You might want to sleep in some of them type clothes you can run out quickly and get into your safe space inside of your home. And rehearse this before you go to bed at night with everybody. Take that weather radio and bring it to the bedroom with you. Because when you go to sleep, you lose your situational awareness. And places like Atlanta, not every place have the weather sirens. This may be the only way to give you that 10 to 12 minute warning when you go to hurricane warning.

WHITFIELD: All right. And the cool one you gave me also has a little flashlight on it. If you lose power or battery you can kind of crank it up. So there are a variety of weather radios out there. You have a chance to go out and get one, you really should. All right. Thanks so much, General Russel Honore. Good to see you, from Baton Rouge. Appreciate it.

All right. Storm survivors share some terrifying moments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right as I turned around I slammed (INAUDIBLE) still standing and want to lay down. I can see those walls shaking. I turned it around and I held it. I slammed on both of us.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And he literally saved our lives. He threw us in there, paint tarps on us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That table right there, I was sitting next to it watching TV. It come on the TV and said get in the basement now. We thought we were dead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Unbelievable. Well, this storm is still a threat. We are watching it for you. We'll be checking again with meteorologist Jacqui Jeras.

But first, tomorrow on the "Next List," Dr. Sanjay Gupta profiles innovators from all walks of life like Dan Ogala. Well, he believes one important key to a nation's productivity is creating a strong community. In Kenya, he has created a support system and place to exchange ideas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN OGALA: i founded community support group to empower the people in (INAUDIBLE) by sharing knowledge and also providing platform for people to exploit their talents. My thinking was that's another way of breaking the vicious cycle of poverty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Catch the "The Next List" every Sunday 2:00 p.m. Eastern time on CNN.

And do you have a home office or do you deduct business dinners on your tax returns? Well, tomorrow in the CNN Newsroom at 2:30 Eastern time, eight tax audit pitfalls to avoid.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Uncertainty in the economy has forced many people to change careers or consider it. But making the wrong move can be a big mistake. Every week we focus on ways to get a jump-start in the work force. And Valorie Burton, author of "Successful Women Think Differently" joining us right now. So Valorie, there are few things that you need to ask yourself before you make a move, whether it's because of the economy, maybe you still like your job, or you want to try something new. You say begin with the question to yourself, do I really want a whole new career or just a new situation?

VALORIE BURTON, AUTHOR "SUCCESSFUL WOMEN THINK DIFFERENTLY": Yes. People get frustrated sometimes with their job or with their boss or with their whole situation and they think, I need a whole new career. And so it's really important to get clear, are you looking for a new career or is it just some things that need tweaking? It may just be a new job. It may just be a different department within the company where you already are. But you want to be really clear about why you're changing careers. Because it's a really major commitment.

WHITFIELD: So you almost need to start a pro and con list.

BURTON: That's right. That's exactly right.

WHITFIELD: And then you're going to ask, "What am I missing in my current career that I want in a new one"?

BURTON: Yes. You need to know why are you changing? What do you think you're going to get as a result of changing? What's missing right now? Because that will help you determine what type of career you can look for. You can begin to kind of create a checklist. I'm missing this here but I can get it in this particular career. That's really important. A lot of times people are not that strategic about making a transition.

WHITFIELD: Do research.

BURTON: Absolutely. WHITFIELD: Find out if what you're looking for is really in that other thing.

BURTON: Yes, absolutely.

WHITFIELD: And what do I have in my current career that I might have to give up if I venture out? Or something else?

BURTON: You know, the grass is always greener.

WHITFIELD: Not what am I going to get, but what you will lose.

BURTON: Yes. A lot of times we think the grass is greener on the other side but as we all know you still have to water that grass, too. It's important to really understand. What am I going to give up? There are some good things you probably have. Even if you might not like your job but maybe there is some flexibility or maybe you have a boss that gives you some leeway to try new things. And so you want to make sure you're clear about those things that are going really well. Because if you give those up and that losing them in your next career, you may regret it.

WHITFIELD: You may find new frustrations.

BURTON: That's right.

WHITFIELD: Do I have the real scoop on that new career? That's when research comes in.

BURTON: That's right. So we can very easily idealize what it's going to be if we make a big transition. One of the only ways to know is to talk to people who are already where it is you're wanting to go. And so I say make a list.

WHITFIELD: You have to do that delicately, right? You don't want to advertise.

BURTON: Well, you don't want to advertise. So it's really important if you've got friends or colleagues that can refer you to people and just kind of talk to them in a whisper. But you want to ask them, what do they think? Look at my plans. Do you think this makes sense? Are my expectations realistic? You don't want to have to go back to school, go through all the work of transitioning into a new career only to find out that you were wrong.

WHITFIELD: Yes, you get a (INAUDIBLE) or a very small return.

BURTON: That's right.

WHITFIELD: So can I leverage my current experience so that I am not starting from scratch?

BURTON: Yes.

WHITFIELD: There you go. You don't want to start all over. BURTON: That's a really big one so if there is any way that you can take experience that you already have and you know, it might be a completely different career field, but maybe your management skills are going to translate or maybe you have some communication skills that are going to translate.

And another good way to do that is to talk to people who know. So if you can't figure out what those skills are that translate start talking to a career coach or career councilor or maybe it's people who are already in the field that have been there and done that.

WHITFIELD: Yes. So, good food for thought because sometimes people want to take, you know, a major kind of reaction or response to what they are feeling, what they're imaging might be grass greener on the other side. But then, you got to push yourself.

BURTON: You do.

WHITFIELD: Really make sure.

BURTON: And I will tell you this. If it's something you're passionate about and you just feel like hey, this is where I'm supposed to go, start making the plans. I'm not saying you shouldn't transition. You just want to be very strategic about it.

WHITFIELD: You need a smart thinker about it and planner.

All right, Valorie Burton. Thanks so very much. Always telling us to plan, plan, plan.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: All right. Appreciate that.

BURTON: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Returning to our big story today that huge storm system that caused damage in 15 states. Right now search and rescue crews are looking for survivors. And homeowners are assessing the destruction particularly on those states hit by tornadoes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Some of our top stories now, we've got eyes on the aftermath of the killer storm in the Midwest, more dangerous weather, possible tornados happening right now.

Stay here. We are live from the CNN weather center in just a moment.

And people in the small town of Chardon, Ohio, are mourning the death of 16-year-old Daniel Parmertor. He was one of the kids killed at his high school. His funeral was today. He is one of three teenagers shot to death Monday when witnesses say another teenager opened fire at his school.

And in Syria, the body of American reporter Marie Colvin who was killed in the conflict there may soon return to the United States. Her remains were handed over today to diplomats representing U.S. interest in Syria. Colvin and a French photographer were killed last week in a rocket attack on the city of Homs.

All right, back now to the weather sweeping a good part of the United States. We were talking about 11 states impacted by tornadic activity. Jacqui Jeras with is now. And still more potential activity on the way.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. There is a lot of severe weather still out there across southern Georgia, northern Florida. One place for watching right here, this is Jacksonville, Florida. Live picture there from our affiliate WJXT TV. They just reported the last hour by the way, 50 miles per hour wind gust report. And that is a non-thunderstorm wind gust. So, that's something we are going to be watching as the actual thunderstorms begin to move in.

We have a tornado watch in effect here meaning conditions are favorable for tornados to occur. And it's really this line that we've been watching the last couple of hours that has a history of producing severe thunderstorms. I think wind damage will be more widespread. We have seen some rotators within that line. There have been some touchdowns, about ten reports in South Georgia and north Florida. So far for today, I will zoom in a little bit closer and show you the area we are talking about and put the warnings on top of it here four. And we don't see any of those purple or orange boxes at that time. So, that's good news to see that. But I'm a little suspicious of what's going down here, down here at (INAUDIBLE). So, we will watch that line.

We've got some new video by the way to there I want to show you. This is out of Henryville, Indiana, where some of the worst damage has been caused. And we'll take a look at that video and walk you through it.

This is video of the actual funnel itself. And there you can see the wall cloud of that low-hanging area and then the little funnel that extends out beneath it. Looks like at this stage this video was caught it wasn't terribly intense as it moves through. But based on the damage that we've seen, we know this tornado got much larger and much stronger when it moved through the town.

Now, we also have some new pictures in from Tennessee. And that's just outside the Chattanooga area. If we have that Tennessee video, there you can see some of the damage caused by this. So, you mentioned those 11 states, Fredricka, this is really a widespread event.

One of the things I want to talk about here too, this is what we call the convective outlook. So, on a big tornado day, you know, the meteorologists show you a map like this. And we'll say this is the big bull's-eye, this is where we think the worst of that severe weather will be. That was the high risk issued. And I will advance this. And this will take you through time and show you all the tornadoes that popped up through here. So, those were all the reports, 98 of them. If you include the wind and hail damage reports we get 15 states.

So, just to give you an idea that the forecast very good here from the national weather service. Unfortunately, we had a lot of damage, big storm system.

WHITFIELD: And all this, one line.

JERAS: Yes, one big storm that moved through impacting all these millions of people.

WHITFIELD: Incredible. Seventeen million, I think, was the latest number that I heard.

All right, Jacqui Jeras, thanks so much.

JERAS: Sure.

WHITFIELD: All right. In an instant, the tornadoes destroyed homes, turned lives upside down. Here is 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 into a building, a mobile home fleetly flattened, just major damage everywhere in this area.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything was beating around her heads. But, thank God. We made it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I looked up and 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 were gas leaks. Houses are completely demolished back there, completely, to the ground.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Building shook. Lights went off the noise was incredible. And it passed right in front of us.

LAWRENCE SMITH, STORM SURVIVOR (via telephone): Golf ball-size hail. I can't honestly tell you what's going on.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was just like you were on a weighing scale this way and it just kept going like this. And the next thing I know, I'm pushing tables, refrigerators, freezers, whatever I had on me off me.

MARY KAY WALLS, TORNADO SURVIVOR: And it just seemed like they just -- my house was just lifted up and just dropped. The roof fell in and the glass was every place. And while I was under the table I said, Lord, make this pass. And he did.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And now in the bull's-eye, at least two states, Florida and Georgia, still part of that system.

All right, let's talk now, politics. Super Tuesday, just around the corner. But today, Washington state voters are taking part in caucuses. And Ron Paul is the only candidate still there.

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WHITFIELD: All right, the Republican presidential candidates are pushing toward Super Tuesday and hoping to build momentum. Washington is holding its caucuses right now, Washington state. Ron Paul is the only one still working that state. The other three moved on to Ohio. One of ten states where voters weigh in on Super Tuesday.

CNN's Joe Johns is in Ohio, one of those Super Tuesday places and Bowling Green. So Joe, Rick Santorum may have a bit of a problem after all there, what's going on?

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, I think you're right, Fred. And there is more than one problem, if you really think about it. The first problem he has is that he had a strong lead and Romney has been able to narrow that within the margin of error, a statistical tie in terms of polling here in the state of Ohio. So, that's one reason why we are looking at advantage Romney here.

The other reason, of course, is that Santorum had a bit of an administrative problem not able to get on the ballot in three congressional districts and could come up short some 16, 18 delegates in a worst-case scenario. But, if you look across the country, Fred, it's a different story. It looks like a little something for everybody.

In the state of Tennessee, for example, Santorum is running pretty strong there. In the state of Georgia, which is the state that Newt Gingrich represented in the Congress for so many years, Newt Gingrich is actually running very strong.

So, a little bit of this, a little bit of that as we head into Super Tuesday. And who knows what's going to happen?

WHITFIELD: Yes. What about Mitt Romney spending a little time in Ohio? Is he starting to feel more confident now there?

JOHNS: Well, like a said, very close. And Mitt Romney is spending some time here down in Cincinnati today. We are in Bowling Green, as you said. That's where we expect to see Rick Santorum for dinner here. So, it's sort of head-to-head. And that's the way it's been for the past couple of days.

Everybody realizes the importance of the state of Ohio. Not only is it a player this year in the primary contest, it's also a huge player in the general election contest. That, of course, is because it's one of the key battleground states, Florida being another, Pennsylvania being another. So, Ohio is very, very big and they know that.

WHITFIELD: They sure do in spotlight at least twice this year. Thanks so much, Joe Johns. All right. A programming note, both Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul will be on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" tomorrow morning. Then join me every Sunday afternoon at 4:00 eastern time for a special hour dedicated to the presidential contenders in the 201 2012 election.

And then, come super Tuesday, March 6th, 12:00 eastern time, Wolf Blitzer and CNN's political team will host the election round table, a new program. It's live inside chat about the day's implications for the presidential race. Go to CNN.com/round table for information on how you can participate.

We will be right back.

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WHITFIELD: All right, much more at the CNN newsroom straight ahead. Of course, we are still talking about a lot of big storms. Our Don Lemons coming up. You were in Illinois where this system began but it kept picking up momentum.

DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And it's still going.

WHITFIELD: And still going today.

LEMON: Unbelievable, isn't it? Unbelievable. Millions of people who have been affected by this. We are of course, Fred. We'll be talking about that straight ahead. We are going to follow the weather, obviously.

But also, another big story that we are also going to follow two distinct stories we have for you. What makes something beautiful to one person and not another is something that's been studied over and over again.

Now, the research seems to point to specific brain patterns regardless of upbringing or culture. And Fred, you have no doubt heard the saying, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

WHITFIELD: Of course.

LEMON: It could also be in the hand of the rich. That's another nugget we'll break down.

WHITFIELD: OK. I will be interested to hear what that's all about.

LEMON: $1 million, speaking of the rich. We'll explain that at 5:00. Then Rush Limbaugh. We'll be talking about that.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

LEMON: As we would say, not you know for the words of mouth. Need we say more?

WHITFIELD: Yes. Some are asking Republicans to condemn him on a kind of united front. But that hasn't necessarily happened. He is not backing down over his comments either. LEMON: Well, it's certainly a debate over women's rights that everyone has been talking about and contraception. It got more heated this week with Rush Limbaugh. Thanks to radio host Rush Limbaugh, he is stoking the fire. He used nasty language to describe a co-ed. And we are going to talk more about that. Many people wonder what he was thinking. But, well. His words. His words.

WHITFIELD: Right. We'll be watching.

LEMON: We will be watching.

WHITFIELD: And listening. Thanks so much.

All right, thanks Don.

And of course, we'll continue to watch the storm, the threat of that storm system all day, all night. Home and businesses destroyed in 11 states, pretty extraordinary. Families have been left homeless after so many tornadoes ripped through the Midwest and parts of the south.

We will be hearing from a storm chaser who actually saw that power of the twisters up close and personal. That, straight ahead.

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WHITFIELD: Hundreds of National Guard troops are on the ground in three states that were slammed by storms and tornadoes, including Indiana. At least 14 people died there. Earlier today I talked to storm chaser Jeff Piotrowski as he surveyed the damage in the heart hit town of Marysville.

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JEFFREY PIOTROWSKI, STORM CHASER (via telephone): Most people here heard the warning and they were telling what was the locals would do because it hit in the afternoon. A lot of people were at work and weren't at their house. And they said that was very fortunate because the house was deeply hit. The worst that people were not at home and most these structures heavily damaged are gone. Most residents were not in their homes when the tornado hit at 3:00 or 3:30 in the afternoon.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And as we look at these images here, looks like virtually every house is wiped out. Some houses like the one we are looking at right now seem to suffer less damage than others in your panning there that were wiped out completely. So, how wide was the swath of destruction there? Was it one twister or more than one?

PIOTROWSKI: It's about 200 yards wide on the south east side in Marysville here. The damage is worse between Marysville and actually i-65 with a turner and hit the school there. In between the two cities, there's this eight, ten mile road, the damage is actually worse on west/southwest in Marysville back closer Henryville area. That' the area that has heavy damage and there's actually what a home destroyed between the two communities. So, the actual damage was actually to worse southwest of here on remote coming over here. We felt saw brick homes totally gone. A lot of homes west of here, there were 100 percent gone. There's nothing left (INAUDIBLE).

WHITFIELD: And I'm sorry. This is a mostly farm community?

PIOTROWSKI: That's correct.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jeff Piotrowski, thanks so much for that view of Marysville, Indiana, devastated. We can see from the live stream imagery Jeff is also able to convey to us while talking.

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WHITFIELD: All right. Hard hit yesterday from that monster storm. And that monster storm keeps churning. This time it is threatening other parts of Georgia and Florida.

Jacqui Jeras, with us now. It's never-ending.

JERAS: I know. It's a smaller area. It is going to end. Finally, we should be done with this I think even later on tonight. In fact, the line of severe storms has been weakening here. Still a threat though. So, we don't want you to let down your guard because this tornado watch is in effect until 8:00 local time. It includes you just south of Tallahassee. It includes this whole area along i-10. This intersects i-75, i-95, Jacksonville, Florida. All these areas, all these cities still could be impacted by severe storms, isolated tornadoes. They are going to be much less frequency in terms of storms today. They are likely going to be less than ten. And we may also see some wind Daniel from these storms. So, this is the main line we are going to tip to watch.

There aren't any warnings out there right now. A warning is when we tell you it's happening right now, take cover. It's just a watch. So, conditions are favorable. And it could be happening. So, you need to stay on high alert.

Here is a live camera, live picture we have to show you out of Jacksonville, Florida. There have been very strong winds in the area, by the way. And there have been a couple of wildfires that developed into northern parts of Florida because the winds ahead of this front are so very, very strong. So, the thunderstorms still on their way.

Today there have been ten reports of tornadoes so far, which is very minimal compared to yesterday's reports. Yesterday, 98 tornado reports, 259 wind damage reports, 435 large hail reports have been into more in diameter bringing that massive total up to 792. So, just an incredible outbreak of a day. For only March, you they say March roaring in like a lion.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

So, let's hope we'll be ending like a lamb. Because this does not reflect on what the rest of the severe weather season is going to hold.

WHITFIELD: OK. Let's hope not. Jacqui Jeras, thanks so much. Appreciate that. That is going to do it for me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Much more straight ahead with my colleague, Don Lemon.