Return to Transcripts main page

Live From...

Tornados Destructive in Georgia, Kansas, Missouri

Aired May 06, 2003 - 14:31   ET

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

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


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: All across Georgia right now, there are tornado warnings, watches, heavy thunderstorms. Those storms, which whipped across parts of Missouri and Nebraska and Tennessee and caused upwards of 40 deaths the other day, have now settled in the southeastern part of the United StateS -- moving west to east, as they always do.
And Jacqui Jeras is up there in the weather center. Once again, a fistful of papers. Lots to keep track of, Jacqui.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We've had warnings in effect for about 45 minutes across the northern suburbs of the Atlanta area.

We just saw in the live picture there that the rain has been coming down very heavy, especially north of the perimeter area. We've had between three and five inches in just about the last 12-plus hours, so flooding is going to be a major concern to go along with those tornados.

We do have tornado warnings in effect for Eastern Cobb, Northern De Kalb, Central Fulton counties, and then also Southern Hart County and Elbert County and in northeastern parts of Georgia. And there been some funnel clouds spotted. We're keeping an eye on it. No reports of damage from these (UNINTELLIGIBLE) at this time.

Our numbers of tornados continue to go up with this storm system as it pushes off to the east. All of those red dots you see indicate a tornado touchdown that has been confirmed by the National Weather Service.

So since Sunday, we've had well over 100 tornado reports. And we're going to continue to add to those. We're going to zoom in here across the Atlanta area. And I want to highlight those thunderstorms right there where we have that big concern pushing off to the east.

These are moving due east about 45 miles per hour. And so they're pretty fast moving storms. But you can see there is still redevelopment pushing in behind it just to the east of Birmingham.

So this tornado watch is going to continue throughout the rest of the afternoon. This will be a very volatile situation. We did have a severe thunderstorm watch in effect earlier. That's been replaced now by the tornado watch. And the same type of situation has happened here across western parts of Missouri into eastern Kansas.

Was a thunderstorm watch. Now it's been upgraded to a tornado watch. We've had a few reports of tornados touching down here across eastern parts of Kansas. And you see Kansas City. You were hit hard on Sunday.

Look at this. Severe thunderstorm warnings in effect right now. So you need to be taking cover. It's this cell south of the city near Alathi (ph) that I'm particularly concerned about. This is moving to the east just like the Atlanta thunderstorms are.

Here are the watchboxes are kind of spread out and sporadic. Severe thunderstorm watch clipping the St. Louis area, southern parts of Illinois, and into southwestern Indiana -- (UNINTELLIGIBLE) this tri-state region.

And then we have another one down here into Texas that's just underneath this banner. Unfortunately, I'm sorry, you don't see it there but it is just south of Dallas/Fort Worth and covers much of central Texas.

The central threat remains very high for today. The dark red area is where we have the primary concern for the super cell type of thunderstorms -- those individual cells that rip across and cause the rotation. That dry air is pulling in from the west. And we're going to continue to see these storms redeveloping because we have this very active jet-stream pattern. We're going to talk a little bit more about that in the 2:00 hour, Miles, why we're seeing storm after storm in the same places.

O'BRIEN: Well, let's talk just a little bit about it now if we could. Does it take a change in that jet-stream pattern there, Jacqui, in order to change the underlying pattern which is spawning all these tornados. And what causes that to happen?

JERAS: This is the upper air pattern, and we get these waves within the jet stream. What's happening is -- across the west, we have the trough in place, and we've got a ridge across the east. Low pressure storm systems kind of develop right in here -- right where you have the kink in the trough that causes cyclogenesis.

Until we get the break in the jet stream -- until things flatten out or we get a ridge across the west -- we'll continue to see the storm systems develop, the same type of ones that spawned the tornados.

In fact, I was just looking at some of the computer models and right now, Thursday is looking like a very ugly day. It's looking very similar to what we saw on Sunday.

So I just want you to know that things are going to be continuing for at least three days. In fact, the seven- to ten-day pattern is looking like it will stay very active. There you can see very dark clouds over the city of Atlanta from WAGA-TV.

Again, a tornado warning in effect for Eastern Cobb, parts of Fulton and De Kalb County.

O'BRIEN: You want ugly, that's ugly, boy.

JERAS: That is ugly. I'm seeing low clouds. I'm not seeing any rotation there, Miles.

O'BRIEN: I can't let this one go by. It rolled off your tongue like we all know it. Cyclogenesis. The definition?

JERAS: That's the development of our low-pressure storm system. It's not the individual tornado cells but the synoptic pattern. That's what pulls in the warm southerly wind and pulls in the cooler air from the north.

O'BRIEN: Got you. So that's kind of a complicated way of saying it takes a lot to break up this pattern?

JERAS: Exactly. In layman's terms, yes, it's going to be a while.

All right, Jacqui Jeras, thank you very much. And as we look at that rather mean-looking picture, the city of Atlanta, this looking down -- wow, that is brutal looking. Would not be a good day to be flying. I can tell you that right now.

O'BRIEN: In other parts of the world, it is even more serious. They are picking up the pieces after some killer tornados went through and did extensive damage to entire towns. CNN's Jennifer Cagliola (ph) is in Jackson, Tennessee.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENNIFER COGGIOLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): This is one of the main intersections in downtown Jackson, Tennessee, where you can see behind me the destruction.

(voice-over): We've got, literally, stop lights missing, trees, power lines down, phone lines down.

(on camera): And a lot of the local businesses around here, which are really going to take a beating as residents try to rebuild. I actually have one family here who owns the Foster (ph) Floor Center.

This is Mr. Foster (ph) -- Dean (ph), his wife, Judy (ph), and his two children, Matthew (ph) and Deanna (ph). Thank you for joining us. This must have been a devastating 24, 48 hours for you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it is. Not only did I lose his business, my father lost his home and my son lost his home -- the same evening, same tornado.

CAGLIOLA: How long has this business been here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: About 12 years.

COGGIOLA: So you were here in '99 for the last one?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

COGGIOLA: Was there any kind of destruction?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. Other places but this is more widespread.

COGGIOLA: I understand both of you guys worked in the store as well. How long have you been working here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been working here since I graduated in '93 but this has been bad because I lost my house also. And my grandparents lost their house also. But I have a lot of friends that have helped out and places to stay so far until the insurance -- until I can get in touch with the insurance.

COGGIOLA: Deanna, were you all at home or where were you when all this happened?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were the at home. Me and my husband were in the tub, in the bathroom, and heard it go over our house.

COGGIOLA: What about you, Matthew, where were you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was around the corner, probably half a mile away from my home in a basement.

COGGIOLA: You all look like you've been busy at work. I know things have improved a little bit since we got here this morning. What kind of recovery efforts are you doing now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're salvaging what we can for material. Of course, the building is going to be destroyed, torn down. We're just about going to recover about 30% of the material.

COGGIOLA: Judy, are this friends of you all?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. They're dear friends that showed up, volunteered. We didn't even know they were coming this morning when we came. And they were just wonderful. We couldn't do without them.

COGGIOLA: Matthew, you guys have been hard at work, too.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. We appreciate our friends. They even brought lunch for everyone here. Donated all their time and everything for that, for us.

COGGIOLA: I imagine it's devastating to lose your home and business but you're all here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's the mainthing. We're all here and alive. Even our animals. Everything survived except our homes. That's okay. Things can be replaced but people cannot. That's the way we have to feel.

COGGIOLA: Mr. Foster, are you going to rebuild your business?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know right at this time. There are some options open for me. Time will tell. Of course, we have to keep working to live. So we'll do something.

COGGIOLA: Thank you all and good luck to all of you. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you very much.

COGGIOLA: As you can see, the residents here just trying to rebuild what's left but thankful, like the Fosters, that they do have their health.

I'm Jennifer Coggiola in Jackson, Tennessee -- back to you all.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: And back to a live picture -- courtesy of our affiliate WAGA in Atlanta. This is the city of Atlanta with a pall cast over it. Low, dark clouds, part of this violent band of storms that is now passing through the southeastern United States, having done terrible damage in its wake in places like Tennessee and before that in Missouri, specifically Pierce City, Missouri, where we find CNN's David Mattingly.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): In Pierce City, Missouri, there is still no electricity, no running water, and some now fear no future for some of the town's most prized buildings.

(voice-over): The old buildings of the old town of Pierce City are in jeopardy now. They are the jewels of the town's tourism business. They're so badly damaged by Sunday's tornado, they're in such bad shape, that many may have to be demolished for the sake of public safety.

So much of the work that is going on today is just salvaging anything of value. Property owners will be allowed back into their businesses, but they'll have to be escorted by engineers and rescue teams today. That is for their safety. They're worried that people could get hurt as they try to climb through all this wreckage looking for any of their belongings.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course, just be mindful of obvious hazards to watch for, you know, holes in the floor, debris that could fall from above. Not allow them into areas that could be unsafe for entrapment. They're only to go in on ground level floors -- no second story access is allowed or basement access because of the possibility of collapse.

MATTINGLY (on camera): The loss of all this property is a tragedy for this town, to be sure. But people who live here are relieved, saying it could have been so much worse, and it's remarkable, they say, that only one person here lost their life in this damaging storm. So they're taking every precaution possible today to make sure no one new is injured in the aftermath.

David Mattingly, CNN, Pierce City, Missouri.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired May 6, 2003 - 14:31   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: All across Georgia right now, there are tornado warnings, watches, heavy thunderstorms. Those storms, which whipped across parts of Missouri and Nebraska and Tennessee and caused upwards of 40 deaths the other day, have now settled in the southeastern part of the United StateS -- moving west to east, as they always do.
And Jacqui Jeras is up there in the weather center. Once again, a fistful of papers. Lots to keep track of, Jacqui.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We've had warnings in effect for about 45 minutes across the northern suburbs of the Atlanta area.

We just saw in the live picture there that the rain has been coming down very heavy, especially north of the perimeter area. We've had between three and five inches in just about the last 12-plus hours, so flooding is going to be a major concern to go along with those tornados.

We do have tornado warnings in effect for Eastern Cobb, Northern De Kalb, Central Fulton counties, and then also Southern Hart County and Elbert County and in northeastern parts of Georgia. And there been some funnel clouds spotted. We're keeping an eye on it. No reports of damage from these (UNINTELLIGIBLE) at this time.

Our numbers of tornados continue to go up with this storm system as it pushes off to the east. All of those red dots you see indicate a tornado touchdown that has been confirmed by the National Weather Service.

So since Sunday, we've had well over 100 tornado reports. And we're going to continue to add to those. We're going to zoom in here across the Atlanta area. And I want to highlight those thunderstorms right there where we have that big concern pushing off to the east.

These are moving due east about 45 miles per hour. And so they're pretty fast moving storms. But you can see there is still redevelopment pushing in behind it just to the east of Birmingham.

So this tornado watch is going to continue throughout the rest of the afternoon. This will be a very volatile situation. We did have a severe thunderstorm watch in effect earlier. That's been replaced now by the tornado watch. And the same type of situation has happened here across western parts of Missouri into eastern Kansas.

Was a thunderstorm watch. Now it's been upgraded to a tornado watch. We've had a few reports of tornados touching down here across eastern parts of Kansas. And you see Kansas City. You were hit hard on Sunday.

Look at this. Severe thunderstorm warnings in effect right now. So you need to be taking cover. It's this cell south of the city near Alathi (ph) that I'm particularly concerned about. This is moving to the east just like the Atlanta thunderstorms are.

Here are the watchboxes are kind of spread out and sporadic. Severe thunderstorm watch clipping the St. Louis area, southern parts of Illinois, and into southwestern Indiana -- (UNINTELLIGIBLE) this tri-state region.

And then we have another one down here into Texas that's just underneath this banner. Unfortunately, I'm sorry, you don't see it there but it is just south of Dallas/Fort Worth and covers much of central Texas.

The central threat remains very high for today. The dark red area is where we have the primary concern for the super cell type of thunderstorms -- those individual cells that rip across and cause the rotation. That dry air is pulling in from the west. And we're going to continue to see these storms redeveloping because we have this very active jet-stream pattern. We're going to talk a little bit more about that in the 2:00 hour, Miles, why we're seeing storm after storm in the same places.

O'BRIEN: Well, let's talk just a little bit about it now if we could. Does it take a change in that jet-stream pattern there, Jacqui, in order to change the underlying pattern which is spawning all these tornados. And what causes that to happen?

JERAS: This is the upper air pattern, and we get these waves within the jet stream. What's happening is -- across the west, we have the trough in place, and we've got a ridge across the east. Low pressure storm systems kind of develop right in here -- right where you have the kink in the trough that causes cyclogenesis.

Until we get the break in the jet stream -- until things flatten out or we get a ridge across the west -- we'll continue to see the storm systems develop, the same type of ones that spawned the tornados.

In fact, I was just looking at some of the computer models and right now, Thursday is looking like a very ugly day. It's looking very similar to what we saw on Sunday.

So I just want you to know that things are going to be continuing for at least three days. In fact, the seven- to ten-day pattern is looking like it will stay very active. There you can see very dark clouds over the city of Atlanta from WAGA-TV.

Again, a tornado warning in effect for Eastern Cobb, parts of Fulton and De Kalb County.

O'BRIEN: You want ugly, that's ugly, boy.

JERAS: That is ugly. I'm seeing low clouds. I'm not seeing any rotation there, Miles.

O'BRIEN: I can't let this one go by. It rolled off your tongue like we all know it. Cyclogenesis. The definition?

JERAS: That's the development of our low-pressure storm system. It's not the individual tornado cells but the synoptic pattern. That's what pulls in the warm southerly wind and pulls in the cooler air from the north.

O'BRIEN: Got you. So that's kind of a complicated way of saying it takes a lot to break up this pattern?

JERAS: Exactly. In layman's terms, yes, it's going to be a while.

All right, Jacqui Jeras, thank you very much. And as we look at that rather mean-looking picture, the city of Atlanta, this looking down -- wow, that is brutal looking. Would not be a good day to be flying. I can tell you that right now.

O'BRIEN: In other parts of the world, it is even more serious. They are picking up the pieces after some killer tornados went through and did extensive damage to entire towns. CNN's Jennifer Cagliola (ph) is in Jackson, Tennessee.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENNIFER COGGIOLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): This is one of the main intersections in downtown Jackson, Tennessee, where you can see behind me the destruction.

(voice-over): We've got, literally, stop lights missing, trees, power lines down, phone lines down.

(on camera): And a lot of the local businesses around here, which are really going to take a beating as residents try to rebuild. I actually have one family here who owns the Foster (ph) Floor Center.

This is Mr. Foster (ph) -- Dean (ph), his wife, Judy (ph), and his two children, Matthew (ph) and Deanna (ph). Thank you for joining us. This must have been a devastating 24, 48 hours for you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it is. Not only did I lose his business, my father lost his home and my son lost his home -- the same evening, same tornado.

CAGLIOLA: How long has this business been here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: About 12 years.

COGGIOLA: So you were here in '99 for the last one?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

COGGIOLA: Was there any kind of destruction?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. Other places but this is more widespread.

COGGIOLA: I understand both of you guys worked in the store as well. How long have you been working here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been working here since I graduated in '93 but this has been bad because I lost my house also. And my grandparents lost their house also. But I have a lot of friends that have helped out and places to stay so far until the insurance -- until I can get in touch with the insurance.

COGGIOLA: Deanna, were you all at home or where were you when all this happened?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were the at home. Me and my husband were in the tub, in the bathroom, and heard it go over our house.

COGGIOLA: What about you, Matthew, where were you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was around the corner, probably half a mile away from my home in a basement.

COGGIOLA: You all look like you've been busy at work. I know things have improved a little bit since we got here this morning. What kind of recovery efforts are you doing now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're salvaging what we can for material. Of course, the building is going to be destroyed, torn down. We're just about going to recover about 30% of the material.

COGGIOLA: Judy, are this friends of you all?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. They're dear friends that showed up, volunteered. We didn't even know they were coming this morning when we came. And they were just wonderful. We couldn't do without them.

COGGIOLA: Matthew, you guys have been hard at work, too.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. We appreciate our friends. They even brought lunch for everyone here. Donated all their time and everything for that, for us.

COGGIOLA: I imagine it's devastating to lose your home and business but you're all here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's the mainthing. We're all here and alive. Even our animals. Everything survived except our homes. That's okay. Things can be replaced but people cannot. That's the way we have to feel.

COGGIOLA: Mr. Foster, are you going to rebuild your business?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know right at this time. There are some options open for me. Time will tell. Of course, we have to keep working to live. So we'll do something.

COGGIOLA: Thank you all and good luck to all of you. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you very much.

COGGIOLA: As you can see, the residents here just trying to rebuild what's left but thankful, like the Fosters, that they do have their health.

I'm Jennifer Coggiola in Jackson, Tennessee -- back to you all.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: And back to a live picture -- courtesy of our affiliate WAGA in Atlanta. This is the city of Atlanta with a pall cast over it. Low, dark clouds, part of this violent band of storms that is now passing through the southeastern United States, having done terrible damage in its wake in places like Tennessee and before that in Missouri, specifically Pierce City, Missouri, where we find CNN's David Mattingly.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): In Pierce City, Missouri, there is still no electricity, no running water, and some now fear no future for some of the town's most prized buildings.

(voice-over): The old buildings of the old town of Pierce City are in jeopardy now. They are the jewels of the town's tourism business. They're so badly damaged by Sunday's tornado, they're in such bad shape, that many may have to be demolished for the sake of public safety.

So much of the work that is going on today is just salvaging anything of value. Property owners will be allowed back into their businesses, but they'll have to be escorted by engineers and rescue teams today. That is for their safety. They're worried that people could get hurt as they try to climb through all this wreckage looking for any of their belongings.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course, just be mindful of obvious hazards to watch for, you know, holes in the floor, debris that could fall from above. Not allow them into areas that could be unsafe for entrapment. They're only to go in on ground level floors -- no second story access is allowed or basement access because of the possibility of collapse.

MATTINGLY (on camera): The loss of all this property is a tragedy for this town, to be sure. But people who live here are relieved, saying it could have been so much worse, and it's remarkable, they say, that only one person here lost their life in this damaging storm. So they're taking every precaution possible today to make sure no one new is injured in the aftermath.

David Mattingly, CNN, Pierce City, Missouri.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com