The National and Local news this morning led off with the deaths in Sullivan County, Indiana, currently at three, confirmed. This was the result of a historic tornado outbreak across the Midwest and Mid-South (Memphis to Nashville).
I watched the events unfold live through YouTube, donning my "virtual storm chaser" cap. The tornado that did damage in Sullivan, the birthplace of my father and most of his siblings, began as a supercell in Effingham County, Illinois, some 60-plus miles west. Storm Chaser Brad Arnold, took note of this rogue supercell near Salem, IL, southwest of Effingham, that stayed just ahead of the main line of storms. Unfortunately, those storms didn't catch up and overtake this supercell until it had travelled more than 200 miles across two states. I think when the reconnaissance is done by the National Weather Service, they'll conclude that a tornado was on the ground before Robinson (in Crawford Co, IL) until it crossed I-65 south of Greenwood, near Whiteland (Johnson Co, IN). I watched the tornado warnings hop the Wabash River from Crawford County over to Sullivan County and every subsequent county northeast of there, until even southeastern Marion County (Indianapolis) was in the warned area. Tornado Sirens went off and everything!
The confirmed damage to Whiteland, IN, is about 20 miles from my sister's house where I am staying. That's why I was keeping close tabs on this storm as it approached. Thankfully, the straight-line storms, that clocked 70-mph gusts at Indianapolis International Airport, caught up to this supercell, as I said, and the threat to us was over. Eyewitness videos of overturned semi's on I-65 north approaching Indianapolis and damage to buildings in Whiteland were all over the local news this morning at daybreak (see WTHR video, above). A little too close for comfort, I'd say!
When all was said and done on 31 Mar 2023, a historic weather day, there were more than 40 tornadoes confirmed and many small towns (and even part of Little Rock) were laid waste. The images that will continue to come to the forefront today will be breathtaking, no doubt.
I am thankful for YouTubers, like Ryan Hall, who had me glued to his live stream for over 10 HOURS! His channel featured live streams from dozens of storm chasers, including Mr. Arnold (linked above) who followed the storm into Sullivan and did prelim damage assessments. Since my family still has interests in Sullivan County, I was very thankful. But Hall's coverage from the initial outbreak, midafternoon in Iowa and Arkansas, until he signed off around 1 a.m. this morning, was essential to me tracking these dangerous storms. If you don't follow his channel, I highly recommend it. He's @RyanHallYall on both YouTube and Twitter. His Twitter feed had eyewitness tornado videos (close-up) and lots of photos of storm damage yesterday.
Drone Video of Sullivan, IN, this morning
I wish the deaths in Wynne (AR) and Sullivan could have been avoided, but these were deadly storms, no way around it. Unfortunately, the tornado hit Sullivan around 11 p.m. when people had gone to bed, and like I said, this was a rogue supercell they probably didn't see coming. My thoughts and prayers to the people affected across the Midwest and Mid-South, from Little Rock to Whiteland.
I hope we never see a super outbreak like that again soon. I'm told it's been 11 years since conditions were that perfect for a massive supercell outbreak like we witnessed 31 Mar 2023, a day that will be remembered far and wide.
