Tornadoes

Eric Holthaus has a Slate article about the recent crop of tornados:

A slow-moving storm system is producing one of the most prolonged, intense outbreaks of the past decade. More than a hundred tornadoes across eleven states have been reported over the past two days. The death toll has reached thirty, according to CNN. More tornadoes are likely.
The tornado threat will shift east slightly, as the outbreak reaches its third day, with Mississippi and Alabama again at greatest risk for severe weather. The scope of the storms remains enormous: more than seventy million people will be at risk, according to the Storm Prediction Center. By evening, a secondary round of tornadoes could threaten Atlanta to the Carolinas to Washington.
Besides tornadoes, total rainfall has already reached in excess of eight inches in some parts of the South. Heavy rains will begin on the East Coast, with similar totals possible by week’s end. Flood watches are posted in a continuous swath from New Orleans to New York City.
By all accounts, this week’s tornado outbreak is rare. It’s unlikely, but this could mark the first time since 3 to 5 May 1999, with three consecutive days of “high risk” of severe weather. That’s the only other time such a severe and long-lasting outbreak has been forecast by the Storm Prediction Center since accurate tornado forecasts became possible in the 1980s.

Rico says his mother is in the path, but hopefully will be spared...