This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/27/tornado-threat-storms-warning-fema-us

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Fema warns of storm and tornado threat to central US states Fema warns of storm and tornado threat to central US states
(about 1 hour later)
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) said on Sunday it was “following the threat of storms and tornadoes today for the central US”.The Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) said on Sunday it was “following the threat of storms and tornadoes today for the central US”.
The agency used Twitter to broadcast a number of “tornado facts”, including “a safe room or storm shelter offer the best protection from a tornado” and “the 2nd best protection is to curl up and take cover inside a windowless room on the lowest level of a sturdy building”.The agency used Twitter to broadcast a number of “tornado facts”, including “a safe room or storm shelter offer the best protection from a tornado” and “the 2nd best protection is to curl up and take cover inside a windowless room on the lowest level of a sturdy building”.
Warnings of severe weather for the same area issued on Saturday came to little, but the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, said on Saturday night the threat for Sunday remained. Forecasters warned residents in many Midwestern and southern states to be alert as the threat of severe weather and tornadoes intensified.
A National Weather Service meteorologist based in Norman, Scott Curl, said there could be "quite a bit" of severe weather on Sunday afternoon and into the evening. The risk of tornadoes will rise throughout the day, centered in an area stretching from Omaha, Nebraska to northern Louisiana, the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, said. Some twisters could be particularly strong in the late afternoon and evening.
The highest potential for severe weather on Sunday was predicted to be in Arkansas and portions of Oklahoma and Texas. A secondary threat area would be from eastern Nebraska into Iowa. "The greatest risk for a few intense tornadoes will exist across much of Arkansas perhaps into western and central Missouri," a weather service advisory said, noting the Delta region of northwestern Mississippi also could be affected late in the day. A strong storm moved through west central Missouri on Sunday afternoon.
Tornadoes featuring winds of more than 111mph damaged more than 200 homes on Friday in North Carolina. Sixteen people were taken to hospital, according to Beaufort County emergency management director John Pack. Tornado watches – which means twisters could develop but aren't an immediate threat – were widespread in the plains states on Sunday, targeting an area from north central and eastern Kansas, western and central Missouri and central Nebraska and southern Iowa.
In the central US, organisers of outdoor events kept a watchful eye on conditions. Organisers with the Oklahoma City Marathon, set for Sunday, urged runners to be aware of a race-day alert system intended to warn participants of impending bad weather. Even if tornadoes don't form, some areas could see hail and high winds, forecasters said, warning the hail could be as big as baseballs and wind gusts could reach hurricane-force – 75mph or higher.
Three shelter locations have been picked to house runners and spectators if the stormy weather moves through. Severe thunderstorms will move into Arkansas, southern Missouri, eastern Oklahoma and extreme northeast Texas on Sunday afternoon into Sunday evening. The greatest risk of tornadoes developing will be centered in Arkansas.
To the southeast, northern Louisiana and Mississippi were bracing for severe storms along with the possibility of flash flooding. The predictions prompted Barksdale Air Force Base near Bossier City, Louisiana to cancel its air show on Sunday. The NWS said northern Alabama could see rain and flash flooding, while central and northern Georgia could see storms and heavy rain.
Runners in Oklahoma City took shelter early on Sunday as hail and high winds delayed the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon by 105 minutes, to let a severe thunderstorm pass through.
Race organisers had arranged for three shelters to be used along the 26.2-mile route, but when the storm came early, downtown businesses opened their doors for the runners.