New World Climate

First tornado on record hits downtown Atlanta

According to the Washington Post, $150 to $200 million worth of damage was caused on Friday by downtown Atlanta's first tornado on record. Several buildings were badly damaged including the Georgia World Congress Center, and CNN's headquarters.

Less than 24 hours later, two people were killed by severe storms near the Alabama-Georgia border.

Deadly tornadoes sweep across the southern US

82 confirmed tornados swept across Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Tennessee killing a total of 59 people and destroying hundreds of homes.

According to Wikipedia, "The outbreak was the deadliest in the U.S. since the May 31, 1985 outbreak that killed 76 across Ohio and Pennsylvania."

Ice storm in Oklahoma prompts eighth disaster declaration this year

Governor Brad Henry of Oklahoma made his eighth disaster declaration request in 2007 after a massive ice storm damaged or destroyed thousands of trees, knocking out power for over a week and contributing to the deaths of 32 people.

Henry said the storm "has been nothing short of catastrophic" and "was of historic proportion."

More details are available at The Dallas Morning News.

According to FEMA's disaster search, in addition to winter storms, other disaster declarations were related to severe flooding and tornados.