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Long string of severe weather; Parkersburg tornado on video

Sun Jun 8 2008 @ 21:45 EDT

ATM surveillance camera captures Parkersburg EF-5 tornadoATM surveillance camera captures Parkersburg EF-5 tornado as it destroys several homes across from the ATM.
Severe weather has been ongoing for a number of days across the United States. 2008 is on par to be a record year for tornadoes, with 1,191 as of May 29th. The current record for the most tornadoes in a year is 1,817 in 2004. The strongest tornado out of all of these was the Parkersburg, Iowa tornado on Sunday May 25th. The tornado, rated EF-5 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, is only the 2nd EF-5 since the scale went into use last year. The first EF-5 was the Greensburg, Kansas tornado of May 5, 2007.

The Parkersburg tornado was over 3/4 mile wide when it passed through Parkersburg. Seven people were killed in the tornado, and more than 288 homes were destroyed in Parkersburg, 88 in New Hartford, 15 in Hazelton and another 50 in Black Hawk County.

The Parkersburg tornado was caught on camera by several security cameras at a bank in the town. First State Bank released video footage from their ATM and indoor security cameras showing the tornado approaching and then passing over the bank. Trees and bushes can be seen blowing around as the tornado approaches. On one of the indoor cameras, debris then starts passing outside before the building's windows are blown out. The camera is then thrown around the room.

The National Weather Service office in Des Moines has more information on the Parkersburg tornado.

More recently, a stalled out front (stationary front) has been the focus of severe weather and flooding over the past week. Tornadoes and wind damage have been reported from Kansas all the way East to the Atlantic seaboard. Over 10 inches of rain fell in portions of Indiana, and over 8 inches of rain fell in Ohio.

On Saturday, seven tornadoes were reported from Odell, Illinois northeast to the Chicago suburb of Lansing.

See also: Tornado deaths spur warnings for motorists

ID# 66

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