Oklahoma City, OK – A meteorologist with the National Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, says the public had nearly a one week warning before deadly tornadoes hit four states.
At least 48 people were killed last night when the storms with tornadoes hit Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi and Arkansas.
Warning coordination meteorologist Greg Carbin says forecasters began warning about the potential for dangerous storms last Tuesday.
Carbin says it won't be known exactly how many tornadoes touched down until Weather Service workers and local emergency management crews examine the damage. He says there are 67 eyewitness accounts of tornadoes but some eyewitnesses saw the same twister and he believes a reasonable guess is 30 to 40 tornadoes touching ground.
Carbin says the last time this many people died in a tornado outbreak was May 3rd, 1999, when 46 people were killed during when 70 twisters touched down in Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas.
He says Wednesday's outbreak was caused when a strong storm system that typically affects the nation at this time of the year collided with a springtime air mass filled with moisture.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)