Franklin County, News, Phil Campbell, Red Bay, Russellville
 By  Staff Reports Published 
8:28 am Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Tornado photos needed

Scientists studying the April 27 storms that killed more than 230 people in Alabama and the Southeast are looking for pictures and video of the tornadoes.

Pictures and video of the tornadoes and the storms that spawned them will be used to learn more about the deadly storms, how they developed and how to improve warnings to the public.

“We are interested in getting as much visible data as possible from that day, both video and stills,” said Dr. Kevin Knupp, a professor of atmospheric science at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. “If anyone shot pictures or video of the tornadoes, that material could be very valuable to our work.

“We would like to be able to identify the various visual aspects of the storms,” Knupp added. “Some of the tornadoes were highly visible, while others were rain wrapped.

Having a picture can give us valuable links between a tornado’s intensity, the surrounding cloud formations and the corresponding radar information.”

Knupp, who leads UAH’s severe weather research team, said storm photos and video will be compared to radar data, detailed tornado track surveys and other data.

The photo/video analysis of the April 27 storms follows the successful analysis of about 500 photographs and 20 video clips of a January 21, 2010, tornado that hit Huntsville.

Compiled and organized by an undergraduate student, that analysis proved that “civilian” images can provide useful

information about storm genesis. Preliminary results of that work were presented at the American Meteorological Society’s Conference on Severe Local Weather in October.

Anyone willing to share their photographs or video of the storms can contact Knupp at tornado@nsstc.uah.edu. In addition to the pictures, scientists need to know the photographer’s location when a picture was taken, the time it

was taken and the general direction the camera was pointed.

All information received will be confidential and will be used for research purposes only.

Photos and video will be published in scientific journals or presented at scientific meetings and conferences only with the photographer’s written permission.

Also on Franklin County Times
Ex-day care owner faces 27-count indictment
Main, News, Russellville
Kevin Taylor For the FCT 
October 15, 2025
RUSSELLVILLE — The former owner of a Red Bay day care center where a 4-month-old died in March 2022 is now facing a manslaughter charge after a Frankl...
AI policies stress proper use over prohibition
Main, News
Alyssa Sutherland For the FCT 
October 15, 2025
Sheffield City Schools’ policy regarding student use of artificial intelligence (AI) at the start of the 2025-26 school year limited the use of the so...
Faith, family and resilience are keys to cancer survival
Main, News, Phil Campbell, ...
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
October 15, 2025
PHIL CAMPBELL — Ten years ago, Melissa Stancil faced a diagnosis that changed her life. Today, she’s not only a survivor of Stage 3 breast cancer but ...
Gilmer fulfills dream competing on ‘Jeopardy!’
Main, News, Russellville, ...
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
October 15, 2025
RUSSELLVILLE — Russellville native Slade Gilmer fulfilled a lifelong dream when he competed on “Jeopardy!” in an episode that aired Oct. 7. Gilmer liv...
Police among state’s first certified departments
News, Russellville, Z - News Main
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
October 15, 2025
RUSSELLVILLE — The city’s Police Department is one of the first 12 departments to earn professional accreditation through the Alabama Association of C...
We must break China’s grip on defense supply chains
Columnists, Opinion
October 15, 2025
China’s Xi Jinping appeared supremely confident at a recent military parade in Beijing with Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. Xi’...
DKG international president visits Russellville
Columnists, Opinion
HERE AND NOW
October 15, 2025
When educators gather, there’s always something to learn, and this month our local Delta Kappa Gamma chapter, Alpha Upsilon, heard directly from the t...
More than laughs: Improvising for life’s situations
News
Chelsea Retherford For the FCT 
October 15, 2025
When most people hear the word “improv,” they might think of the quickwitted antics of “Whose Line is it Anyway?” But David Grissom, a veteran comedy ...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *