Podcasts about ef5

I veckans avsnitt är det Lucas tur att berätta om tornadon i Joplin, Missouri den 22 maj 2011. Tornadon var en så kallad EF5 tornado med en intensitet på 320km/h. Den nådde marken i den södra delen av Joplin och fortsatte sedan igenom staden och lämnade efter sig en enorm förödelse. Har ni tips på ämnen eller olika fall ni vill att vi tar upp får ni mer än gärna kontakta oss på stapalspodcast@gmail.com eller på Instagram via Stapalspodcast eller via lucasternestal och utt3rclou. Glöm inte att prenumerera på podden så ni får notiser om när nya avsnitt läggs ut och ge oss gärna betyg! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Film Lag, Nick takes Melissa on a whirlwind journey through the plot of Twisters (2024), the standalone sequel to the 1996 classic Twister. Melissa doesn't have time to watch the flick, but wants to be equipped for water cooler conversations, so she's tapped Nick to give his ‘hot take' and summary of the story of Kate Carter, a retired storm chaser drawn back into the chaos of Tornado Alley. Together, they'll try to download key moments of the movie into her brain and discuss:⏺️ Kate's Tragic Past: The devastating EF5 tornado that claimed the lives of Kate's friends and boyfriend, shaping her decision to leave storm chasing behind.⏺️ The Tornado Wrangler: The rivalry and eventual collaboration between Kate and Tyler Owens, a reckless social media storm chaser, as they face unprecedented tornado outbreaks.⏺️ Cutting-Edge Technology: The use of phased-array radar and innovative methods - such as middle-school dioramas - to study and combat tornadoes.Tune as they chat about whether or not this film lives up to the original, if a soundtrack can tank a movie, and whether or not they can ride their fears!

When disaster struck the town of Joplin, Missouri in 2011 in the form of an EF5 tornado, the last thing you would expect the townspeople to be thinking about was the paranormal. And yet, in the aftermath bizarre stories began to emerge of a strange humanoid seen amongst the carnage of this otherworldly natural disaster. But were they real? And if so, who are they and what did they want? Time for Kit and Rory to investigate!Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTubeJoin our Secret Society Facebook CommunitySupport us on Patreon.com/ThisParanormalLife to get access to weekly bonus episodes!Buy Official TPL Merch! - thisparanormallife.com/storeIntro music by www.purple-planet.comEdited by Philip ShackladyResearch by Ewen Friers Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we look at the Butterfly People reported en masse immediately after an EF5 tornado ripped apart the town of Joplin, Missouri. Were they angels? Something else? Why were so many reported? Have we ever seen anything like it?Follow Tobias:www.SingularFortean.comFollow Asherz:linktr.ee/wednesdaystalkProduced By: MIB Agent NateBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/on-wednesdays-we-talk-weird--5989318/support.

Every American who has a mortgage is required by their bank to have homeowners insurance, but getting it and keeping it is becoming a challenge. In this episode, hear the highlights of a Senate hearing examining the problems in the homeowners insurance market and why they might lead to much bigger problems next time disaster strikes. Please Support Congressional Dish – Quick Links Contribute monthly or a lump sum via Support Congressional Dish via (donations per episode) Send Zelle payments to: Donation@congressionaldish.com Send Venmo payments to: @Jennifer-Briney Send Cash App payments to: $CongressionalDish or Donation@congressionaldish.com Use your bank's online bill pay function to mail contributions to: Please make checks payable to Congressional Dish Thank you for supporting truly independent media! Background Sources Effects of Climate on Insurance Christopher Flavelle and Mira Rojanasakul. May 13, 2024. The New York Times. Chris Van Hollen et al. September 7, 2023. Chris Van Hollen, U.S. Senator for Maryland. Alice C. Hill. August 17, 2023. Council on Foreign Relations. Insurance Information Institute. Antonio Grimaldi et al. November 19, 2020. McKinsey & Company. Lobbying OpenSecrets. OpenSecrets. OpenSecrets. Heritage Foundation SourceWatch. Demotech William Rabb. April 15, 2024. Insurance Journal. Parinitha Sastry et al. December 2023. Fannie Mae Adam Hayes. May 17, 2023. Investopedia. Hurricanes National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Audio Sources Senate Committee on the Budget June 5, 2024 Witnesses: Glen Mulready, Insurance Commissioner, State of Oklahoma Rade Musulin, Principal, Finity Consulting Dr. Ishita Sen, Assistant Professor of Finance, Harvard Business School Deborah Wood, Florida Resident , Research Fellow, Heritage Foundation's Grover Hermann Center for the Federal Budget Clips 23:05 Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI): In 2022 and 2023, more than a dozen insurance companies left the Florida residential market, including national insurers like Farmers. Residents fled to Citizens Property Insurance, the state backed insurer of last resort, which ballooned from a 4% market share in 2019 to as much as 17% last year. If it has to pay out claims that exceed its reserves, citizens can levy a surcharge on Florida insurance policy holders across the state. Good luck with that. Particularly if the surcharge grows to hundreds or even thousands of dollars to depopulate its books. Citizens has let private insurers cherry pick out its least risk policies. Those private insurers may have problems of their own, as we will hear today. 25:10 Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI): The federal budget takes a hit because these insurers and their policies are accepted by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, who either own or guarantee a large part of our $12 trillion mortgage market. This all sounds eerily reminiscent of the run-up to the mortgage meltdown of 2008, including a role of potentially captive or not fully responsible rating agencies. 25:45 Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI): Florida is far from alone. A New York Times investigation found that the insurance industry lost money on homeowners coverage in 18 states last year, and the states may surprise you. The list includes Illinois, Michigan, Utah, Washington, and Iowa. Insurers in Iowa lost money each of the last four years. This is a signal that hurricanes and earthquakes, once the most prevalent perils, are being rivaled by hail, windstorms, and wildfires. 28:00 Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI): This isn't all that complicated. Climate risk makes things uninsurable. No insurance makes things unmortgageable. No mortgages crashes the property markets. Crashed property markets trash the economy. It all begins with climate risk, and a major party pretending that climate risk isn't real imperils our federal budget and millions of Americans all across the country. 33:45 Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA): Insurance premiums are far too high across the board and may increase after the recent storms, including those very storms in my state of Iowa. Climate change isn't the primary driver of insurance rate hikes and collapse of the insurance industry isn't imminent. Although I'll have to say, Iowa had six property and casualty companies pull out of insuring Iowans. Climate change doesn't explain why auto insurance premiums in 2024 have increased by a whopping 20% year over year. It also doesn't account for the consistent failure of liberal cities to fight crime, which has raised insurance risk and even caused insurers to deny coverage. Expensive liberal policies, not climate change, are much to blame for these market dynamics. 39:00 Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI): The first witness is Rade Musulin. Rade is an actuary with 45 years of experience in insurance, specializing in property pricing, natural perils, reinsurance, agriculture, catastrophe, risk modeling, public policy development, and climate risk. Specifically, he spent many years working in Florida, including as chair of the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund Advisory Council during the time in which Citizens Property Insurance Corporation was established. 39:35 Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI): Our second witness is Dr. Ishida Sen. Dr. Sen is an Assistant Professor at Harvard Business School. Her recent research examines the pricing of property insurance and the interactions between insurance and mortgage markets. This includes the role that institutions and the regulatory landscape play and the broader consequences for real estate markets, climate adaptation, and our overall financial stability. 40:00 Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI): Our third witness is Deb Wood. Ms. Wood and her husband Dan McGrath are both retired Floridians. They moved to South Florida in 1979 and lived in Broward County, which includes Fort Lauderdale for 43 years until skyrocketing insurance premiums became too much. They now reside in Tallahassee, Florida. 40:35 Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA): Dr. EJ Antoni is a Research Fellow at the Heritage Foundation Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget. His research focuses on fiscal and monetary policy, and he previously was an economist at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Antoni earned his Master's degree and Doctor's degree in Economics from Northern Illinois University. 41:10 Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA): Commissioner Glen Mulready has served as Oklahoma's 13th Insurance Commissioner and was first elected to this position in 2019. Commissioner Mulready started his insurance career as a broker in 1984, and also served in the Oklahoma State House of Representatives. 42:15 Rade Musulin: Okay. My name is Ray Muslin. I'm an actuary who has extensive experience in natural hazard risks and funding arrangements for the damage and loss they cause. I've worked with many public sector entities on policy responses to the challenges of affordability, availability of insurance, and community resilience. This work included participating in Florida's response to Hurricane Andrew, which included the creation of the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund and Citizens Property Insurance Corporation. The Cat Fund and Citizens can access different forms of funding than traditional insurance companies. Instead of holding sufficient capital or reinsurance before an event to cover the cost of potential losses, both entities use public sources of capital to reduce upfront costs by partially funding losses post-event through bonding and assessments. All property casualty insurance policy holders, whether in Citizens or not, are subject to its assessments. While the Cat Fund can also assess almost all policies, including automobile, this approach exposes Floridians to debt and repayment if large losses occur, and it subsidizes high risk policies from the entire population. These pools, others like them in other states, and the NFIP have contributed to rapid development in high risk areas driving higher costs in the long run. In Florida, national insurers have reduced their exposure as a significant proportion of the insurance market has moved to Citizens or smaller insurers with limited capital that are heavily dependent on external reinsurance. To date, Florida's system has been successful in meeting its claims obligations, while improvements in building codes have reduced loss exposure. However, for a variety of reasons, including exposure to hurricanes, claims cost inflation, and litigation, Florida's insurance premiums are the highest in the nation, causing significant affordability stress for consumers. According to market research from Bankrate, the average premium for a $300,000 home in Florida is three times the national average, with some areas five times the national average. A major hurricane hitting a densely populated area like Miami could trigger large and long lasting post-event assessments or even exceed the system's funding capacity. Continued rapid exposure growth and more extreme hurricane losses amplified by climate change will cause increasing stress on the nation's insurance system, which may be felt through solvency issues, non-renewals, growth of government pools, and affordability pressure. 44:55 Rade Musulin: Evidence of increasing risk abounds, including Hurricane Otis in 2023, which rapidly intensified from a tropical storm to a cat. five hurricane and devastated Acapulco in Mexico last summer. Water temperatures off Florida exceeded a hundred degrees Fahrenheit last week. As was alluded to earlier, NOAA forecast an extremely active hurricane season for '24. We've seen losses in the Mid-Atlantic from Sandy, record flooding from Harvey, and extreme devastation from Maria, among others. In coming decades, we must prepare for the possibility of more extreme hurricanes and coastal flooding from Texas to New England. 46:50 Dr. Ishita Sen: Good morning Senators. I am Ishita Sen, Assistant Professor at Harvard Business School and my research studies insurance markets. In recent work with co-authors at Columbia University and the Federal Reserve Board, I examine how climate risk creates fiscal and potentially financial instability because of miscalibrated insurer screening standards and repercussions to mortgage markets. 47:15 Dr. Ishita Sen: Insurance is critical to the housing market. Property insurers help households rebuild after disasters by preserving collateral values and reducing the likelihood that a borrower defaults. Insurance directly reduces the risks for mortgage lenders and the Government-Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Mortgage Lenders therefore require property insurance and the GSEs only purchase mortgages backed by insurers who meet minimum financial strength ratings, which measure insurer solvency and ability to pay claims. The GSEs accept three main rating agencies AM Best, S & P and, more recently, Demotech. And to provide an example, Fannie Mae requires insurers to have at least a B rating from AM Best, or at least an A rating from Demo Tech to accept a mortgage. Now, despite having this policy in place, we find a dramatic rise in mortgages backed by fragile insurers and show that the GSEs and therefore the taxpayers ultimately shoulder a large part of the financial burden. Our research focuses on Florida because of availability of granular insurance market data, and we show that traditional insurers are exiting and the gap is rapidly being filled by insurers, rated by Demotech, which has about 60% market share in Florida today. These insurers are low quality across a range of different financial and operational metrics, and are at a very high risk of becoming insolvent. But despite their risk, these insurers secure high enough ratings to meet the minimum rating requirements set by the GSEs. Our analysis shows that many actually would not be eligible under the methodologies of other rating agencies, implying that in many cases these ratings are inflated and that the GSEs insurer requirements are miscalibrated. 49:20 Dr. Ishita Sen: We next look at how fragile insurers create mortgage market risks. So in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, homeowners with a policy from one of the insolvent Demotech insurers were significantly more likely to default on their mortgage relative to similar borrowers with policies from stable insurers. This is because insurers that are in financial trouble typically are slower to pay claims or may not pay the full amounts. But this implies severe economic hardships for many, many Floridians despite having expensive insurance coverage in place. However, the pain doesn't just stop there. The financial costs of fragile insurers go well beyond the borders of Florida because lenders often sell mortgages, for example, to the GSEs, and therefore, the risks created by fragile insurers spread from one state to the rest of the financial system through the actions of lenders and rating agencies. In fact, we show two reasons why the GSEs bear a large share of insurance fragility risk. First is that lenders strategically securitize mortgages, offloading loans backed by Demotech insurers to the GSEs in order to limit their counterparty risk exposures. And second, that lenders do not consider insurer risk during mortgage origination for loans that they can sell to the GSEs, even though they do so for loans that they end up retaining, indicating lax insurer screening standards for loans that can be offloaded to the GSEs. 50:55 Dr. Ishita Sen: Before I end, I want to leave you with two numbers. Over 90%. That's our estimate of Demotech's market share among loans that are sold to the GSEs. And 25 times more. That's Demotech's insolvency rate relative to AM Best, among the GSE eligible insurers. 57:15 Glen Mulready: As natural disasters continue to rise, understanding the dynamics of insurance pricing is crucial for both homeowners and policymakers. Homeowners insurance is a fundamental safeguard for what is for many Americans their single largest asset. This important coverage protects against financial loss due to damage or destruction of a home and its contents. However, recent years have seen a notable increase in insurance premiums. One significant driver of this rise is convective storms and other severe weather events. Convective storms, which include phenomena like thunderstorms, tornadoes, and hail, have caused substantial damage in various regions. The cost to repair homes and replace belongings after such events has skyrocketed leading insurance companies to adjust their premiums to cover that increased risk. Beyond convective storms, we've witnessed hurricanes, wildfires, and flooding. These events have not only caused damage, but have also increased the long-term risk profile of many areas. Insurance companies are tasked with managing that risk and have responded by raising premiums to ensure they can cover those potential claims. 58:30 Glen Mulready: Another major factor influencing homeowner's insurance premiums is inflation. Inflation affects the cost of building materials, labor, and other expenses related to home repair and reconstruction. As the cost of living increases, so does the cost of claims for insurers. When the price of lumber, steel, and other essential materials goes up, the expense of repairing or rebuilding homes also rises. Insurance companies must reflect these higher costs in their premiums to maintain financial stability and ensure they can meet those contractual obligations to policyholders. 59:35 Glen Mulready: I believe the most essential aspect of managing insurance premiums is fostering a robust, competitive free market. Competition among insurance companies encourages innovation and efficiency, leading to better pricing and services for consumers. When insurers can properly underwrite and price for risk, they create a more balanced and fair market. This involves using advanced data analytics and modeling techniques to accurately assess the risk levels of different properties. By doing so, insurance companies can offer premiums that reflect the true risk, avoiding excessive charges for low risk homeowners, and ensuring high risk properties are adequately covered. Regulation also plays a crucial role in maintaining a healthy insurance market. Policyholders must strike a balance between consumer protection and allowing insurers the freedom and flexibility to adjust their pricing based on the risk. Overly stringent regulations can stifle competition and lead to market exits, reducing choices for consumers. We've seen this play out most recently in another state where there were artificial caps put in place on premium increases that worked well for consumers in the short term, but then one by one, all of the major insurers began announcing they would cease to write any new homeowners insurance in that state. These are all private companies, and if there's not the freedom and flexibility to price their products properly, they may have to take drastic steps as we've seen. Conversely, a well-regulated market encourages transparency and fairness, ensuring that homeowners have access to the most affordable and adequate coverage options. 1:02:00 Dr. EJ Antoni: I'm a public finance economist and the Richard F. Aster fellow at the Heritage Foundation, where I research fiscal and monetary policy with a particular focus on the Federal Reserve. I am also a senior fellow at the Committee to Unleash Prosperity. 1:02:15 Dr. EJ Antoni: Since January 2021, prices have risen a cumulative 19.3% on average in the American economy. Construction prices for single family homes have risen much faster, up 30.5% during the same time. 1:03:20 Dr. EJ Antoni: Actuarial tables used in underwriting to estimate risk and future losses, as well as calculate premiums, rely heavily on those input costs. When prices increase radically, precisely as has happened over the last several years, old actuarial tables are of significantly less use when pricing premiums because they will grossly understate the future cost to the insurer. The sharp increase in total claim costs since 2019 has resulted in billions of dollars of losses for both insurers and reinsurers prompting large premium increases to stop those losses. This has put significant financial stress on consumers who are already struggling with a cost of living crisis and are now faced with much higher insurance premiums, especially for homeowners insurance. 1:05:10 Dr. EJ Antoni: The increase in claims related to weather events has undoubtedly increased, but it is not due to the climate changing. This is why the insurance and reinsurance markets do not rely heavily on climate modeling when pricing premiums. Furthermore, climate models are inherently subjective, not merely in how the models are constructed, but also by way of the inputs that the modeler uses. In other words, because insufficient data exists to create a predictive model, a human being must make wide ranging assumptions and add those to the model in place of real world data. Thus, those models have no predictive value for insurers. 1:07:40 Sen. Sheldon Whitehoue (D-RI): You say that this combination of demographics, development, and disasters poses a significant risk to our financial system. What do you mean by risk to our financial system Rade Musulin: Well, Senator, if you look at the combination, as has been pointed out, of high growth and wealth accumulation in coastal areas, and you look at just what we've observed in the climate, much less what's predicted in the future, there is significant exposure along the coastline from Maine to Texas. In fact, my family's from New Jersey and there is enormous development on the coast of New Jersey. And if we start to get major hurricanes coming through those areas, the building codes are probably not up to the same standards they are in Florida. And we could be seeing some significant losses, as I believe was pointed out in the recent Federal Reserve study. Sen. Sheldon Whitehoue (D-RI): And how does that create risk to the financial system? Rade Musulin: Well, because it's sort of a set of dominoes, you start with potentially claims issues with the insurers being stressed and not able to pay claims. You have post-event rate increases as we've seen in Florida, you could have situations where people cannot secure insurance because they can't afford it, then that affects their mortgage security and so on and so forth. So there are a number of ways that this could affect the financial system, sir. Sen. Sheldon Whitehoue (D-RI): Cascading beyond the immediate insurer and becoming a national problem. Rade Musulin: Well, I would just note Senator, that in Florida, the real problems started years after we got past Andrew. We got past paying the claims on Andrew, and then the big problems occurred later when we tried to renew the policies. 1:10:50 Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI): And you see in this, and I'm quoting you here, parallels in the 2008 financial crisis. What parallels do you see? Dr. Ishita Sen: So just like what happened during the financial crisis, there were rating agencies that gave out high ratings to pools of mortgages backed by subprime loans. Here we have a situation where rating agencies like Demotech are giving out inflated ratings to insurance companies. The end result is sort of the same. There is just too much risk and too many risky mortgages being originated, in this case backed by really low quality insurers that are then entering the financial system. And the consequences of that has to be born by, of course the homeowners, but also the mortgage owners, GSCs (Government Sponsored Enterprises), the lenders, and ultimately the federal and state governments. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI): You say, this will be my last question. The fragility of property insurers is an important channel through which climate risk might threaten the stability of mortgage markets and possibly the financial system. What do you mean when you refer to a risk to the financial system? Dr. Ishita Sen: Well, as I was explaining the GSEs, if there are large losses that the GSEs face, then those losses have to be plugged by somebody. So the taxpayers, that's one channel through which you've got risk to the financial system and the GSE's serve as a backstop in the mortgage market. They may not have the ability or capacity to do so in such a scenario, which affects mortgage backed security prices, which are held by all sorts of financial institutions. So that starts affecting all of these institutions. On the other hand, if you've got a bunch of insurers failing, another channel is these insurers are one of the largest investors in many asset classes like corporate bonds, equities, and so on. And they may have to dump these securities at inopportune times, and that affects the prices of these securities as well. 1:12:45 Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-AI): Dr. Antoni, is there any evidence to support the notion that climate change is the greatest threat to the insurance market? Dr. EJ Antoni: No. Senator, there is not. And part of that has to do again, with the fact that when we look at the models that are used to predict climate change, we simply don't have enough empirical data with which we can input into those models. And so as a result of that, we have to have human assumptions on what we think is going to happen based essentially on a guess. And as a result of that, these models really are not of any predictive value, and that's why these models for the last 50 years have been predicting catastrophic outcomes, none of which have come true. 1:14:45 Glen Mulready: This focus on the rating agencies, I would agree with that if that were the be all end all. But the state insurance commissioners in each 50 states is tasked with the financial solvency of the insurance companies. We do not depend on rating agencies for that. We are doing financial exams on them. We are doing financial analysis every quarter on each one of them. So I would agree if that was the sort of be all end all, forgive that phrase, but it's not at all. And we don't depend very much at all on those rating agencies from our standpoint. 1:22:15 Dr. Ishita Sen: On the point about regulators looking at -- rating agencies is not something that we need to look at. I would just point out that in Florida, if you look at the number of exams that the Demotech rated insurers, that by the way have a 20% insolvency rate relative to 0% for traditional insurers, they get examined at the same rate as the traditional insurers like Farmers and AllState get examined, which is not something that you would expect if you're more risky. You would expect regulators to come look at them much, much more frequently. And the risk-based capital requirements that we have currently, which were designed in the 1980s, they're just not sensitive enough to new risks like wildfire and hurricanes and so on. And also not as well designed for under-diversified insurance companies because if so, all of these insurers were meeting the risk-based capital requirements, however, at the same time going insolvent at the rate of 20%. So those two things don't really go hand in hand. 1:23:25 Dr. Ishita Sen: Ultimately what the solution is is something that is obviously the main question that we are here to answer, but I would say that it is extremely hard to really figure out what the solution is, in part because we are not in a position right now to even answer some basic facts about how big the problem is, what exactly the numbers look like. For instance, we do not know basic facts about how much coverage people have in different places, how much they're paying. And when I say we don't know, we don't know this at a granular enough level because the data does not exist. And the first step towards designing any policy would be for us to know exactly how bad the problem is. And then we come up with a solution for that and start to evaluate these different policy responses. Right now we are trying to make policy blindfolded. 1:23:50 Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI): So we've had testimony before this committee that we've already spent $5-6 trillion. That's 5,000 to 6,000 billion dollars trying to mitigate climate change. We haven't made a dent in it. Their estimates, it's going to cost tens of trillions of dollars every year to reach net zero. So again, this is not the solution for a real problem, which is the broken insurance market. I have enough Wisconsin residents who live on the Gulf Coast in Florida to know after Hurricane Ian, you got some real problems in Florida. But fixing climate change isn't the solution. 1:33:15 Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR): In looking at the materials I saw that Citizens Property Insurance Company, I gather that's Louisiana and Florida, that have a completely state backed program. Well, alright, so if the state becomes the insurer of last resort and they now suffer the same losses that a regular private insurance company is suffering, now the folks in the state are carrying massive debt. So that doesn't seem like a great solution. Dr. Ishita Sen: That's definitely a problem, right? The problem is of course, that whether the state then has the fiscal capacity to actually withstand a big loss, like a big hurricane season, which is a concern that was raised about Citizens. And in such a scenario then in a world where they do not have enough tax revenue, then they would have to go into financial markets, try to borrow money, which could be very costly and so on. So fiscally it's going to be very challenging for many cities and many municipalities and counties and so on. 1:36:40 Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT): I wish there were something we could do that would reduce the climate change we're seeing and the warming of the planet. But I've seen absolutely nothing proposed by anyone that reduces CO2 emissions, methane gases and the heating of the planet. Climate change is going to happen because of the development in China and Indonesia and Brazil, and the only thing that actually makes any measurable impact at all is putting a price on carbon, and no one seems to be willing to consider doing that. Everything else that's being talked about on the climate — Democratic Senator: I got two bills. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT): I know you and I are, but you guys had reconciliation. You could have done it all by yourselves and you didn't. So the idea that somehow we're going to fix climate and solve the insurance problem is pie in the sky. That's avoiding the reality that we can't fix climate because that's a global issue, not an American issue. Anyway, let me turn back to insurance. 1:38:30 Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT): So the question is, what actions can we take? Fiscal reform? Yes, to try and deal with inflation. Except I want to note something, Mr. Antoni, because you're esteemed at the Heritage Foundation. 72% of federal spending is not part of the budget we vote on. So we talk about Biden wants to spend all this.... 72% we don't vote on; we only vote on 28%. Half of that is the military. We Republicans want more military spending, not less. So that means the other 14%, which the Democrats want to expand, there's no way we can reduce the 14% enough to have any impact on the massive deficits we're seeing. So there's going to have to be a broader analysis of what we have to do to reign in our fiscal challenges. I just want to underscore that. I would say a second thing we can do, besides fiscal reform and dealing with inflation, is stopping subsidizing high risk areas. Basically subsidizing people to build expensive places along the coast and in places that are at risk of wildfire. And we subsidize that and that creates huge financial risk to the system. And finally, mitigation of one kind or another. That's the other thing we can do is all sorts of mitigation: forestry management, having people move in places that are not high risk. But if you want to live in a big house on the coast, you're gonna have to spend a lot of money to insure it or take huge risk. That's just the reality. So those are the three I come up with. Stop the subsidy, mitigation, and fiscal reform. What else am I missing, Mr. Musulin? And I'm just going to go down the line for those that are sort of in this area to give me your perspectives. Rade Musulin: Well, thank you, Senator. And I'd agree with all those things. And I'd also add that we need to start thinking about future-proofing our building codes and land use policies. The sea levels are rising. If you're going to build a house that's supposed to last 75 years, you ought to be thinking about the climate in 75 years when you give somebody a permit to build there. So I'd say that's important. I'd also say that large disasters also drive inflation because it puts more pressure and demand on labor and materials. More disasters means supplies that could have been used to build new homes for Americans or diverted to rebuild homes in the past. So certainly doing things to reduce the vulnerability of properties and improve their resilience is important. And I do think, sir, that there are things we can do about climate change with respect over periods of decades that can make a difference in the long run. Thank you. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT): Thank you. Yes. Dr. Ishita Sen: So before that, the one point about inflation that we are missing, which is without doubt it is a contributing factor, but the US has had inflation in the past without such an acute crisis in insurance markets. So whether that is the biggest cause or not is up for debate. I don't think we have reached a conclusion on inflation being the biggest contributor of rising insurance cost. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT): It's just a big one. You'd agree It's a big one? Dr. Ishita Sen: I agree. It's a big one, but I wouldn't say it's the biggest one in terms of policy solutions. I completely agree with you on, we need to stop subsidizing building in high risk areas. That's definitely one of the things we need to do that. Mitigation, another point that you bring up. And on that, I would say not only do we need to harden our homes, but we also need to harden our financial institutions, our banks, and our insurance companies in order to make them withstand really large climate shocks that are for sure coming their way. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT): Thank You, Ms. Wood. I'm going to let you pass on this just because that's not your area of expertise. Your experience was something which focused our thinking today. Mr. Mulready. Glen Mulready: Thank you, Senator. I would say amen to your comments, but I'll give you three quick things. Number one, FEMA has a survey out that states that every $1 spent in mitigation saves $6 in lost claims. It pays off. Number two, unfortunately, a lot of communities have to have a disaster happen. In Moore, Oklahoma, back a dozen years ago, an EF5 (tornado) hit, it was just totally devastating. After that, the city of Moore changed their zoning, they changed their building zoning codes, and then third, the city of Tulsa, back in the eighties, had horrible flooding happened. So they invested over decades in infrastructure to prevent flooding. Now we're one of only two communities in the country that are Class one NFIP rated. 1:45:40 Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD): One way to address this, and I think it was discussed in a different matter, is the need to get the data and to get consensus on where the risks lie, which is why last year Senator Whitehouse, Senator Warren and I sent a letter to the Treasury Department, to the Federal Insurance Office (FIO), urging them to collect information from different states. I'm a supporter of a state-based insurance system for property and casualty insurance, but I do think it would benefit all of us to have a sort of national yardstick against which we can measure what's happening. So Dr. Sen, could you talk a little bit about the benefit of having a common source of insurance data through the FIO and how that could benefit state regulators and benefit all of us? Dr. Ishita Sen: Yeah, absolutely. Thanks for bringing that up. That's just the first order importance, I think, because we don't even know the basic facts about this problem at a granular enough level. The risks here are local, and so we need to know what's going zip code-by-zip code, census tract-by-census tract, and for regulators to be able to figure out exactly how much risk is sitting with each of these insurance companies they need to know how much policies they're writing, what's the type of coverage they're selling in, what are the cancellations looking like in different zip codes. Only then can they figure out exactly how exposed these different insurers are, and then they can start designing policy about whether the risk-based capital ratios look alright or not, or should we put a surcharge on wildfires or hurricanes and so on? And we do need a comprehensive picture. We just can't have a particular state regulator look at the risks in that state, because of course, the insurer is selling insurance all over the country and we need to get a comprehensive picture of all of that. 1:47:40 Sen. Chris Van Hollen: I appreciate that. I gather that the Treasury Department is getting some resistance from some state insurance regulators. I hope we can overcome that because I'm not sure why anyone would want to deny the American people the benefit of the facts here. 1:48:45 Rade Musulin: I will just note that sometimes climate change itself can contribute to the inflation we've been talking about. For example, there were beetle infestations and droughts and fires in Canada, which decimated some of the lumber crop and led to a fivefold increase in the cost of lumber a few years ago. So some of this claims inflation is actually related to climate change, and I think we need to address that. 1:49:35 Glen Mulready: If you didn't know, the NAIC, National Association of Insurance Commission is in the midst of a data collection right now that will collect that data for at least 80% of the homeowner's market. And we have an agreement with FIO (Federal Insurance Office) to be sharing that data with them. They originally came to us, I got a letter from FIO and they were requesting data that we did not actually collect at the zip code level, and they had a very stringent timeline for that. So my response, it wasn't, no, it was just, look, we can't meet that timeline. We don't collect that today. We can in the future. But from that is where this has grown the data called by the NEIC. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD): So I appreciate, I saw that there had been now this effort on behalf of the....So has this now been worked out? Are there any states that are objecting, to your knowledge at this point in time, in terms of sharing data? Glen Mulready: I don't know about specific states. We will be collecting data that will represent at least 80% of the market share. Music by Editing Production Assistance

Aria Vargyas was just 8 years old when she was pulled out of the wreckage of the 2013 EF5 tornado that destroyed her hometown of Moore, Oklahoma and took the lives of her two young sisters. 11 years later she is finishing her freshman year at Texas A&M as a meteorology student. She speaks to Emily about that heartbreaking day and why she is now choosing to chase the storms that once terrified her. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Tonight's Guest WeatherBrain grew up dreaming of being a meteorologist and has had a passion for weather ever since he was a kid.  He was born in Columbus Ohio where he went to high school and has lived there ever since. For college, he first went to Valparaiso for 1 year where he played baseball and took meteorology classes.  Then, he transferred to Ohio State, for his final 3 years of college, where he got his undergraduate in Atmospheric Sciences and a minor in Computer science (coding).  Since graduating from college, he has worked as a technology consultant for 7 years and has also been a cohost on the Storm Front Freak podcast since its inception.  Even though he initially decided to go into consulting after receiving an offer to go into TV meteorology right out of college, his true passion is and always has been weather.  He just recently started a Live Severe Weather streaming show (under the alias Storm Cat5) called Outbreak, where he along with other Storm Front Freaks nowcast tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, and extreme weather across the U.S.. His goal with Outbreak is to bring my passion for weather to the world to get more people to love and understand weather better instead of being terrified of it.   If just one person comes away from their show knowing more about the weather and how to react to it, that's a success in Brady's book.  Also, he has had enough with not pursuing my passion for weather, which is really where Outbreak was born from. He loves every second that he is on Outbreak and his goal is to make it a household name.  They have had around seven shows so far.  Brady Harris, welcome to tonight's show and thanks for joining us. Also appearing tonight is a dedicated meteorologist and author.  She's known for her contributions to the Storm Front Freaks Podcast and has a passion for weather education.  She's the author of the "Frances Fox" books for children.  Her day job is in marketing for Atmospheric G2.  Cyrena Arnold, welcome to WeatherBrains. Last but certainly not least is two veterans of the show.  Hurricane specialist/chaser/severe weather expert Mark Sudduth and Mississippi State University professor Greg Nordstrom are here tonight with us to discuss their upcoming hail research in the Great Plains, Hurricane Season Outlook, and other topics.  Great to see you both and thanks for joining the show tonight. Bruce Jones of Midland Weather Radio also is back to discuss the importance of NOAA Weather Radio and its timely warnings and information. ****Also you can now get 25% off a NOAA Weather Radio at MidlandUSA.com by using PROMO CODE SPANN25**** Our email officer Jen is continuing to handle the incoming messages from our listeners. Reach us here: email@weatherbrains.com. 80 tornadoes so far in Oklahoma in 2024 (05:00) Severe thunderstorm/major damage in Houston 5/16/24 (10:30) Excessive heat in Atlantic Ocean ahead of Hurricane season (27:15) Communicating Hurricane Season forecasts effectively with the general public (28:00) Mark Sudduth's hail research (52:00) Pending research of temperature gradient of a hailstone (01:04:30) Storm Front Freaks Podcast (01:22:45) Inspiration/background for "Outbreak" stream (01:26:00) Creation of "Frances the Fox" book series and its impact (01:32:00) What is GXT Radio?  (01:48:30) The Astronomy Outlook with Tony Rice (01:43:52) This Week in Tornado History With Jen (01:46:07) National Weather Round-Up (01: E-Mail Segment (01:54:20) and more! Web Sites from Episode 957:   WeatherCall AMS Weather Band Midland Radio Picks of the Week: Brady Harris - Blitzortung.org Live Lightning Map Cyrena Arnold - NOAA/NWS Headline Scores Home Bruce Jones - Tornado Talk on X: Ruskin Heights F5 Tornado May 20th, 1957 James Aydelott - Out Jen Narramore - Photo of Jeff Piotrowski and David Hoadley storm chasing Rick Smith - May 20, 2013: The day an EF5 tornado struck the OKC Metro Neil Jacobs - Out Troy Kimmel - NWS HeatRisk Kim Klockow-McClain - 51st Conference on Broadcast Meteorology and Seventh Conference on Weather Warnings and Communication Bill Murray - L.A. FLIGHTS YouTube Channel James Spann - Real Time Tropical Cyclones The WeatherBrains crew includes your host, James Spann, plus other notable geeks like Troy Kimmel, Bill Murray, Rick Smith, James Aydelott, Jen Narramore, Dr. Neil Jacobs, and Dr. Kim Klockow-McClain. They bring together a wealth of weather knowledge and experience for another fascinating podcast about weather.

Significant Winter Storm across parts of the Northern Plains and UpperMidwestThere is a Sight Risk of excessive rainfall over parts of theMiddle/Lower Mississippi and Tennessee Valleys on Monday and over parts ofthe Central Gulf Coast on Tuesday.There is an Enhanced Risk of severe thunderstorms over parts of theCentral/Southern Plains on Sunday and the Lower Mississippi Valley onMonday.A Significant Winter Storm will develop over the Northern/Central Plains,Upper Mississippi Valley, and Upper Great Lakes from Sunday evening intoTuesday. The winter storm will be high-impact and an extensive systemproducing widespread heavy snow and gusty winds that will persistthroughout the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest through Tuesday. Heavysnow will spread across much of the Northern Plains/Upper Midwest onSunday and continue into Monday. There is a high chance (greater than 70%)of at least eight inches of snow extending from northern Nebraska andcentral South Dakota northeastward to northeastern Minnesota andnorthwestern Wisconsin.In addition, the storm will create hazardous impacts from heavy snow, snowload, and wind. Moreover, heavy snow and gusty wind will produce areas ofblowing/drifting snow and possible blizzard conditions on Sunday intoMonday. Likewise, hazardous travel and road closures are expected lateSunday into Monday. Strong winds and heavy, wet snow on trees and powerlines may damage trees and cause power outages. Also, there will be abroad area of light rain/freezing rain over parts of the Central Plainsinto the Upper Great Lakes.Furthermore, strong wind gusts over 50 mph on Sunday may result in poweroutages, blowing dust with reduced visibility, difficult travel, andproperty damage as High Wind Watches and Warnings are over theCentral/Southern Plains. Further, with the high wind, critical fireweather conditions are forecast for Sunday over the Southern High Plains.On Monday, the front moves into the Lower Mississippi Valley, creatingshowers and severe thunderstorms. Therefore, the SPC has issued anEnhanced Risk (level 3/5) of severe thunderstorms over parts of the LowerMississippi Valley from Monday into Tuesday morning. The hazardsassociated with these thunderstorms are frequent lightning, severethunderstorm wind gusts, hail, and a few tornadoes. Additionally, there isan increased threat of EF2 to EF5 tornados over the area.In addition, the showers and thunderstorms will produce heavy rain overparts of the Central/Lower Mississippi and Tennessee Valleys. Therefore,the WPC has issued a Slight Risk (level 2/4) of excessive rainfall overparts of the Central/Lower Mississippi and Tennessee Valleys from Mondayinto Tuesday morning. The associated heavy rain will create mainlylocalized areas of flash flooding, with urban areas, roads, and smallstreams the most vulnerable.A surge of energy moving into the Northwest will aid in producingrain and higher-elevation snow over parts of Northern California on Mondayafternoon into late evening. The energy will also create coastal rain andhigher�elevation snow over parts of the Pacific Northwest throughTuesday afternoon. Moreover, higher-elevation snow will continue from theNorthern Intermountain Region, Great Basin, Southwest, and SouthernRockies through Tuesday evening.  

Guests: Jim MinickIntroduction: Tornadoes are one of the most violent weather phenomena on our planet, the strongest of which have been rated an EF5, or an F5 before 2007 when the Enhanced Fujita scale was put into practice. These incredibly violent tornadoes are uncommon, with the last one occurring 10 years ago in 2013. Today, we're going to go back even further, and take a look at the deadliest twister in Kansas history; an F5 that struck the city of Udall, killing 82 people. Joining us today is Jim Minick, author of Without Warning: The Tornado of Udall, Kanas, to discuss this deadly moment in weather history.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began the removal of debris from private property, Friday, June 17, in tornado-damaged areas of Joplin, Mo. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is in Joplin, Mo. managing the removal of debris left in the wake of an EF5 tornado that struck, May 22. With the Public Right of Way debris removal mission well underway, the mission will now focus on helping residents clear their property. Corps public affairs specialist Sara Goodeyon reports. The Corps is providing oversight of the debris removal mission in Joplin as assigned by FEMA. This is audio only with a graphic logo; no footage.

Guests: Kaitlin ParramoreIntroduction: If you are put under a tornado warning at this very moment, would you know where to go? Always the lowest level and most interior room, right? Well for some of us, that option may not always be the safest. What if you live in a mobile or manufactured home? Or, you are at your workplace with windows lining the walls? Instead of relying on the infrastructure around you, a company called Survive-a-Storm has designed and built shelters that can be installed ANYWHERE and protect you from an EF5 tornado. To talk about the advancements that have been made in storm shelter technology over the years, we have Survive-a-Storm's Kaitlin Parramore to discussSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On the afternoon of May 20, 2013, a large and extremely violent EF5 tornado ravaged through Moore, Oklahoma, killing 24 people   and injuring 212 others. The survivors of this tragedy came together to pull whoever they could from the rubble and over time rebuild their community. 

June 11, 2008 marks the tragic loss of 4 teenagers at a Boy Scout camp near Little Sioux, Iowa; 48 more were injured. The tragedy struck at the 1,800-acre camp about an hour north of downtown Omaha. An EF3 tornado, with 145 mph winds, descended on the remote camp, striking and leveling a cabin where campers had sought shelter as warnings of the storm circulated through the camp. A chimney at the cabin collapsed, sending heavy concrete blocks onto the Scouts. This was the worst of the storms that hit the Northern Plains that day. There were also two farms damaged from two different tornadoes, one near Spencer, Iowa and the other near Springfield, Minnesota. A nursing home was also damaged by a tornado in southern Salina, Kansas. There were over 300 reports of severe weather across the nation with 64 of those reports from tornado activity. There had been no basement or in-ground shelter at the camp when the tornado hit. The following year, the Boy Scouts Mid-America Council launched a major fundraising campaign to build emergency shelters at all of its camps. By 2013, two tornado shelters had been built at the camp, and a siren was added. The new structures have concrete walls, steel shutters and doors and emergency power backup, and were built to withstand an EF5 tornado.' See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tornadoes are fierce and unpredictable.  Chasers know this all too well.  Especially those who came back with research and images from the EF5 that crushed Joplin Missouri in 2001 and those 200 MPH winds literally picked up the air-lift helicopter and blew it away on this day in weather history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On May 22, 2011, an EF5 tornado ripped through Joplin, Missouri. In the days following the disaster, children began talking about the mysterious helpers who kept them safe. Who are these people and what happened that Sunday in May? Then Kathy calls in from Illinois with the story of angels who appeared in her kitchen at a vulnerable time (and who apparently like tuna).  Have your own angel or loved one encounter? Email your story to angelencounterspodcast@gmail.com. Join the discussion on the Real Life Angel Encounters Podcast group on Facebook at facebook.com/groups/2386777338126464. Visit us on Instagram @realangelencounters. #angelencounters #reallifeangelencounters  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sometimes doing a project yourself just isn't worth it.  Or is it?  We're talking through the decision making process of getting things done.  Maybe the risk vs reward just isn't adding up. Or maybe you weigh all the options and it's worth doing it yourself.   Tim talks about hacking an IKEA wardrobe and Josh's table saw of death.The bonus segment is back!  Josh tells us all about the horrific tornadoes that ripped through Kentucky and other states on December 10th.  If you'd like to donate to the relief effort we suggest doing so HERE.Support the show (http://www.youcanman.com)

Do you believe in guardian angels? On May 22nd, 2011, after a deadly EF5 tornado ripped through Joplin, Missouri,  many children (and some adults) reported seeing beautiful "Butterfly People" protecting them and keeping them calm. This week Heather and Jessie talk about this event and the claims of Butterfly People protecting many of the survivors. Articles used for this episode;https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/the-butterfly-people-of-joplin/article_cca48b1a-282b-587d-902b-cd5f09ca8516.htmlhttps://www.joplinglobe.com/news/tornado_recovery/cousins-recall-rescuing-angels-rather-than-devastating-tornado/article_f4b6f573-156d-54cd-aed2-7af3512b478f.htmlhttps://www.columbiadailyherald.com/story/opinion/2021/04/28/stephen-rowland-butterfly-people/4852703001/Email us at thegoethegirls@gmail.com or contact us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/thegoethegirls/Twitter - https://twitter.com/GirlsGoetheInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/p/CJpT9-pBCja/?igshid=1rmjkwidat5tiDon't forget to hop over to Apple Podcasts to rate and review our podcast.https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-goethe-girls/id1548890458

In a preview of our Movement podcasts, Chad Chancellor interviews Rob O'Brian, President & Founder of O'Brian & Associates. The two discuss how O'Brian & Associates specializes in strategic planning and workforce studies for communities and how as a previous chamber executive, O'Brian responded to the impacts the 2011 EF5-rated tornado had on the community of Joplin, Missouri. Find out more at https://test-next-move-podcast.pinecast.co

In This Episode Part 2 of 3 in the Storm Training Series: Storm Target Forecasting Guests: Storm Chaser Reed Timmer 5% Discount at Helicity.co/sff Lightning Round: Gremlins Trivia #weatherfools - We present the fools doing stupid things in weather situations Weather Trollbot 5000 - Our garage sale robot has been re-programmed to interpret the real thoughts of our weather friends when trolled on social media Reveal of our next guests for Part 3 of the Storm Training Series… Check out our Patreon page for exciting ways to support our podcast and interact with us more!  www.patreon.com/stormfrontfreaks Our Guest Reed Timmer Having intercepted over 1000 tornadoes and a dozen powerful hurricanes, Reed is well-known as the most successful and extreme storm chaser in the world.  He is one of the few people to document both an EF5 tornado and an F5 Hurricane. Search Reed Timmer on social media to follow Get 5% discount at Helicity including Storm Front Freaks Podcast Merch at helicity.co/sff #weatherfools Links: Phil - Storm Approaching Fans at Rock The South Concert Phil - Man in Road During Flash Flood in IL Phil - Mexico SUV in Flash Flood Phil - Lightning Crawl During Phillies Baseball Game Phil - Omaha Flash Flood MJ from Kurtis - Car with Flood Waters Up To Windshield MJ from Tim - Waterspout Comes on Land MJ from Tim - WI Tornado Debris Path Submit your questions or comments about this show to questions@stormfrontfreaks.com or on our social media accounts and we may read it on our next episode! Twitter: @stromfrontfreak Facebook: @stormfrontfreaks Instagram: @stormfrontfreaks Next Episode will continue our three-part Storm Training series with Part 3: Storm Identification and When to Chase Another Storm with storm chasers Hank Schyma and Raychel Sanner. We will be recording LIVE for Patreon.com/stormfrontfreaks members on Thursday 9/2 at 9pmET/8pmCT and available to all on your favorite podcast player the following Sunday. Credits Opening Music: Brett Epstein Closing Music: Gabe Cox Other Music: “Pecos Hank” Schyma from El Reno Blues

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I'm here with your update for Friday, July 16. After a rainy week, Friday will begin a stretch of days with no chance of rain. According to the National Weather Service it will be mostly sunny Friday with a high near 81 degrees in the Cedar Rapids area. On Friday night it will be mostly clear, with near 61 degrees. More than 12 tornadoes carved paths across Iowa as severe storms Wednesday evening left flattened crops, broken trees and battered buildings in their wake, the National Weather Service reported Thursday. The weather service dispatched two survey teams to assess the damage and determine how severe the tornadoes were -- one assessing Calhoun and Hamilton counties and another assessing Bremer and Butler counties. But it said more survey teams could be added. Of the tornado reports made Thursday afternoon by the weather service -- showing the findings of some but not all of the assessments -- all were rated EF1 or lower, with maximum winds in the 86 to 110 mph range. Several were rated as unknown -- they touched down too briefly to leave significant damage. The severity scale for tornadoes goes from EF0 to EF5, which is the worst with winds of over 200 mph. Two Iowa murder trials were prominent in the news Thursday. On the day Cristhian Bahena Rivera had been scheduled to be sentenced after being found guilty of the murder of Mollie Tibbetts, lawyers discussed new evidence that had been presented by the defense. Assistant Attorney General Scott Brown said during a hearing that ahttps://apnews.com/article/mollie-tibbetts-murder-sentencing-delayed-fee8613fa81b660da8f2040b7af61024 ( 21-year-old man's alleged confession) that he helped kill Tibbetts after she was kidnapped and held at a house used for sex trafficking wasn't credible. “No evidence supports it. None. Zero,” Brown said. He told the court that information about the 21-year-old from two witnesses who came forward late in Behena Rivera's trial independently of one another was inconsistent with Bahena Rivera's own courtroom account of what happened. Bahena Rivera testified that he had been kidnapped the night of the murder and forced by two men to find Tibbetts out jogging, where he was then framed for her murder. The other witnesses claimed that Tibbetts had been held at the house and was only murdered after the publicity about her disappearance grew too intense. Back in Cedar Rapids, a jury has been selected and the murder trial will begin for Drew Blahnik.  Drew Blahnik, 34, of Cedar Rapids, is charged with first-degree murder, accused of fatally stabbing Bagley, of Walker, on Dec. 15, 2018, because Bagley had robbed a local drug dealer of drugs and money. The drug dealer, Andrew Shaw, has been accused by police of running a large marijuana operation, and he is serving time for charges separate from the murder. Two people from Missouri died when a small plane crashed into a cornfield in Muscatine County in Eastern Iowa, authorities said. The single-engine Piper went down Wednesday afternoon about 4 miles north of Muscatine, Sheriff Quinn Riess said. Daniel Slack, 68, and Sharon Slack, 69, of El Dorado Springs, Mo., died in the crash. Daniel Slack was superintendent of schools in Deerfield, Kan., from 2015 until he retired last year, KSNW-TV reported. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the cause of the crash. Be sure to subscribe to The Gazette Daily news podcast, or just tell your Amazon https://www.thegazette.com/topic?eid=121774&ename=Alexa&lang=en (Alexa) enabled device to “enable The Gazette Daily News skill" so you can get your daily briefing by simply saying “Alexa, what's the news? If you prefer podcasts, you can also find us on iTunes or wherever else you find your Podcasts. Support this podcast

On this episode, we sit down with Scott Thoma. Scott grew up in southwest Minnesota and lived through the historic Tracy tornado on June 13th, 1968 – one of only two recorded EF5 tornadoes ever in the state. Scott not only has an incredible childhood story, now at the age of 62 he is a feature writer for a senior publication sharing the stories of other retirees. In this podcast, Scott recounts how the events following the Tracy tornado has inspired him to share the stories of other inspiring retirees today. Scott also explains how his entire mindset on life and retirement has recently changed because of the stories of others.

Join us as we catch up with the EF5, Matt's gettin' none, Perrin might be gettin' some, and Rand is gettin' some royal smooches! A visit from Lanfear and an attack in the stone leads to some decision making! Please rate and review us on Apple Podcast! And as always, Thank you for listening! Cover Art by @crybabykayla Theme Music by @AndrolGenhald Follow us on twitter @gleemantwitch, Instagram @gleemansapprenticepod, or reach us via email gleemansapprentice@gmail.com

If you're looking for some wonderfully nostalgic geeky goods, may we recommend LoganArch! From t-shirts to journals to enamel pins, you won't be disappointed.Before our episode, we also want to thank Patrion VIPS Megan, Rachel, Hollyann, Elizabeth, Amy, and Brenda. If you want to join our list of favorites, and keep this nerdy community going, head to patreon.com/sartorialgeek.This week I'm so excited to introduce you to comics writer Markisan Naso!Markisan is an accomplished author, editor, and podcaster based in Honolulu. He's the writer of the comic book series BY THE HORNS and VORACIOUS and has written hundreds of features in print and on the web, covering subjects as diverse as EF5 tornadoes, death metal, and Superman. Markisan has also edited dozens of books including The Anatomy of Zur-en-Arrh: Understanding Grant Morrison's Batman for the Sequart Organization, and revitalized national publications such as Knowledge Quest for the American Library Association. His first short story, “TO MEGA THERION,” was published in Outland Entertainment's APEX: World of Dinosaurs Anthology in March.Markisan is also the owner of Skull Fracture Records, which began releasing music based on story and myth in 2021. (Some of his stories even have accompanying music!). He loves spoiling his cat, Zoso, and talking heavy metal every month as a host on the METALHEADS Podcast.Markisan's blog, SKULL FRACTURE, can be found HERE.And you can listen to his musical heart HERE.Special thanks to our executive producers for this episode Geeklery, Galaxy Gear Boutique, NW Nerd Podcast, LoganArch, and Karen Hallion.If you enjoyed this episode, you might love the rest of our episodes! Click here to browse the archives. Join our Patreon for bonus gifts and content!Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/sartorial-geek. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

June 11, 2008 marks the tragic loss of 4 teenagers at a Boy Scout camp near Little Sioux, Iowa; 48 more were injured. The tragedy struck at the 1,800-acre camp about an hour north of downtown Omaha. An EF3 tornado, with 145 mph winds, descended on the remote camp, striking and leveling a cabin where campers had sought shelter as warnings of the storm circulated through the camp. A chimney at the cabin collapsed, sending heavy concrete blocks onto the Scouts. This was the worst of the storms that hit the Northern Plains that day. There were also two farms damaged from two different tornadoes, one near Spencer, Iowa and the other near Springfield, Minnesota. A nursing home was also damaged by a tornado in southern Salina, Kansas. There were over 300 reports of severe weather across the nation with 64 of those reports from tornado activity. There had been no basement or in-ground shelter at the camp when the tornado hit. The following year, the Boy Scouts Mid-America Council launched a major fundraising campaign to build emergency shelters at all of its camps. By 2013, two tornado shelters had been built at the camp, and a siren was added. The new structures have concrete walls, steel shutters and doors and emergency power backup, and were built to withstand an EF5 tornado.' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tornadoes are fierce and unpredictable. Chasers know this all too well. Especially those who came back with research and images from the EF5 that crushed Joplin Missouri in 2001 on this day in weather history.

Tornadoes are a weather reality that millions of Americans have learned to live with. Those living in the Midwest and Southeast regions of the United States have come to expect at least a few twisters every year. Depending on the intensity, the path, tornadoes result in varying degrees of damage, and sometimes, most tragically, even in death. According to statistics from NOAA the odds of being killed in a tornado in a given year are 1 in 5,693,092. Only 2% of tornadoes result in the loss of human life. 1 in 1,000 tornadoes documented in the United States are the strongest level, Category 5 tornadoes. While the combined totals of EF4 and EF5 tornadoes make up less than 1% of all tornadoes, together, though, they contribute nearly 70% of all of the deaths caused by tornadoes. Odds focusing on a particular location getting hit by a tornado more than once are hard to come by. Some would argue that the odds never change, that’s it like flipping a coin and each separate weather situation presents the same odds. But don’t talk to the folks in Cordell, Kansas about tornado odds. For 3 consecutive years on May 20, 1916, May 20 1917 and May 20 1918 incredibly a tornado struck the town. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Valerie Mosley works with nonprofits and businesses to tell stories through documentary photography that inspire hope, educate and connect with supporters. She believes that visual Storytelling is one of the most powerful tools organizations can use to increase social media reach and fundraising results. She has over a decade of experience in photojournalism and a heart for social documentary photography. She earned a master's degree in photojournalism from the University of Missouri, where she learned to tell a story with photographs. Inspired by the social documentary work of the “concerned photographers,” she focuses on making pictures that made a difference, even on a small scale. Valerie's empathy allows her to connect with people quickly, so they are comfortable allowing her to document their lives. Daily newspaper work taught her how to be with people during intense experiences, from the joyous birth of a baby to a community's shock and grief in the aftermath of an EF5 tornado to the ongoing struggle of making ends meet. She believes everyone's story deserves to be told and has worked respectfully with people from all walks of life. She has collaborated with several Colorado nonprofits, including Project Self-Sufficiency, Homeward 2020, and the Colorado Trust.

Episode Notes Jimmy brings an interesting story about the butterfly people of joplin missouri, when they got runover by an EF5 tornado. Join us with your theories on discord: https://discord.gg/kJHFHbBeFQ Call or Text us at 218-380-7234‬ Email us at deepfriedconspiracies@gmail.com Support Deep Fried Conspiracies by contributing to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/deep-fried-conspiracies Find out more at http://www.deepfriedconspiracies.com

Today's ride, while keeping with the theme of the possibly paranormal and cryptid, takes us on a more uplifting ride. While the story is rooted in tragedy, the discussion quickly turned to stories of help and hope. This is something that neither Moody nor myself knew about, and through discussing it with several people, doesn't seem to be a hugely popular topic in these circles. Despite this fact, we found it to be an intriguing topic so we decided to follow up on it. Today we are talking about the Butterfly people of Joplin Missouri. Before we get into what they are, we need to take a look at the incident that spawned the tales. So without further ado… Let's get into it! Between May 21 and May 26, 2011 the Midwestern and southern United States experienced the largest tornado outbreak on record, with a total of 1,894 tornadoes causing 551 fatalities. Most of the tornadoes developed in a corridor from Lake Superior southwest to central Texas; isolated tornadoes occurred in other areas.          On May 21, a small system of thunderstorms developed in Brown County, Kansas while another system formed to the southeast of Emporia, Kansas. The Brown county system spawned a brief tornado over Topeka, Kansas, causing minor damage. This system also caused significant damage in Oskaloosa, Kansas, and other communities. Meanwhile, the Emporia system spawned an EF3 tornado that struck Reading, Kansas; one person was killed, several others were injured, and at least 20 houses were destroyed. These two systems developed several other tornadoes throughout the evening. A moderate risk of severe weather was issued for much of the Midwest, as well as further south to Oklahoma for May 22. The first tornadic supercell developed in the mid-afternoon hours over the western Twin Cities in Minnesota, and caused moderate damage in the Minneapolis area. Shortly thereafter, an intense tornado crept towards Harmony, Minnesota, prompting the National Weather Service to issue the first tornado emergency of the outbreak. Late that afternoon, a large, intense EF5 multiple-vortex tornado left catastrophic destruction in Joplin, Missouri. This is the tornado that we are looking at in this episode. After the Joplin tornado there would be many more throughout the next few days. In fact the cell would spawn a total of 241 tornadoes total. Out of those 241 only 2 reached EF5 status, the Joplin tornado and one dubbed El Reno. El Reno was actually the more violent of the two, but luckily it landed in a rural area and there were considerably less fatalities. To give you an idea of the strength of these guys, he's an example of some of the damage of the El Reno twister which reached a max velocity of 295 mph!: As it approached and crossed Interstate 40 west of El Reno, it reached its maximum intensity. Three people were killed as two vehicles were tossed more than 1,093 yards from the road and obliterated, the victims being found stripped of clothing 1⁄4 mile from the interstate and left "unrecognizable". Only pieces of the vehicle's frames were reportedly recovered. A nearby 20,000-pound oil tanker truck that was parked at an oil production site near the interstate was thrown approximately one mile  into a wooded gully. Several homes were swept completely away along I-40, trees were completely debarked, and the ground was heavily scoured in some areas. At the nearby Cactus-117 oil rig site, a 1,900,000-pound oil derrick was blown over and rolled three times. That shit is intense! Imagine if that had hit a major city. And that was only a portion of the damage and impact. The El Reno tornado had a 63 mile long path through 4 counties in Oklahoma killing 9 and injuring 161. While that tornado was devastating, we're looking at the Joplin tornado, the one that saw incredible stories of butterfly people helping to save the lives of townspeople. The tornado itself could honestly be an entire episode because of its craziness. The Joplin tornado was a powerful and catastrophic EF5-rated multiple-vortex tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri, United States, on the evening of Sunday, May 22, 2011. The tornado initially touched down just east of the Missouri-Kansas state line near the end of 32nd Street at 5:34 pm CDT and tracked due east, downing a few trees at EF0 intensity. Eyewitnesses and storm chasers reported multiple vortices rotating around the parent circulation in that area. Civil defense sirens sounded in Joplin twenty minutes before the tornado struck in response to a tornado warning issued by the National Weather Service (NWS) at 5:17 pm CDT for northwestern Newton and southwestern Jasper counties in Missouri, and southeastern portions of Cherokee County, Kansas, but many Joplin residents did not heed them. The tornado strengthened to EF1 intensity as it continued through rural areas towards Joplin, snapping trees and power poles and damaging outbuildings. Widening, the tornado then tracked into the more densely populated southwest corner of the city near the Twin Hills Country Club. It heavily damaged several homes at a subdivision in this area at EF1 to EF2 strength. The tornado continued to strengthen as it ripped through another subdivision just east of Iron Gates Road. Numerous homes were destroyed at EF2 to EF3 strength at that location, and multiple vehicles were tossed around, some of which were thrown on or rolled into homes. The now massive wedge tornado then crossed S. Schifferdecker Ave., producing its first area of EF4 damage as several small but well-built commercial buildings were flattened. Consistent EF4 to EF5 damage was noted east of S. Schifferdecker Ave. and continued through most of southern Joplin. Numerous homes, businesses, and medical buildings were flattened in this area, with concrete walls collapsed and crushed into the foundations. A large steel-reinforced step and floor structure leading to a completely destroyed medical building was "deflected upward several inches and cracked". Steel trusses from some of the buildings were "rolled up like paper", and deformation/twisting of the main support beams was noted. Multiple vehicles were thrown and mangled or wrapped around trees nearby. Several 300-pound concrete parking stops anchored with rebar were torn from a parking lot in this area and were thrown up to 60 yards away. Iowa State University wind engineer Partha Sarkar was able to calculate the force needed to remove the parking stops and found that winds exceeding 200 mph were needed to tear them from the parking lot. Damage became remarkably widespread and catastrophic at and around the nearby St. John's Regional Medical Center, which lost many windows, interior walls, ceilings, and part of its roof; its life flight helicopter was also blown away and destroyed. Five fatalities were caused by loss of backup power, and the nine-story building was so damaged that it was deemed structurally compromised, and was later torn down. According to the NWS office in Springfield, Missouri, such extreme structural damage to such a large and well-built structure was likely indicative of winds at or exceeding 200 mph. Vehicles in the hospital parking lot were thrown into the air and mangled beyond recognition, including a semi-truck that was tossed 125 yards and wrapped completely around a debarked tree. Wind-rowing of debris was noted in this area, and additional concrete parking stops were removed from the St. John's parking lot as well. Virtually every house near McClelland Boulevard and 26th Street was flattened; some were swept completely away, and trees sustained severe debarking.As the tornado tracked eastward, it maintained EF5 strength as it crossed Main Street (SR 43) between 20th and 26th Streets. It heavily damaged every business along that stretch and several institutional buildings were virtually destroyed. It tracked just south of downtown, narrowly missing it. Entire neighborhoods were leveled in this area with some more homes swept away, and trees were stripped completely of their bark. At some residences, reinforced concrete porches were deformed, or in some cases completely torn away. Damage to driveways was noted at some residences as well. Numerous vehicles were tossed up to several blocks away from the residences where they originated, and a few homeowners never located their vehicles.  A large church, Greenbriar Nursing Home, Franklin Technology Center, St. Mary's Catholic Church and School, and Joplin High School were all destroyed along this corridor. The Greenbriar Nursing Home was completely leveled, with 21 fatalities occurring there alone.  As the tornado crossed Connecticut Ave further to the east, it destroyed several large apartment buildings, a Dillon's grocery store, and a bank. Only the concrete vault remained at the bank, and a wooden 2x4 was found speared completely through a concrete curb at one location as well. No one was in the high school at the time; the high school graduation ceremonies held about 3 miles (4.8 km) to the north at Missouri Southern State University had concluded shortly before the storm. Pieces of cardboard were found embedded sideways into stucco walls that remained standing at Joplin High School. Steel beams and pieces of fencing were deeply embedded into the ground in fields near the high school as well, steel fence posts were bent to the ground in opposite directions, and a school bus was thrown into a nearby bus garage. The tornado then approached Range Line Road, the main commercial strip in the eastern part of Joplin, affecting additional neighborhoods along 20th Street. The now heavily rain-wrapped tornado continued at EF5 intensity as it crossed Range Line Road. In that corridor between about 13th and 32nd Streets, the tornado continued producing catastrophic damage as it was at its widest at this point, being nearly 1 mile (1.6 km) wide. As the tornado hit the Pizza Hut at 1901 South Range Line Road, store manager Christopher Lucas herded four employees and 15 customers into a walk-in freezer. With difficulty closing the door, he wrapped a bungee cable holding the door shut around his arm until he was sucked out and killed by the tornado. The tornado completely destroyed Walmart Supercenter No. 59, a Home Depot, and numerous other businesses and restaurants in this area, many of which were flattened. Numerous metal roof trusses were torn from the Home Depot building and were found broken and mangled in nearby fields. Cars that originated at the Home Depot parking lot were found hundreds of yards away. Asphalt was scoured from parking lots at Walmart and a nearby pizza restaurant, and large tractor-trailers were thrown up to 200 yards away. An Academy Sports + Outdoors store along Range Line sustained major structural damage, and a chair was found impaled legs-first through an exterior stucco wall at that location. A nearby three-story apartment complex was also devastated, and two cell phone towers were found collapsed onto the remains of the apartments. Numerous cars were thrown and piled on top of each other, 100-pound manhole covers were removed from roads and thrown, ground scouring occurred, and a Pepsi distribution plant was completely leveled in this area as well. Additional calculations of the manhole covers in Joplin by Parka Sarkar revealed that winds had to have exceeded 200 mph for the manhole covers to be removed. Many fatalities occurred in this area, and damage was rated as EF5.Extreme damage continued in the area of Duquesne Road in southeast Joplin. Many houses and industrial and commercial buildings were flattened in this area as well. The industrial park near the corner of 20th and Duquesne was especially hard hit with nearly every building flattened. Several large metal warehouse structures were swept cleanly from their foundations, and several heavy industrial vehicles were thrown up to 400 yards away in this area. One of the many warehouses affected was a Cummins warehouse, a concrete block and steel building that was destroyed. The last area of EF5 damage occurred in the industrial park, and a nearby Fastrip gas station and convenience store was completely destroyed. Many homes were destroyed further to the east at EF3 to EF4 strength in a nearby subdivision, and East Middle School sustained major damage. The tornado then continued on an east to east-southeast trajectory towards Interstate 44 where it weakened; nonetheless, vehicles were blown off the highway and mangled near the U.S. Route 71 interchange. The damage at and around the interchange was rated EF2 to EF3. The weakening tornado continued to track into the rural areas of southeastern Jasper County and northeastern Newton County where damage was generally minor to moderate, with trees, mobile homes, outbuildings, and frame homes damaged mainly at EF0 to EF1 strength. The tornado lifted east of Diamond at 6:12 pm CDT (23:12 UTC) according to aerial surveys. The tornado's total track length was at least 22.1 miles (35.6 km) long. Overall, 6,954 homes were destroyed, 359 homes had major damage and 516 had minor damage, 158 people were killed, and 1,150 others were injured along the path. A separate EF2 tornado touched down near Wentworth from the same supercell about 25 miles (40 km) east-southeast of Joplin. So that's the story of this incredible tornado. But something more came from this. In the aftermath of this devastating event, tales began to emerge of strange beings described as butterfly people, appearing to help and protect the citizens of Joplin. This is why we are talking about this event! What were they? Was it mass hysteria? Was it a cooking mechanism for the many children affected? If they were real, where did they come from? Extraterrestrial? Interdimensional? Let's look at some stories and then explore some theories! So we'll start with some of the stories from the people that were there. One woman, arriving home with her children, ran inside her home with great hurry. Together, they sheltered inside a small closet and the family started praying when, suddenly, the full force of the F5 tornado ripped their home to shreds. Inside the fury of wind and hail, the family thought it was the end. The winds were so fierce even the daughter’s glasses shattered as the roof was ripped off above them. Then, strangely, the son saw something in the sky. Amidst the pain and anguish, there was something above them, amongst the winds. A white woman with wings, hovering over them, as if she was protecting them from harm. Had madness set in? Was it a religious vision? The son  described what he saw as a ‘butterfly woman’, who stayed and stayed, protecting the family from harm. Moreover, the rest of the family also saw the vision. As the tornado passed by, the family were left unharmed. In fact, the closet was the only thing left without damage. The entire rest of the house, everything, was destroyed, yet that humble closet, with no additional protection to the rest of the house, survived. All this served to reinforce the belief for the family that an angel had protected them on that day. Medical aid soon arrived and the search began for the injured and the trapped. Rumours began to circulate amongst the crowds. One nurse, looking rather confused, told the family she saw an angel and when pressed, she described the exact same vision the family had seen. Down to the last detail. The nurse said the ‘butterfly woman’ was larger than the average human, with wings. She wasn’t sure what to make of what she saw, but she didn’t fear it. She said she saw it whilst tending to a man who had been impaled on a wooden stake. She knew he was dying and then she saw it. Something standing nearby. As if it was comforting the man. If this was a religious vision of the dying, then why did the nurse see it? And it wasn’t the only one. Rather than some strange being protecting the town, the nurse said that she saw many. Not a ‘butterfly woman’… butterfly people. Over the following weeks, counsellors spoke to dozens and dozens of traumatised children across the town, none of whom knew each other, and every single one spoke of the Butterfly People, and how they ‘saved them’ on that day. And time and time again, the descriptions matched. Joplin was no longer just the scene of a tragedy. No longer just a war zone steeped in loss and billions of dollars worth of damage. It was now also home to something strange. Something unexplainable. Lage Grigsby was believed to be near death when he arrived at Freeman Hospital West after being pulled from debris in the May 22, 2011, tornado. In fact he was actually taken to the hospital's fucking morgue. Mason Lillard would have died, her surgeon said, if a metal rod driven through her body would have shifted an inch either direction. Despite critical injuries suffered when their grandparents' truck was thrown more than 300 feet across the Home Depot parking lot, the two cousins say they don't think that often about the EF5 twister. "You kind of forget about it unless you look at the scars," said Mason. On the night of the tornado, Mason was rushed to surgery, but Lage had been black tagged — meaning he was thought to be dying.  That same night Freeman Hospital West ER nurse Tracy Dye arrived at the hospital after she heard the tornado had hit St. John's Regional Medical Center. She had considered not going to work because she was watching the storm develop and didn't want to leave her sons. When Dye arrived at the hospital, she was sent down to the morgue. Walking through, she touched Lage's arm and... get this shit..."he let out a scream. I ran and got a doctor and we got him out of there," she said. Dye stayed with him until surgery, which lasted six hours. For him, those actions were lifesaving, Lage reminded the nurse Wednesday. "I owe you my life," he said. Sharon Lillard calls Dye "our angel," adding, "I was at the hospital the other day and I dropped a little gift by for her." According to Mason's account of the storm, Dye was not the only angel on duty that night. She saw them just before the storm hit, Mason said, and after... she felt a touch on her shoulder. "I thought it was Lage, but when I turned I saw two angels in robes, one with brown hair and one with blond hair," she said. "It was kinda calming. I knew God was with us and that he'd take us to be with him, or leave us to do something great."  Elsewhere, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch recounted another story of a mother and daughter. When the storm hit, the mother, holding her little child, ran for shelter. The force of the winds knocked them to the ground. Terrifyingly, the mother looked back to see a car picked up by the tornado and flung right in their direction. She couldn’t escape, she didn’t have the time. So she curled up and cradled her daughter, hoping to protect her from the impact of the car that was literally right above them. But it didn’t hit. She had closed her eyes, but her daughter didn’t. When the seconds passed by turned into minutes, she opened her eyes and the car was nowhere to be seen. “What happened?” she asked her daughter. “Didn’t you see the butterfly people mommy?” Her daughter was sure the Butterfly People were carrying humans through the sky. “They were beautiful”, the little girl said smiling!  Crazy shit! That literally gave me goosebumps as I read it. The stories were mounting up. A grandfather and two young boys trapped outside during the tornado. The grandfather lost his shoes as the tornado passed over them, when the two young boys looked up they saw the ‘Butterfly People’ watching over them. Over the weeks, more and more people came forward, from all over the town. All reporting the same thing. People with wings, always described as butterflies. And most of the time, the reports were coming from children. One little girl with her mother said she wasn’t afraid because the ‘butterfly people were with them’. Another four-year-old boy said two Butterfly People ‘held’ his father’s car to stop it being taken away. And yet another little boy, who was picked up by the winds and flung some six miles through the air, told rescuers that angels caught him and sat him down safely on the ground.  The local hospital was inundated with the injured and soon, every ward, every room, every nurse, every patient, were filled with stories of these “Butterfly People”... angels protecting them during the worst of the storm. And not just there, but in the lines waiting for donated food, all anyone was talking about were the Butterfly People. It was one of the worst tornado strikes in living memory. For the months that followed, people gathered all over town and told their stories. Stories of how they survived and stories of those they lost. And, above all, stories of the Butterfly People. This sounds incredible… But this isn't the first instance of this sort of thing happening. Take a look at the 1978 Freiberg mine disaster. All the miners, every one of them, saw a man standing in front of the mine at Freiberg, Germany. When the workers approached the man, they discovered huge wings covering his body. They stood in shock for a moment when, suddenly, the ‘angel’ let out a series of shrieks described as similar to a train’s emergency brakes. The miner’s fled and around one hour later, the mine exploded. A huge plume of smoke covered Freiberg. For many of the miners, what they saw was an angel, warning them of the danger. If they hadn’t fled, they’d all be dead after all… The same thing happened in 1986 in Chernobyl. Dozens and dozens of people saw winged creatures, which many described as ‘angels’, hovering above the land moments before the disaster, leading many to believe these ‘angels’ were signs that a horrific event was coming. Even as recently as 2001, many people claim to have seen winged creatures around the Twin Towers shortly before the disaster.  So what are they?  Well the obvious first choice is… Angels. Joplin is at the centre of America’s religious heartland. Deep in the religious heartland, people of great faith claim to see an angel before they think they’re about to die. It does happen. Quite a lot, in fact. Near-death experiences often sound strange to those of us who haven’t had them. The one hole in this theory is that they didn’t say ‘angels’. Only a few did, but most people who saw the Butterfly People of Joplin described what they saw as the name implies, ‘butterfly people’ and not angels. Of course, many were children. Maybe the simple answer is that children have a better idea of what a butterfly is than an angel. This leads into another explanation. NDEs, or near death experiences. Now since we know you guys are avid listeners, we know that you've already listened to our episode on NDE. Without getting deep into that subject again, basically some are saying that these people were simply experiencing NDE. Their brains were helping them cope with the fact they were about to die. But that doesn't explain why they all saw the same thing. Or why some that were literally about to die ended up safe.  Another interesting theory is that they were interdimensional beings. The theory basically states that because of the storm being so massive, the electricity in the atmosphere was ramped up considerably. This added to all of the energy of the storm somehow managing to rip open a portal or gateway that allowed these beings to pass through. The thought is that the beings, when confronted with the scene before them, came through the portal to help as many people as they could before the portal closed again. So there's that… Interdimensional beings. With all of the stories it's hard to doubt that something strange truly happened. The people of Joplin stand by what they claim to have seen and with great conviction. During the summer, a mural was painted in downtown Joplin. Public meetings were held to gather ideas for the mural, how the city's history and the tornado should be depicted. While they resisted the inclusion of the butterfly people at first, they eventually decided on including butterflies in the mural. Big, colorful butterflies flutter across the scene, while two small angels can be seen, too. The murals artist said the butterflies represented metamorphosis, how the city is being reborn. The mural was titled "The Butterfly Effect" to represent how the mural could inspire others to do good in this world. It has nothing to do with butterfly people, he said. But everyone wasn't convinced. "Even on that mural," one resident said, "there's butterflies because they've heard of the butterfly people." Butterflies have long held symbolic value. The ancient Greek word "psyche" refers to both butterflies and the human soul. Butterflies are depicted in Egyptian hieroglyphics. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, author of the book "On Death and Dying," said her study of death was influenced by a visit to a former Nazi concentration camp in Poland where she saw images of hundreds of butterflies carved into walls by prisoners. So, what did they see? Could it have been mass hysteria? Interdimensional beings that crossed over during one of the most powerful natural events our world can create? Why was it mainly children that saw them? Are children just more susceptible to being able to see spirits? We’ve all seen “The Sixth Sense”, right? The Bruce Willis movie where the little boy is tormented by the ghosts he and ONLY he sees. Well, not to go COMPLETELY off the rails, here are some stories about creepy kids seeing some creepy shit.  The pajama-clad boy“When we were looking at condos to purchase our first place, Claire was just shy of her third birthday. We brought her with us to all of our showings because we wanted to see how comfortable she was as it would be her home too. When we walked through the door of the place we ultimately bought, the second floor of a 1911 Chicago brick three-flat, we all knew immediately that it was the right place. That evening, I asked Claire if she thought that place would be a good home for her, and her response was, ‘Yes! And the little boy that lives there is really nice too.’This took me aback, but I tried to remain calm. I asked her what she meant, and she said there was a little boy in his pajamas that she saw in the dining room. She said he had waved at her, he was about her age, and he was only in the dining room. She knew his name (which I don’t remember now) and that he was afraid of water. After she went to bed that night, I looked up ways to clear the energy of a home, how to communicate with a ghost so they don’t bother your family, and anything else I could find to make sure at least I could be comfortable living in this otherwise perfect condo. Claire never talked about him again, not even the next day when I asked her to tell my husband.” —Ashlie M., mom of two The cemetery sightingTrigger Warning: This next anecdote touches on the subject of the loss of a child and could be potentially triggering for some. Please skip ahead if you feel it might not be for you.“My son was around 2 at the time. We were driving past the cemetery when he said, ‘Look, mama! Dead people.’ Yes, darling, I responded. ‘Kids!’ he continued, matter-of-factly. And sure enough, we were passing by the children’s section. Curious, I asked if the kids were happy or sad. ‘Happy, mama!’ he said. ‘They are running around that daddy.’ All I saw was a man standing alone with his head dropped. It warmed my heart, honestly.” —Erin T., mom of two The lingering grandmother“We bought our current house from a man who was married for 40+ years. His wife passed away a couple of years before we bought the house. One evening, while tucking my 2.5-year-old into bed, he said, ‘Mama, night-night to the grandma,’ while pointing to the hallway between his room and mine—what was her room back then.” —Priscilla A., mom of one The ghost friend“When we moved into our house, Leo (2.5) was seeing a ghost. He would say ‘ghost’ and point to the dining room table. One day, I mentioned ‘Mr. Hutchinson’ to someone while giving a history of the house, and Leo said, ‘Mr. Hutchinson, my ghost friend?’ We confirmed with a house cleanser that someone attached to the home, like a grandfather figure was here, and attracted to Leo’s light and innocence. We have since had our house cleansed twice!” —Amy F., mom of two The midnight playmate“My then 4-year-old would tell me about a little girl who wanted to play with her. She apparently wanted to play all hours of the day and night. When I was finally able to sort out what was up with my daughter, in the middle of the night, I left this little ghost some toys in an upstairs closet so she could play by herself. She had a stuffed lamb and a stuffed duck, and I used to find them moved most mornings. The 4-year-old shared a room with her sibling, so I know it wasn’t her moving the toys.” —Tracy B., mom of three The door-slammer“Ender, my 4-year-old, will tell us stories about the little girl who shuts doors and turns off the lights. He can’t tell us what she looks like or where she goes. I don’t talk about ghosts or anything that would give Ender this idea. The last time the little girl was here, I heard the door slam. I ran in and asked him if he had closed it. He told me ‘No, the little girl did because she didn’t want to play.’” —Dee Dee A., mom of twoThe visit from grandpa“My husband’s father passed away several years before my son was born. He died from the flu, and my husband had always felt guilty because he had been the one to share the sickness with him. We never talked to our son about his grandpa, but one morning he woke and said point-blank, ‘Daddy, Papa Don wanted me to tell you he’s doing fine.’ We asked him to describe his grandpa and he did so to a T, despite never having seen a photo of him. He said he was standing by a fast car with a cloud of smoke around him. This made perfect sense because my father-in-law raced sports cars and smoked heavily all his life.” —Michelle K., mom of two So, there ya go! I only have one last question to ask… butterflies can often look like moths, right? Could these sightings have been the one and only Mothman? If you’re not familiar with his (or her) story, go all the way back to episode number five, from June 11, 2019 and listen to the train ride on THE MOTHMAN! Now, it’s everyone’s favorite time! The Movies! In order to keep this episode more uplifting than horrific, we’ve decided to discuss the top movies about kids with powers! 15 Exciting Movies About Kids With Powers | ScreenRant  The Midnight Train Podcast is sponsored by VOUDOUX VODKA.www.voudoux.com Ace’s Depothttp://www.aces-depot.com BECOME A PRODUCER!http://www.patreon.com/themidnighttrainpodcast Find The Midnight Train Podcast:www.themidnighttrainpodcast.comwww.facebook.com/themidnighttrainpodcastwww.twitter.com/themidnighttrainpcwww.instagram.com/themidnighttrainpodcastwww.discord.com/themidnighttrainpodcastwww.tiktok.com/themidnighttrainp And wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. Subscribe to our official YouTube channel:OUR YOUTUBE

Prekenserie fra Efeserbrevet: Én for alle - alle for én! 11. Ef5,21-33   Metodistkirken i Flekkefjord En relasjonsbyggende menighet med Jesus i hjertet www.metodisten.no  

Prekenserie fra Efeserbrevet: Én for alle - alle for én! Allehelgensdag 10. Ef5,8-20   Metodistkirken i Flekkefjord En relasjonsbyggende menighet med Jesus i hjertet www.metodisten.no

Prekenserie fra Efeserbrevet: Én for alle - alle for én! 9. Ef5,1-7   Metodistkirken i Flekkefjord En relasjonsbyggende menighet med Jesus i hjertet www.metodisten.no

Meet our friend, Chris Fox. He's a digital brand whiz and brilliant storyteller who takes organizations' marketing needs to the next level with his smart creativity and intuitive approach to branding. Tune in and learn how Chris' desire to be neighborly in the aftermath of an EF5 tornado galvanized more than 10,000 volunteers to show up, clean up and cheer up one another in his hometown. And he orchestrated it all via social media. It's a mind-bending story of connection we're excited to share.Access the show notes for this episode here: https://www.weareforgood.com/episode/5

In 2011 the city of Joplin, Missouri was severely impacted by a EF5 tornado - one of the deadliest in US history with 158 people killed. Following the disaster, volunteers from across America travelled to Joplin to assist.

June 11, 2008: June 11, 2008 marks the tragic loss of 4 teenagers at a Boy Scout camp near Little Sioux, Iowa; 48 more were injured. The tragedy struck at the 1,800-acre camp about an hour north of downtown Omaha. An EF3 tornado, with 145 mph winds, descended on the remote camp, striking and leveling a cabin where campers had sought shelter as warnings of the storm circulated through the camp. A chimney at the cabin collapsed, sending heavy concrete blocks onto the Scouts. This was the worst of the storms that hit the Northern Plains. There were also two farms damaged from two different tornadoes, one near Spencer, Iowa and the other near Springfield, Minnesota. A nursing home was also damaged by a tornado in southern Salina, Kansas. There were over 300 reports of severe weather across the nation with 64 of those reports from tornado activity. There had been no basement or in-ground shelter at the camp when the tornado hit. The following year, the Boy Scouts Mid-America Council launched a major fundraising campaign to build emergency shelters at all of its camps. By 2013, two tornado shelters had been built at the camp, and a siren was added. The new structures have concrete walls, steel shutters and doors and emergency power backup, and were built to withstand an EF5 tornado. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brought to you by Remarkably Remote, a microcast from GoToMeeting. Looking for a few pointers on keeping you and your team motivated? Head to gotomeeting.com/tips or listen on your favorite podcasting platform. May 20, 1916, 1917 and 1918: Tornadoes are a weather reality that millions of Americans have learned to live with. Those living in the Midwest and Southeast regions of the United States have come to expect at least a few twisters every year. Depending on the intensity, the path, tornadoes result in varying degrees of damage, and sometimes, most tragically, even in death. According to statistics from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration the odds of being killed in a tornado in a given year are 1 in 5,693,092. Only 2% of tornadoes result in the loss of human life. 1 in 1,000 tornadoes documented in the United States are the strongest level, Category 5 tornadoes. While the combined totals of EF4 and EF5 tornadoes make up less than 1% of all tornadoes, together they contribute nearly 70% of all of the deaths caused by tornadoes. Odds focusing on a particular location getting hit by a tornado more than once are hard to come by. Some would argue that the odds never change, that’s it like flipping a coin and each separate weather situation presents the same odds. But don’t talk to the folks in Cordell, Kansas about tornado odds. For 3 consecutive years on May 20, 1916, May 20 1917 and May 20 1918 incredibly a tornado struck the town. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2011, a devastating EF5 tornado tore through the city of Joplin, and in the wake of that disaster, Lafayette House was there to provide services to survivors of domestic and sexual violence. Louise Secker is the Director of Development for Lafayette House in Joplin. The shelter assists survivors of domestic and sexual violence, as well as people with substance use disorders. She spoke with KBIA’s Rebecca Smith about how the lessons of the 2011 Joplin tornado have helped them adjust to delivering care to survivors during the current COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2011, a devastating EF5 tornado tore through the city of Joplin, and in the wake of that disaster, Lafayette House was there to provide services to survivors of domestic and sexual violence.

Hello! And welcome to another episode of Inside The Newsroom. It’s April, which means we’re officially inside the 2020 U.S. tornado season, so today we have WEATHER ROYALTY on the podcast. James Spann is chief meteorologist at ABC 33/40 in Birmingham, Alabama, and an absolute God within the severe weather community. I visited James in-person a couple of years ago to talk about his more than 40 years as a broadcast meteorologist, as well as his troubled upbringing growing up without his father. James recently published his autobiography which can be found on all the usual websites. This time around James and I spoke about what the 2020 tornado season may have in store for us, and what tornado preparation his and other states are doing amid the coronavirus.Below is a rundown of everything we talked about and more, but first a quick shoutout to friend of the show (and former guest) Andrea Jones-Rooy who is the funniest data scientist alive today. Right, let’s get to it! ✊Picks of the WeekDonate To Journalists — Seattle Times journalist Paige Cornwell has set up a Go Fund Me page to help laid off and furloughed journalists. I donated $20 yesterday. Not much, but it all helps.Brian Kemp — While the entire world knew we can carry symptoms of the coronavirus without showing them, Georgia’s Governor announced this week that he didn’t know such a thing, which will directly cost lives in his state. U.S. Unemployment — The second major rise in unemployment claims was announced yesterday, something we’ll be addressing next week.James 👇Will You Like Me?Before you read on, please like this edition of Inside The Newsroom by clicking the ❤️ up top. That way I’ll appear in clever algorithms and more people will be able to read. Cheers.2020 Tornado Season ForecastWe’re “officially” inside the U.S. tornado season, which typically runs from the start of April to the end of June. I say “officially” because tornadoes can and do strike in any month of the year and in every single U.S. state. Last year was above average with a reported 1,676 tornadoes compared with an average of 1,306 per year since 2000. And 2020 could be another above average year, according to experts from AccuWeather:“AccuWeather forecasts a normal to slightly above-normal number of tornadoes in 2020 with a range of 1,350 to 1,450. That range is close to what occurred in 2019 and 5 to 15 percent more than the U.S. annual average.”Already there have been 180 tornado reports so far this year, including unusually high reports in January and February, and a modest amount in March. But April is where things typically kick off, as warm moist air from the Gulf of Mexico rises west across the U.S. until it meets the cold dry air from the Rockies, typically somewhere in Tornado Alley — Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas — or Dixie Alley — Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia.The deadliest tornado outbreak so far this year was on March 3 and produced two separate EF3 (winds up to 165mph) and EF4 (up to 200 mph) tornadoes, according to the Enhanced Fujita Scale, including one that ripped through downtown Nashville. Twenty-four people have been confirmed dead and three people are still missing. Good chance to point out that tornadoes CAN AND DO hit large cities. Don’t believe otherwise.Long-Term Tornado TrendsLike with any weather phenomena, we can’t definitively say whether tornadoes are becoming more frequent or powerful based on a single event. Nor can we absolutely say whether the number of tornadoes is increasing from just a handful of years of data. Instead, we can accurately say that climate change has and will continue to make the chances of tornadoes more likely, especially those super duper EF4 and EF5 twisters that can flatten entire towns and cities. But even then, there are so many moving parts — better radar technology, more tornado spotters, more populated cities — that the data is never going to be 100 percent the same comparing one year to another. That said, there are a couple of critical long-term trends that I’ve written about before.First up is the Expanding Bulls-Eye Effect affecting every city in every state. It’s effectively the urban sprawl problem: As more people flock to cities in tornado prone areas, the larger the target for tornadoes to strike. The likes of Oklahoma City (more on that later), Dallas and Atlanta are all among the most vulnerable cities of a large-scale disaster. Credit: Stephen M. Strader and Walker S. AshleyAnd the effects are already being felt. In Forney, a suburb 20 miles east of Dallas, the population has grown 390 percent to more than 20,000 people in the past 30 years. On this very day eight years ago, 17 tornadoes touched down in North Texas including one that completely destroyed Crosby Elementary School in Forney. Had it happened just a decade before, the tornado would have hit an open field. Credit: Yours TrulyLess simple is the rise in tornadoes being reported in the southeastern states. In recent decades, the percentage of total twisters in the U.S. to touch down in Dixie Alley has dramatically increased, and when it comes to number of lives lost, Dixie Alley is now the deadliest tornado region in the entire world. That’s due to a combination of more populous cities than Tornado Alley (see above), but also the detached attitudes of people in the south. I was talking to a friend who studied in Atlanta just before the 2008 tornado that ripped up downtown and he had no idea tornadoes even hit Georgia, let alone in the very city he was living. Unfortunately that’s still the case in many southeastern cities, though the more tornadoes that do hit, the more people will have no other choice than to pay attention.Credit: Yours TrulyIn terms of the annual number of tornadoes increasing, that also has many nuances. Like we spoke about above, climate change is and will have a real impact on the size and frequency of tornadoes. But radar technology has also dramatically increased since the mid-1990s, and the popularity of the movie Twister unleashed storm chasing as a cult, which means more tornadoes are being spotted and reported than ever before.States’ Tornado PreparednessStates in Tornado and Dixie Alley will need to make impossible decisions in the coming days, if they haven’t already done so. The dilemma of prioritising safety from tornadoes or coronavirus isolation will likely mean new confirmed cases, as some states have opened community tornado shelters. But a tornado rolling through town is the more immediate threat. Alternatively, some states face leaving some residents without the extremely expensive personal tornado shelter high and dry.In James’ state, the Alabama Public Health Department released a statement saying that tornadoes took first priority, but “educated decisions” should be made to avoid contracting the coronavirus. In Missouri, which too sees it’s fair share of tornadoes, Springfield-Greene County also urged people to take personal safety in community shelters if needed. But in Oklahoma, it’ll be left up to local jurisdictions to decide whether to open public shelters or uphold recommendations against gatherings of more than 10 people. Without sounding like a local TV meteorologist myself, each state will differ in its policy so please check your local listings for more information. How the OKC Weather War Advanced Warning SystemsLike journalists, meteorologists struggle to get their message through to readers and viewers because of all the noise in today’s media world. Social media has both helped and harmed James’ work, as he’s now able to connect directly with people in his market and constantly pump out warnings and other information. But the distrust in, well, everything right now means some people don’t believe warnings until it’s too late.I’ve been in tornado warnings in three states and every time I was glued to the TV screen. Heck, I even tune in sometimes from the UK for fun. Still, if you’re like me then you’ll know all about the colorful radar maps and high-tech wind velocities and strength measures used on air. And if you’re in Oklahoma City, you’ll likely get a birds-eye view of the action via helicopters that hover a mile or two away from the actual tornado. The below video is from the historic EF5 Moore Tornado from May 2013.There might not be a larger city that sees more tornadoes in the U.S. than Oklahoma City does and, because of that, there may not be a more knowledgable and eager audience yearning for wall-to-wall coverage of tornado events than Oklahomans. That thirst resulted in an all-out ratings war between KFOR and KWTV during the nineties and noughties, led by weather Gods Gary England and Mike Morgan, respectively. In the past decade, friend of the podcast Damon Lane of KOCO joined the scene after his Herculean coverage of the Moore Tornado in 2013 that saw him live on air for around 13 hours straight. Anyway, much what of what we see on TV these days when it comes to severe weather can be traced back to little old Oklahoma City. If you’re interested in this stuff, I can’t recommend Holly Bailey’s The Mercy of the Sky enough.Tornado Communication TodayResearch on how and why tornadoes exist is critical, as we still don’t really know the answers to these questions. An exciting new breakthrough from scientists at the University of Mississippi, Oklahoma State University and University of Nebraska-Lincoln involves what’s known as ‘infrasound’, which might be able to more accurately predict tornadoes and dramatically reduce the false alarm rate that could be as high as 75 percent. The idea being that the ‘fluid mechanics’ of a tornado create noise too quiet for the human ear to hear, but loud enough for tiny microphones to pick up. Below is an interview with one of the scientists from Ole Miss, Dr. Roger Waxler, on James’ own podcast, WeatherBrains, in which the research is delved into with great detail. If the technology can be proven successful, it could revolutionize the entire weather industry.Tornadoes Around the GlobeWe have to be careful when looking at the countries most prone to tornadoes, because some people misinterpret simple data, like these scum who say England is the tornado capital of the world. It’s not. Instead, I prefer to listen to the experts, like Dr. Harold Brooks, senior scientist at NOAA’s National Severe Storms Laboratory. Because of the ripe conditions — a mix of warm moist air with cold dry air — the likes of Canada, Italy, India and Brazil are among the countries to get the most twisters. Many other South American and Southern Asian countries also see vast amounts of twisters because of the mountainous regions that allow different air types to meet. So no, England isn’t anywhere near the tornado capital.Related Podcasts#60 — Michael Mann (Penn State) on spending his sabbatical observing wildfires in Australia#53 — Emily Atkin (Heated) on starting the most popular newsletter on climate change#42 — Kait Parker (Weather.com) on the link between hurricanes and climate change#37 — Josh Morgerman and Caroline Menzies (Hurricane Man) on shooting the wildly popular documentary Hurricane Man#17 — James Spann (ABC 33/40) on 40 years forecasting weather and his fatherless upbringing #2 — Damon Lane (KOCO) on inside covering the 2013 Moore Tornado and the emotional toll it has to this dayLast Time…Pandemics That Changed History#68 — Mckayla Wilkes (U.S. House) on taking on No. 2 House Democrat Steny Hoyer and why the U.S. needs Universal Basic Income… Next TimeNext week we’ll quantitative futurist and CEO on Future Today Institute Amy Webb to talk about why governments and businesses weren’t more prepared for a pandemic, as well what tech trends will hit the world in 2020.Job CornerThe Inside The Newsroom Job Board will be launched on Monday. Stay tuned!Thanks for making it all the way to the bottom. Please like and share this edition of Inside The Newsroom by clicking the ❤️ below. That way I’ll appear in clever algorithms and more people will be able to read.If you haven’t already, please consider subscribing to get a newsletter about a cool news topic in your inbox every time I publish (1-2 times a week). You can find me on Twitter at @DanielLevitt32 and email me corrections/feedback or even a guest you’d like me to get on the podcast at daniellevitt32@gmail.com. Get on the email list at insidethenewsroom.substack.com

When asked where tornadoes are most likely to occur, most people will not answer with a coastal region such as Santa Barbara. However, you may be surprised. Just last week, a tornado touched ground in Ventura Harbor and there was a tornado warning for Santa barbara County. In fact, there were three tornado warnings for Santa Barbara County throughout 2019. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, data shows that before Wednesday’s tornado at Ventura Harbor, there had been at least six documented twisters over land in Ventura County since 1992. According to NOAA data, California sees an average of six tornadoes a year, the most common regions being Central and Southern California. Most southern California tornadoes are small, however and occur as waterspouts over the ocean. Occasionally, these twisters do touch ground and become tornadoes, much like the one seen in ventura, which flipped kayaks and tore down overhead awnings. The Enhanced Fugita Scale or EF scale rates tornadoes from EF0 to EF5. Though socal tornadoes usually take a rating of EF0, wind speeds can still exceed up to 75mph. KCSB News Thomas Moran called the National Weather service Los angeles Oxnard station and spoke with Senior Meteorologist Todd Hall about our regions geography and why tornadoes are much more common than we think.

Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele has made a clear abortion rights message in his latest Cruise collection, as the debate over abortion heats up once again in the United States. The collection, shown to a VIP crowd Tuesday evening in Rome’s Capitoline Museum, featured a purple jacket with the slogan “My Body, My Choice” on the back, and a sweater emblazoned with the date “May 22, 1978,” marking the day that abortion became legal in Italy. A belted gown was embroidered with a flowering uterus. Michele said new restrictions on abortion in the United States “made me consider how much women should be highly respected.” e EF0, EF1 and EF2s on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. But 23 were classified as EF3 tornadoes, with wind speeds of 136-165 mph. The strongest confirmed tornado this year was the EF4 tornado that killed 23 people in Alabama in March. So far this year, 38 people have died in 10 tornadoes in the United States, including a combined seven within the last week in Iowa, Missouri, Oklahoma and Ohio. The relative quiet in recent years followed the massive tornado that killed 161 people and injured more than 1,100 in Joplin, Missouri, in 2011. The EF5 storm packed winds in excess of 200 mph and was on the ground for more than 22 miles. Monday’s outbreak was unusual because it occurred over a particularly wide geographic area. Eight states were affected by two regional outbreaks, in the high Plains and the Ohio River Valley.

This episode's guest Katy Blakey, weekend morning anchor and a reporter during the week at NBC 5 News. Born and raised in McKinney, Katy is a proud graduate of McKinney High School and Southern Methodist University. She graduated president of her class with a BA in journalism and political science. Katy is an Emmy Award-winning reporter, and her work has also been honored with Lone Star Emmy nominations, including Best News Anchor, and was recognized by the Oklahoma Associated Press. Katy began her career as a reporter and anchor for KTEN-TV in Denison, Texas, where her investigative reports into private jail funding led to resignations and changes in local law enforcement. Later, Katy co-anchored the weekday morning news and reported for KOCO in Oklahoma City, OK. The first reporter on the scene of a deadly medical helicopter crash, her reporting also included a hostage situation ending with the rescue of a six-year-old girl, devastating wildfires and severe storms. She tracked rare twin tornadoes, covered multiple tornado outbreaks, reported on the wide-scale destruction and heroic rescue operations left by a massive EF5 tornado in Moore, Oklahoma and President Obama's tour of damaged communities. No stranger to breaking news or severe weather, Katy solo-anchored live coverage of the early morning attack on Dallas Police Headquarters and hours-long stand-off. She covered the national outpouring of support for five DPD officers killed while protecting a peaceful protest in downtown Dallas and traveled to Houston for President George H. W. Bush’s memorial services. On the coast as Hurricane Harvey made landfall, she provided extensive coverage of rescue and relief operations as the storm caused catastrophic flooding in the Houston area. From endearing "Texas Connects Us" stories to following a young cancer patient bringing smiles, hope and congressional attention to much needed funding for childhood cancer research to reporting from the mass shooting tragedies in Orlando and Las Vegas, Katy understands the privilege of reporting local and national news to her hometown community. During my conversation with Katy, we discuss what it takes to be a journalist, some of the impactful stories in her career, chasing tornadoes, and so much more on episode number 44, of the Avert Your Eyes Podcast! Consider yourself warned... If you enjoyed the episode, head over to Apple Podcasts and kindly leave us a rating, a review, and subscribe! You can also subscribe via Stitcher, Spotify, TuneIn or Google Play. Follow us via Facebook and Twitter. Visit our website. Click here to take our listener survey! We now have Avert Your Eyes Podcast merchandise! Check it out here!

Meteorologists Ari Sarsalari and Bob Henson talk about the science behind the incredible destructive nature of high end tornadoes. They explain what the "Fujita Tornado Damage Scale," is and what it takes to rate a an EF5 tornado and a review of some of the worst EF5 tornadoes of all time.

Rick Couri and Russell Mills return to Moore five years after an EF5 tornado ripped through, killing 24 people.

Rafael Jorda Siquier is the founder of Open Cosmos, a company making space missions simple and affordable. They provide customers with a development kit and simulator so they can build the technology at their own pace and when they’re ready, Open Cosmos takes care of all the paperwork, integrates it into their nano-satellite alongside other customers and puts it into space. This has game changing implications for a number of industries, because making satellite more accessible opens up the potential for everything from the prediction of agricultural yields to the global internet of things and big infrastructure monitoring. Rafael was on EF5 and his company has made some remarkable progress in the last few years, turning Open Cosmos a one-stop shop to orbit and allowing for mass customization, which reduces costs from the millions down to a few hundred thousand. He is an aerospace engineer with an MBA and a background in both space startups and big industry players like Airbus where he was working before starting Open Cosmos. In this conversation we dive into Rafael’s personal story, everything he’s learned about finding product market fit and hiring in the process of building Open Cosmos and what he’s learned about himself along the way.

Theo Saville is the Co-Founder of Cloud NC, whose mission is to make the CNC milling machines used in many manufacturing processes one click devices that can produce a part easily and efficiently, effectively halving their cost. Theo and his co-founder Chris met on EF5 and have gone from strength to strength since founding the company, expanding their team and raising funding to develop their technology further. Theo studied Engineering at Warwick and gained a masters in manufacturing,  working in a range of fields including 3D printing research and freelance engineering before joining EF. In this conversation we dive into Theo’s personal story, everything he’s learned about finding product market fit, hiring and funding in the process of building Cloud NC and what he’s learned about himself along the way.

The economics of natural hazards engineering Kevin Simmons, Professor of Economics Austin College After spending 17 years working for an electric utility, Kevin Simmons enrolled in PhD program at Texas Tech thinking about starting a new career in the energy sector. But then, a prominent wind engineering researcher, Kishor Mehta, recruited him to examine the societal impacts of engineering against wind hazards. After examining variables like MLS data in Galveston, Texas, and running models, Simmons determined that indeed, wind mitigation features had strong positive impact on the selling price of a home. That became his dissertation. Since then, Simmons has found his calling as a researcher, including a stint at the National Severe Storms Lab in Norman, Oklahoma. Today, he continues to investigate the economics of natural hazards mitigation. Simmons describes his work studying the town of Moore, Oklahoma, which suffered 3 EF5 tornadoes in 14 years. He discusses the specific mitigations incorporated into the city’s building code, including things like wind-rated garage doors. His studies indicated that, over time, the cost of implementing the codes beats the estimated damage across the life of the house, with a benefit-to-cost ratio of 3:1. And he describes other assessments, including the hurricane-prone zone in Florida, where coastal areas have additional building code requirements. (That study will appear in the May issue of Land Economics.) Overall, he says, building codes reduce property damage and loss in two ways. First, homes built after code implementation had 53% less damage. Second, the codes reduced the likelihood that an insurance claim would need to be filed at all. All toted up, there was a 72 percent reduction in filed claims from wind losses, compared to construction cost increases. Simmons details the findings. Simmons discusses different economic considerations when it comes to flooding. He stresses that city planners need to consider potential flooding before building. As an economist, he finds it tragic that people do not take wind (or other) hazards into account before building. Generally speaking, he says, it doesn’t cost that much more to build a strong structure. Retrofits cost more, he says. And he is not optimistic that people are prepared to take natural hazards into account. “The human tendency is to fix things quick and cheaply,” he says. Ironically, he adds, in his studies he has observed that a destructive tornado will raise awareness about life safety during storms, and will tend to spike demand for tornado shelters. Nevertheless, new construction is still problematic for most towns in Oklahoma. Data show that new codes increase the cost of construction, and cities fear that developers will avoid building in communities with higher building costs. His research shows, however, that this is not necessary a problem. He recently compared Moore, Oklahoma, a city with tough codes, with the nearby city of Norman, without such building regulations. The study found there was no difference in real estate development between towns. Simmons discusses retrofits for wind storms, and specifically, work that U of Florida researcher David Prevatt has done to devise techniques for driving down the cost of retrofits. He refers to a recent study at the U of Alabama, where homes built to new standards have been shown to increase in value. If this data holds up across markets, Simmons says, it is justified to retrofit, and retrofitting may be seen as an investment, not a cost. He suggests that states have incentives that encourage citizens in wind-hazard regions to retrofit. For an economist like Simmons, it is exciting that engineers are able to remove financial objections people might have to retrofitting their homes and businesses.

00:00 - Should flavoured vape juice be banned? San Francisco has approved a bill that bans the sale of flavoured nicotine juice for electronic cigarettes. I (Brett) think this is a load of hogwash, because if vaping helps someone quit smoking, why are we trying to put up road blocks? What do you think? 37:12 - Today marks the 10th anniversary of the Elie Tornado, the first ever F5 tornado in Canada (now known as EF5). We're joined by storm chaser Justin Hobson, who saw it first hand and got some video. 50:35 - We take a call from Pat who tells us a harrowing and incredible story of how she and her husband ended up having to drive through that Elie storm in 2007. 54:45 - Carolyn Klassen, therapist with Conexus Counselling, website www.conexuscounselling.ca -- Carolyn's most recent blog post talks about her recent birthday, and how instead of accepting gifts, she gave every member of her family $100 to go do something nice for someone, and help to make the world a better place. The stories that resulted are amazing. 73:20 - Oh Doughnuts has been included in USA Today's Top 10 Doughnut Shops in Canada! We visit with the owner, Amanda Kinden. 85:23 - Winnipeg Jets schedule is kinda weird / Snake Oil Gets Twisted giveaway / show recap and some listener texts 95:19 - Richard Cloutier & Julie Buckingham tee up THE NEWS

In This Episode Guest: Gabe Garfield, Strom Chaser and NWS Researcher We’re a NOAA Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador Lightning Round: Match the Skier Titan U Minute with Chris Sanner: Your Chasing Target The team discusses storm chaser safety Brady’s Storm School Weather Fools: We share the foolish things people do in bad weather situations Wx Resources: We provide some great weather sites, apps and equipment Our next guest Sponsor:   www.AcuRite.com Our Guest Gabe Garfield, Storm Chaser and NWS Meteorologist Liaison to the Hazardous Weather Testbed Gabe is the National Weather Service Liaison to the Hazardous Weather Testbed.  His work focuses on improving tornado warnings through the development of new weather technology. He holds a bachelor’s and master’s of science degrees in meteorology from the University of Oklahoma.  During his free time as a student, Gabe developed his skills for forecasting and chasing severe storms.  He has witnessed dozens of tornadoes, including EF5 tornadoes at El Reno, Oklahoma in 2011 and Moore, Oklahoma in 2013. Gabe has been involved with several research projects including VORTEX-2. @wxGabe on Twitter Gabe Garfield on Facebook Sponsor: www.WeatherProShop.com of Severe Weather Center Titan U Minute with Chris Sanner: www.TorndaoTitans.com Sponsor: www.SevereStreaming.com of www.SevereStudios.com Weather Fools Links Dina: Weather Reporter Too Close to Wet Street Phil: Tornado Uncovers Pot Operation WxResources Links Kim: Video of Superoutbreak of April 1974 Phil: AcuRite Portable Lightning Detector and Anemometer Dina: Pivotal Weather Website Submit your questions or comments about this show to questions@stormfrontfreaks.com and we may read it on our next episode! Next episode, our guest will be Kevin Roth, TV Meteorologist and Forecaster for RotoGrinders.com Fantasy Sports Credits Opening and Closing Music: Andrew Slotta

Igerész: Efézus5,1-2 Lelkész: Varga Nándor Lejátszás közvetlen fájlból (hiba esetén): https://krek.hu/media/files/igehirdetesek/160910 18h VN_ker(1cs)_hétz.it_Az Isten szeretet kozossege_Ef5,1_2.mp3 Becsült hossz: 1294 mp Generálta: ScrapeCast by Fodor Benedek UUID: 03a60c0b-0c9c-4735-920e-a0ca8cf0faea

This is a special episode to honor the victims of the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida. If you want to help, please make a donation to OneOrlando Fund. Show notes at http://hellotechpros.com/orlando-united-unplugged/ Key Takeaways On Sunday, June 12, 2016, a domestic terrorist killed 49 people and injured over 50 more at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. On Wednesday, April 19, 1995, a domestic terrorist killed 168 people and injured over 600 more by detonating a bomb near the Alfred P. Murrah building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. 19 children were included in the fatalities. On Monday, May 3, 1999, an F5 tornado with winds at 301 miles per hour killed 36 people and injured hundreds more in Bridge Creek, Moore, Oklahoma City, Del City and Midwest City, Oklahoma. On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, a terrorist attack claimed the lives of 2,996 people. On Monday, May 20, 2013 an EF5 tornado killed 24 people and injured hundreds of others in Moore, Oklahoma. Briarwood Elementary School and Plaza Towers Elementary school were both destroyed. Seven children were killed at Plaza Towers. Life is too short. Horrible things happen to good people. Love each other. Hug each other. Have respect and dignity for one another. Open a door for a stranger. Smile as often as you can. Build and nurture personal relationships with diverse people. Don't ever take any of it for granted. Resources Mentioned OneOrlando Fund

Igerész: Efézus5,15-17 Lelkész: Varga Nándor Lejátszás közvetlen fájlból (hiba esetén): https://krek.hu/media/files/igehirdetesek/160611 9h VN_vas.it_Mi a baj az idovel_Ef5,15_17.mp3 Becsült hossz: 3760 mp Generálta: ScrapeCast by Fodor Benedek UUID: 2e011587-2139-4d3f-9241-d82bff31e5e6

On this week's show we discuss the four day severe weather outbreak from earlier last week as well as what YOU should do in the event of a tornado warning. Jimmy is out this week, so Becky and Joel review a blog post she wrote in early 2015 covering the topic of tornado safety. We also cover the discussion that popped up this week related to the old vs new method for rating tornado severity and highlight a number of intense videos from the past week's storms. Show Notes! Introductions - Jimmy is out this week at a conference and was unable to co-host - so its just Becky and Joel. Topic: Tornado Safety Becky reviews the severe weather outbreak, day by day. How to Prepare for Severe Weather and Stay Safe During an Outbreak Insane photo of a very lucky young man who followed proper tornado safety procedures Affordable, $25 weather radio More expensive, but better quality weather radio EF3 vs EF5 discussion related to Oklahoma tornado Fujita Scale (for review) Relevant tweet about the discussion Scary Tornado Videos From This Outbreak Katie, Oklahoma Tornado - close video. Katie, Oklahoma Tornado - from several miles away. Sulphur, Oklahoma Tornado - watch from 4:00 until 6:30 to see the section we were discussing about the storm chaser Tim Marshal deploying a sensor pod. Wray, Colorado Tornado - the "photogenic" tornado we were talking about from the very first day of the storms. The Capital Weather Gang posted a good snapshot of photos from this storm as well. Also, after we finished recording this episode, USTornados.com did a big writeup specifically about the Katie, OK Tornado. This week's outro music was "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) by Dead or Alive.

Kansas City Star reporters Eric Adler and Laura Bauer recall covering Joplin in the first few hours after a massive EF5 tornado swept through the city on May 22, 2011 and killed 161 people. The tornado, with 200 mph winds, has been recorded as the seventh deadliest storm in recorded history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Priscilla McKinney, Momma Bird here at Little Bird Marketing as she talks with Dan Leadbetter about her experience bringing her companies back after disaster. Located in Joplin, an EF5 tornado destroyed 30% of their town and three weeks later she arrived at her studio just in time to watch it all burn to the ground. Disaster preparedness is not a sexy topic, but this entrepreneur puts it on the line. This is part two of a previously published podcast. Original theme music by Chris Stewart.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Priscilla McKinney, Momma Bird here at Little Bird Marketing as she talks with Dan Leadbetter about her experience bringing her companies back after disaster. Located in Joplin, an EF5 tornado destroyed 30% of their town and three weeks later she arrived at her studio just in time to watch it all burn to the ground. Disaster preparedness is not a sexy topic, but this entrepreneur puts it on the line. Original theme music by Chris Stewart.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Igerész: Efézus5,15-17 Lelkész: Kerekes Márton Lejátszás közvetlen fájlból (hiba esetén): https://krek.hu/media/files/igehirdetesek/140220 17h KM_hazassag hete bunban.it_Istennel a jelenben felelosen_Ef5,15_17.mp3 Becsült hossz: 1731 mp Generálta: ScrapeCast by Fodor Benedek UUID: ad8e3821-807a-4a3b-a1ff-33dd08c920dc

Igerész: Efézus5,18-20 Lelkész: Szabó Mihály (Magyarbikal) Lejátszás közvetlen fájlból (hiba esetén): https://krek.hu/media/files/igehirdetesek/130804 9h Szabo Mihaly_szer.het.zaro it_Az egyhazi enekles_Ef5,18_20.mp3 Becsült hossz: 3600 mp Generálta: ScrapeCast by Fodor Benedek UUID: 357f7ca7-ce83-4d60-a515-b0baaa3fd31c

On May 20, 2013 an EF5 tornado ripped through Moore, Oklahoma, just outside of Oklahoma City, completely devastating the town. Pastor John, Caleb, and Micah Hanna share about their recent trip to Moore and the week they spent in Oklahoma.

Click play to listen or grab the direct download. On May 20th, 2013, a massively destructive EF5 tornado, with winds of an estimated 210 mph, blew through Moore, Oklahoma which is a suburb of Oklahoma City.  In less than an hour, the tornado completely destroyed a path over a mile wide and 17 miles long. … Continue reading »

Igerész: Efézus5,1-20 Lelkész: Szabó Zsuzsanna Lejátszás közvetlen fájlból (hiba esetén): https://krek.hu/media/files/igehirdetesek/121027_17h_SzZs_Eljetek_ugy_ mint_a_vilagossag_gyermekei_Ef5_1_20.mp3 Becsült hossz: 1952 mp Generálta: ScrapeCast by Fodor Benedek UUID: 7182bd53-1b7a-409b-8dd1-4bdbc38ac4f6

Igerész: Efézus5,15-17 Lelkész: Kuti József Lejátszás közvetlen fájlból (hiba esetén): https://krek.hu/media/files/igehirdetesek/120708_11h_KJ_A_rendelt_ido_Ef5_15_17.mp3 Becsült hossz: 1538 mp Generálta: ScrapeCast by Fodor Benedek UUID: 3436be08-ba54-4538-8836-b3f56ee11294

Interviews were conducted with residents of Smithville, Mississippi following an EF5 tornado in April, 2011 that killed 16 people. The purpose of the interviews was to determine how information was used just before the tornado touched down. Individuals who were at home searched for more different types of information, and individuals in cars looked for or received the fewest types of information. The individual stories of those who did not try to find a safer place during the tornado do not share many qualities. Respondents who received a number of confirmatory cues or messages still chose not to seek shelter. About one third of the respondents thought some of the sirens that day had been unnecessary, but only one person believed the amount of television coverage was too much. Comments made by some of the respondents indicate they stopped paying attention to the warnings or did not take them seriously at the time.

Igerész: Efézus5,8-9 Lelkész: Fodorné Ablonczy Margit Lejátszás közvetlen fájlból (hiba esetén): https://krek.hu/media/files/igehirdetesek/110613_18h_AM_Vilagossag_gyermekei-Ef5_8_9.mp3 Becsült hossz: 2467 mp Generálta: ScrapeCast by Fodor Benedek UUID: 0b1748d5-5191-467a-9300-6fec83557b23

Carl and Richard chat with Julie Lerman about Entity Framework 5. EF5 ships with .NET 4.5 - yep, they broke the number synchronization this time around. Julie explains that the big number change is for a good reason - this is a big update to Entity Framework. The conversation digs into the new features, including performance improvements, enumerations and spatial datatype support. Julie also talks about a huge number of little things that are added to make EF a much more useable project. Has the magic version three happened again at Microsoft?Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/net-rocks/donations