Winter Severe Weather Outbreak

A strong and quickly moving frontal boundary is making its way across the southern and central US spawning a tornado outbreak. The line of storms are currently located over the eastern borders of Arkansas and Missouri and western Kentucky and Tennessee. The line of storms are moving at a northeasterly direction. As of 0302 UTC on 01/01/11 (8:02 pm MST) there have been 31 tornado reported (http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/today.html)
The first tornado touched down at 1205 UTC (605 am CST) on the far northeastern boarder of Oklahoma in Westville, OK and possibly continued or redeveloped over Cincinnati, AR at 1209 UTC (609 am CST). There were homes and barns damaged with three deaths reported. Multiple tornadoes have also developed over eastern Missouri, western and central Illinois, and central Mississippi. As of right now there have been 6 death  confirmed, 3 in Arkansas and 3 in Missouri.** (http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/12/31/tornado-reported-nw-arkansas-dead/). 
The low pressure system and frontal boundary will make its way easterly with more severe storms developing along the frontal boundary line in the south and snow showers in the north. As the system moves off into the Atlantic and eastern Canada, colder temperatures will set in.  
**For a meteorologist to hear that there have been deaths as a result of a weather event is devastating. With weather as our passion and knowing that deaths could have possibly been prevented fuels us to educate ourselves even more so that deaths could be prevented in the future. We believe that one of the most important jobs as a meteorologist is to inform the public whenever possible.


-Brooke