Tornado Video & On-Scene Photos: Deadly Storm Kills Seven in Arkansas; Spawns 6-Vortice Tornado in Oklahoma; Texas Picks Up After Twisters(Raw Video)

This is an extraordinary photo of a tornado over Oklahoma City, OK during the May 1 outbreak. The photographer,Linda, a gardening, and nature enthusiast, grabbed a huge twister on the right and the simultaneous development of other funnels on the left. (Photo copyright to photographer, one-time usage granted to I Found a Peanut blog.)




This outstanding photo of mammatus in straight-line wind development as the massive storm system moved across Kansas was taken by Frank Thompson of Overland Park. (Photo copyright to photographer, one-time usage granted to I Found a Peanut blog.)

This storm system, which ranged across more than 2,000 miles of the continental United States, is a textbook example of how snowstorms and extreme cold in the West, coupled with a "fetch" of warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico, can fire up supercells.. As this storm moves east, Chicago forecasters are keeping a wary eye on this system.

Seven deaths have been reported in Arkansas from this storm system, including a teenager who died when a tree fell on her house while she was sleeping. The National Weather Service has confirmed reports of at least a dozen tornadoes overnight Thursday. More storms are hitting today across the Mississippi Valley as the system roars east.










The Peanut crew lives in Oklahoma's Tornado Alley. We were up most of the night tracking the storms.

Raw Video: Camera Catches ARK Man Putting Ding Dongs in Dryers

Is this supposed to be performance art mocking Ding Dong days in Arkansas? Or maybe this vandalism is just well--vandalism.

If you're not sure what a Ding Dong is, we're here to help you out. A Ding Dong is a Hostess chocolate snack cake. The company says "The name Ding Dong came from the chiming bells used in Hostess' first television commercials and you'll be singing a happy tune every time you polish off a package."

Back to our vandal. Was he targeting other people's drying underwear in his Ding Dong escapade?

Charged in this Ding Dong caper: a Fed Ex driver from Missouri.

We don't even want to guess what he might do withHo Ho's. Again, we'll let Hostess explain this chocolate munchie to you: "Over the years, the tubular snack has enjoyed its share of laughs. In connection with the 1999 introduction of Nutty Ho Hos, which added chopped peanuts to the original roll, a search was launched for the country's nuttiest celebrity laugh - or ho ho. (We know what you're thinking, but not everyone laughs with a ha ha. Just ask Santa.) When the votes were tallied, Americans decided that comedian Eddie Murphy's laugh took the proverbial cake, followed by the kooky cackles of Phyllis Diller, Roseanne Barr and Pee Wee Herman."

Tornado Destruction Video: 911 Calls as People Tried to Help Each Other

Video: Killer Tornadoes Aftermath: 56 Dead, Epic Destruction

Tornado Video: Survivor Accounts After 80 Twisters Savage Southeast, Baby Found Safe, Mom Killed

Tornado Video: Roundup of Freak Winter Killer Storms

Sections of Alabama were the latest to fall victim to the eastward-moving tornadic storms. At least four people are reported dead in that state as search and rescue operations continue in Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennesee. The five-state death toll total has reached 52.




The long line of severe storms shown in the radar is known as "training". The miles of super storms, strengthened when they join up, roll over communities like rogue freight trains of destruction. The video of the Cleveland, Arkansas tornado is amazing.

Tornado Video: Death Toll Rises From Savage Storms

For more storm photos and videos, click here.

For an eyewitness survival account, click here.

Killer Tornadoes Photos, Videos: Storms Savage Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi

Update: Several tornadoes that roared across four Southern states are now known to have killed at least 47 people, injured hundreds more, and inflicted significant damage across hundreds of miles.




Several students have been rescued from the debris of two dormitories destroyed as a tornado ripped through Union University in Jackson, TN. A search and rescue mission is ongoing.

Watch a tornado forming in Memphis.



A natural gas pumping station caught fire in Green Grove, TN. Flames were reported shooting several hundred feet into the night sky.

This storm stalked Southaven, Mississippi. Wath the left side closely in this excellent coverage.






At least one tornado touched down in Nashville, TN. Part of I-40 in West Tennesse closed after a reported 60 tractor trailers crashed in the storms, many rolled over on their sides like beached whales.

Oxford, Miss. has been hard hit as the storms churn eastward. The entire town of Gassville, Arkansas was sealed off because authorities fear natural gas explosions.



Remnants of Sears store in Hickory Ridge Mall, Memphis, TN.


Tornado bears down on Arkansas communities.


A supercell lowers, preparing to unleash a tornado near Cordova, TN. The same system destroyed a mall in Memphis. Click here for a map of tornadoes in the Memphis area.


The human and property cost of the storms have only begun to be tallied. Most evaluation will have to wait until after daybreak. Several states remain under tornado watches and developing warnings as the system rolls east.

The Peanut crew is anxiously awaiting word about a dear family friend in the Memphis area.

Tornadoes, Flash Flooding Kill Six, Tornado Alerts Across Miss. Valley

Killer Tornadoes Defy Winter, Slash Through Midwest in Bizarre Weather

In Oklahoma, the freak storms made history as the National Weather Service issued almost two dozen tornado warnings. The state has not recorded a tornado in January since 1975. Although none touched down, the warnings and the severe thunderstorms were so dangerous that local TV stations provided non-stop weather coverage during prime time, pre-empting normal shows.

Northeast Oklahoma stayed under tornado watch until 5 a.m. today. Although radar picked up supercell formation and rotation in the sky, the storms didn't unleash their deadly funnels until just after they crossed state lines into Arkansas and Missouri.

The photo is courtesy of stormchaser Chris Wilburn and KTUL. This incredible night photo of a tornado was captured in Missouri.



This dramatic night storm photo is courtesy of White Shadow Photography.



It was a tense time for those in the storm strike zone. Here at I Found a Peanut headquarters, we spent the night camped in front of a TV, flashlight and emergency gear at hand and ready to head into the storm shelter.

We knew something was coming even before the tornado watch and warnings were issued. The weather whipped from below freezing temperatures to a sudden tropical feeling. The high here reached 71 degrees. However, missing from the mix was the usual "oppressive" feeling that comes in pre-tornadic buildups.

Rapidly-building weather systems like this are incredibly dangerous because they appear so suddenly. Other dangers: flooding and lightning. As thousands of lightning strikes hammered to earth, the storms also brought flooding. Emergency workers had to rescue people from flash-flooded areas.

It's not yet dawn, so we haven't had a chance to check for any possible damage from the high winds. Amazingly, the power stayed on. Parts of Oklahoma are still recovering from more than a week without power and heavy damage from the recent multi-million-dollar ice storm.



Tulsa has brought in outside contractors to help with downed limb clean-up from the ice storm. Officials fear that fallen trees and limbs, especially in country areas, will serve as dangerous fodder when the fire season begins.

Despite all that, Oklahoma was lucky last night. Our neighbors on our northeast borders weren't so lucky, nor were those in some sections of Wisconsin and Illinois. Although we're reeling from the one-two punch of historic ice storm and now spring-like supercell thunderstorms, we know that last night we managed to dodge a deadly bullet--this time.

Applause is due KOTV, KJRH, and KTUL, who all fielded stormchasters and spotters, and who worked throughout the entire night monitoring and reporting on the storms.