Tornadoes were reported over parts of the Midwest on Saturday, but fortunately there were no major injuries or fatalities.

At least 18 tornado reports were received yesterday through the overnight hours.

Storm Chaser Shane Adams described the tornado near Beatrice, Nebraska as a large, truncated cone with lots of debris. This was the most significant tornado of the day apparently caused dome damage, but no injuries. Storm Chaser Matt Patterson posted this excellent video of the tornado. See it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdI71EYVr8c.

It was a scary time for awhile as storms bore down on the Lincoln area where the Nebraska Cornhuskers were playing their Spring Football Game, but fortunately the worst of the storms passed to their south. Storm chasers were frustrated by heavy traffic on the interstate between Lincoln and Omaha.

Tornado touchdowns were reported in Northeast Kansas, but major damage was not reported. A man in Brown County, KS reportedly called the NWS saying that a tornado had passed directly over his house, taking the roof with it.

An amazing supercell skirted the northern part of Kansas City, Missouri around 8 p.m. Severe reports of funnel clouds and tornado touchdowns were noted with this long lived storm. But checks of Kansas City media outlets this morning reveal no significant reports of damage or injuries.

Severe weather is possible over a wide area from eastern Missouri and Iowa across much of Illinois, Inidiana, Kentucky, west Virginia, southern Ohio and then southeastward across Virginia and North Carolina. An upper level trough will be the culprit, turning southeastward around the periphery of a large upper level trough anchored over the Lower Mississippi River Valley.

Interesting to see the NWS in Omaha frequently using the call to action in their warnings that people should not use highway overpasses as tornado shelters. They do not provide adequate shelter and can block traffic lanes, turning interstates into deathtraps for others. One place you do not want to be in a tornado is in an automobile.

Another interesting note: a Weather Chanel photo crew was arrested for failing to leave the site where a McMinnville, Tennessee woman died in last Friday's tornado. The victim's family said that they refused to leave after numerous requests. It is unclear if they were actual Weather Chanel staffers or contract photojournalists. Covering the news is important, but sensitivity to victims is paramount, in my humble opinion.

With Brian down at the beach... I thought I would post a few quick Sunday morning notes...

*Happy Easter. I am about to head down to Hunter Street (my church); we expect a crowd of 700 today in my worship services (that is 700 KIDS in 1st through 6th grade. The crowd campus-wide should easliy exceed 5,000. There is plenty of room for YOU if you want to join us!

*The weather still looks very warm through Tuesday with highs in the mid 80s. The weather also should stay dry through Tuesday.

*SPC maintains a slight risk of severe weather for the northern third of the state Wednesday thanks to a passing cold front. Not a classic severe weather setup, but we will be paying close attention as the event gets closer.

*Thursday looks like a very nice day, with ample sunshine and cooler temperatures. No more 80s after Wednesday for a while.

*Some rain is possible at times on Friday and Saturday as moisture returns and a few waves move through the zonal flow overhead.

I will have a map discussion video posted early tomorrow morning by 7:00.... have a great day!

On this date in 1927, the Great Mississippi River Flood of 1927 was raging. Tremendous rains all over the Mississippi River Valley during the preceding autumn and winter swelled the Big Muddy and its tributaries to record levels. Floodwaters raged southward over a wide area.

On this very date, the supposedly impregnable government levee at Dorena, Missouri collapsed. Even as water poured through the crevasse, the surge of floodwater continued pushing downriver toward the Mississippi Delta, bursting more levees as it went. The news flashed like a shockwave to New Orleans, where the Crescent City residents remembered the 1922 flood that had nearly breached their levees.

All along the swollen river, worried residents feared sabotage to their levees. They knew that a break on the opposite bank would relieve pressure on their strained levees and possibly save their towns, so the threat of sabotage was very real. Armed men patrolled their levees to prevent such activities.

In Greenville, Mississippi, thirty thousand men, including convicts and African-American laborers worked frantically to raise the height of the levees. Eventually the workers would be working at gunpoint as the situation became more desperate. They would lose the battle as the levee failed at Mounds Landing, north of Greenville. The churning brown water would cover the Mississippi Delta. The 1927 flood is the most destructive in the history of the United States.