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Dead blackbirds fall in Beebe on New Year’s Eve
An estimated 2000-2500 blackbirds fell within a one mile area (Jeff Drennan )
Published: 1/01 4:26 pm
Updated: 1/01 4:36 pm[NOTE: The blackbird deaths and heavy storms preceding look like the work of HAARP, frequencies specific to blackbird injuries – MC]
BEEBE, AR – Ringing in the New Year took on a different meaning for the citizens of Beebe. Beginning at around 11:30pm, enforcement officers with Arkansas Game and Fish Commission began getting reports of dead black birds falling from the sky in the city limits of Beebe.
Dick Baxter with the Game and Fish Commission estimates that 2000-2500 birds fell out of the sky over the city. Most of the birds were dead, but some were still alive when officers arrived. Three different types of blackbirds fell over a one-mile area in the city.
AGFC wildlife officer Robby King responded to the reports and found hundreds of birds.
“Shortly after I arrived there were still birds falling from the sky,” King said.
King collected about 65 dead birds that will be sent to the Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission lab and the National Wildlife Health Center lab in Madison, Wis.
The AGFC has flown over the area to gauge the scope of the event. There were no other birds found outside of the initial area.
AGFC ornithologist Karen Rowe said that strange events similar to this one have occurred a number of times around the world.
“Test results usually were inconclusive, but the birds showed physical trauma and that the flock could have been hit by lightning or high-altitude hail,” Rowe said.
Another scenario may have been that New Year’s Eve revelers shooting off fireworks in the area may have startled the birds from their roost. The birds may have died from stress.
Rowe said that it didn’t appear as though the birds died of any poisoning or other event.
“Since it only involved a flock of blackbirds and only involved them falling out of the sky it is unlikely they were poisoned, but a necropsy is the only way to determine if the birds died from trauma or toxin,” she said.
Testing will begin on Monday.
The City of Beebe has hired U.S. Environmental Services to begin the cleanup and dispose of the dead birds. The environmental firm will go door-to-door to pick up the birds that are still in yards and on roof tops. Residents are urged not to touch the birds without wearing rubber gloves.
Dead blackbirds mysteriously rain on Arkansas town
JANUARY 1, 2011BEEBE, Ark. (AP) – Wildlife officials are trying to determine what caused more than 1,000 black birds to die and fall from the sky over an Arkansas town.
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission said Saturday that it began receiving reports about the dead birds about 11:30 p.m. the previous night. The birds fell over a one-mile area of Beebe, and an aerial survey indicated that no other dead birds were found outside of that area.
Commission ornithologist Karen Rowe said the he birds showed physical trauma, and she speculated that “the flock could have been hit by lightning or high-altitude hail.”
The commission said that New Year’s Eve revelers shooting off fireworks in the area could have startled the birds from their roost and caused them to die from stress.
Robby King, a wildlife officer for the agency, collected about 65 dead birds, which will be sent for testing to the state Livestock and Poultry Commission lab and the National Wildlife Health Center lab in Madison, Wis.
Rowe said that similar events have occurred elsewhere and that test results “usually were inconclusive.” She said she doubted the birds were poisoned.
Source: http://www.argusleader.com/article/20110101/UPDATES/110102001
Rain of Red-Winged Blackbirds
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“Arkansas Game and Fish Press Release:BEEBE, Ark.– Friday night, ringing in the New Year took on a whole different meaning for the citizens of Beebe. Around 11:30 p.m., enforcement officers with Arkansas Game and Fish Commission began getting reports of dead black birds falling from the sky in the city limits of Beebe.
Officers estimated that over 1,000 birds had fallen out of the sky over the city before midnight. Most of the birds were dead, but some were still alive when officers arrived. The blackbirds fell over a one-mile area in the city. AGFC wildlife officer Robby King responded to the reports and found hundreds of birds. “Shortly after I arrived there were still birds falling from the sky,” King said. King collected about 65 dead birds that will be sent to the Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission lab and the National Wildlife Health Center lab in Madison, Wis.
The AGFC has flown over the area to gauge the scope of the event. There were no other birds found outside of the initial area.
AGFC ornithologist Karen Rowe said that strange events similar to this one have occurred a number of times across the globe. “Test results usually were inconclusive, but the birds showed physical trauma and that the flock could have been hit by lightning or high-altitude hail,” Rowe said. ”
Update: Thousands of birds fall from the sky in Beebe – todaysthv.com | KTHV | Little Rock, AR
Curious? Real life mysterious?
Source: http://www.usmessageboard.com/science-and-technology/148724-rain-of-red-winged-blackbirds.htmlMidwest storms leave 6 dead, cause widespread damage
MixxFacebookTwitterDiggdeliciousredditMySpaceStumbleUponLinkedInDecember 31, 2010|By David Ariosto, CNN
The tornado that hit northwestern Arkansas on Friday caused extensive damage in Tontitown.
A line of fast-moving storms and possible tornadoes stretching from the Gulf Coast states to Illinois left at least six people dead Friday and caused widespread damage to homes and businesses, as forecasters warned of more potentially severe weather.
Three people died in the small northwestern Arkansas town of Cincinnati, which reported power outages after the strong storm went through, said Ann Upton, Washington County’s emergency management deputy.
Two additional fatalities occurred in Dent County, Missouri, according to Salem police spokeswoman Wanda Suhr.
Dec. 31, 2010
Deadly Tornado Slams Ark., Mo.; 6 Dead
Storm Rips Through Three States, Killing 3 in Arkansas, and 3 in Missouri; Injures Many MoreCBS News RAW: Emergency response officials in Arkansas have confirmed at least three people are dead after a tornado blew through the tiny town of Cincinnati (no audio).
Margie Sizemore cleans up in the after a tornado destroyed several homes in the small town of Cincinnati, Ark., in western Washington County early in the morning on Friday, Dec. 31, 2010. (AP Photo)
(CBS/AP) CINCINNATI, Arkansas – Tornadoes fueled by unusually warm air pummeled the South and Midwest on Friday, killing at least six people and injuring dozens more across Arkansas, Missouri and Illinois. Forecasters said storms could hit along a stretch from near Chicago to New Orleans later in the evening as New Year’s Eve celebrations begin.
Three people died in the northwestern Arkansas hamlet of Cincinnati when a tornado touched down just before sunrise, and three others died when a storm spawned by the same weather system ripped up the Missouri countryside near Rolla. A number of storms were also reported in the St. Louis area.
The people of Cincinnati woke up to warning sirens at 6 a.m., reports CBS News correspondent Don Teague. Just nine minutes later the tornado hit, demolishing the volunteer fire station and trapping emergency equipment.
The Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., said storms later Friday could do more damage from northern Illinois to the Gulf of Mexico as communities prepare to mark the start of the new year. Forecasters posted tornado watches for the region that were set to run until 8 p.m.
“It sucked me out of my house and carried me across the road and dropped me,” Chris Sisemore of Cincinnati told The Associated Press on Friday. “I was Superman for a while. … You’re just free-floating through the air. Trees are knocking you and smacking you down.”
Sisemore said he tried to crawl under his bed and cling to the carpet, fearful a nearby pecan tree would fall into his home. As he nursed cuts, scrapes and bruises to his arms, knees and back, he recalled opening his eyes as he flew because he didn’t believe he’d see 2011.
“I wanted to see the end coming. You’re only going to see it one time and I thought that was it,” he said. “It takes more than a tornado to get me.”
In south-central Missouri, 19-year-old Megan Ross and her 64-year-old grandmother Loretta Anderson died at a Lecoma farm where their family lived among three mobile homes and two frame houses, Dent County Emergency Management Coordinator Brad Nash said.
A mother and an infant in the trailer were able to run to a sturdier home, he said.
“We found debris from one of the trailers a mile away,” Nash said. “One of the frames of the trailer was 15 feet up in a tree. All the frames were all twisted up,” and refrigerator from one of the mobile homes was found 200 yards away, he said.
Another woman was killed north of Rolla, not far from Lecoma, when a tornado destroyed a home, according to emergency managers in Phelps County.
Phelps County Emergency Management Director Sandy North identified that county’s victim as Alice Cox, 69, who was from Belle, Mo., and was in the Rolla area visiting a friend.
In Arkansas, Gerald Wilson, 88, and his wife, Mamie, 78, died in their home and Dick Murray, 78, died after being caught by the storm while milking cows, Washington County Sheriff Tim Helder said.
Sisemore’s mother, Margie Sisemore, said her son thought a tree had come crashing through his window.
“He jumped under his bed, said it grabbed his legs — took him up through the ceiling and he landed over yonder,” she said, gesturing across the street near where the Wilsons died.
At Fort Leonard Wood, a storm damaged 20 homes in a neighborhood that houses officers. The fort directed essential personnel to report for duty and that all nonessential personnel should stay away. Spokesman Jeff S. Maddy said many from the fort were traveling for the holidays.
“The good thing here is if you had to have a storm like this, it couldn’t happen at better time because we have the holiday season and so many people are visiting family and friends away from Fort Leonard Wood.”
In Rolla, Judy Welch, 57, said she called her husband after the storm passed to tell him their home was gone but that she was able to account for their 13 dogs, including nine German shepherds. A number of cats that had scurried away hadn’t returned.
“I kept praying to God. The house shook so bad, the windows were bowing and then going back to normal,” Welch said.
Overnight storms damaged buildings and boat docks around Table Rock Lake in southern Missouri, leaving several boats adrift after wrenching them from their moorings. Several homes and businesses were damaged in the St. Louis County town of Sunset Hills, and a church was damaged in nearby Fenton.
In Illinois, a tornado may have touched down in Petersburg, northwest of Springfield, where about two dozen homes were damaged — some severely — and a woman was injured when her car was struck by a falling tree branch. Her injuries weren’t believed to be life-threatening.
Several flights to and from the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport at Highfill were delayed or canceled Friday morning until crews could clear debris littering the runway.
Winter tornadoes are rare, Teague reports. The region has been bracing for severe weather for much of the week. Gulf moisture riding southerly winds pushed temperatures into the upper 60s and 70s on Thursday — ahead of a cold front expected to drop temperatures into the teens by Saturday morning.
“This storm system has been showing significant signs that it could develop,” said Chris Buonanno, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in North Little Rock who was monitoring the storms as they moved deeper into Arkansas. “Conditions are favorable for seeing a severe outbreak.
“In the winter you don’t always have the instability” that would allow tornadoes to develop, Buonanno said. “This time, we have the instability.”
While the spring brings most of the region’s tornadoes, violent weather at this time of year isn’t unheard of. A February 2008 outbreak killed 31 in Tennessee and 14 in Arkansas, and in January 1999 two separate outbreaks across the South killed 18, including seven in Arkansas.
A year ago, there were no tornado deaths nationwide between Oct. 9, 2009, and March 10, 2010.
Buonanno said there appears to be some association between changes in South Pacific Ocean temperatures and changes in the flow of the jet stream in the central part of the United States, causing an uptick in violent weather.
Friday’s tornado fatalities are the first in the nation since Sept. 16, when a woman hit a falling tree while driving in Queens, N.Y., and a man was killed in his home at Belleville, W.Va. The deaths push this year’s count to 42 nationally, and to 5 in Arkansas. The deaths in Missouri were its first of the year.
Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/12/31/national/main7200679.shtml
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