WHEN a coelacanth, a type of lobe-finned fish once considered the missing link between fishand amphibians, was found off the coast of South Africa in 1938, it came as a shock topalaeontologists. Until then, the most recent traces of such a creature had been in rocksdating from the last days of the dinosaurs, 65m years ago. It was, in its way, as surprising asif a live Tyrannosaurus had been found hiding in an obscure part of Montana. Now the sameexperience is hitting palaeontologists again—but this time in reverse. Instead of finding a“living fossil” identical to an ancient beast, they have found a real fossil identical to a modernone.The fossil in…

By John D. Cox | Tue Apr 27, 2010 12:11 AM ET It may come as little surprise and no comfort to survivors of the weekend tragedy in Mississippi, but recent research confirms that they are living in the most dangerous region in the most dangerous tornado country in the world. “Tornado Alley” is an unofficial term traditionally used to describe a vaguely outlined swath of countryside from the deep south, through the southern plains and into the upper Midwest, but the label really doesn’t tell you very much. New research on display recently at the annual meeting of the American Association of Geographers in Washington, DC adds new levels of detail…

April 16, 2011 Storm Kills at Least 35 in 6 States By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A furious storm system that kicked up tornadoes, flash floods and hail as big as softballs has claimed at least 35 lives on a rampage that began in Oklahoma days ago, then smashed across several Southern states as it reached a new and deadly pitch in North Carolina and Virginia. Emergency crews searched for victims in hard-hit swaths of North Carolina, where 62 tornadoes were reported from the worst spring storm in two decades to hit the state. Ten people were confirmed dead in Bertie County, county manager Zee Lamb said.…

Wars and Battles, April 14-19, 1961 The Bay of Pigs invasion was intended to provoke popularity for an uprising against Fidel Castro, who had overthrown American-backed dictatorFulgencio Batista. Instead, it gave Castro a military victory and a permanent symbol of Cuban resistance to American aggression. The Bay of Pigs was not originally John F. Kennedy‘s idea. As the communist nature of Fidel Castro‘s regime became apparent, the urge to topple his government grew. Dwight D. Eisenhower‘s administration planned the invasion, which would be handled by the CIA. By the time of Kennedy’s inauguration, the order to invade was the only remaining piece of the plan to put into place. Planning for the invasion began in…

Ripper Letters During the Autumn of Terror hundreds of letters were sent to the police and local press purporting to be written by the Whitechapel fiend. Most of them were deemed to be fakes written by either newspaper men trying to start a story or fools trying to incite more terror. Many Ripperologists believe them all to be hoaxes. Other experts believe some (specifically the Dear Boss letter, Saucy Jacky postcard, and From Hell letter) are genuine. A select few have been reproduced below. ‘Dear Boss’ letter Received on September 27th, 1888 at the Central News Agency, this letter was originally believed to be just another hoax. Three days later,…

Where is Tornado Alley? Map Images included By Tim Baker Some consider tornado alley as the area where only the most intense killer tornadoes are likely to occur, looking where F4 and F5 tornadoes have struck in history multiple times. Others draw tornado alley only where tornado frequency is the highest, looking at areas that have recorded multiple tornado touchdowns consistently year after year. Some years certain states seem to get enough tornadoes to qualify as part of tornado alley but, when looking at tornadoes over many years in that state you see that it was just an unusual period for them. With many areas experiencing warmer than normal temperatures,…

    Image ID: wea00237, Historic NWS Collection Location: Missouri, Illinois, Indiana Photo Date: 1925 March 18 Above photo Courtesy NOAA Department of Commerce Map showing weather situation and storm track of Tri-State Tornado. Black line is tornado track. The Tri-State Tornado was the longest-lived and had the longest path of any recorded tornado. It traveled over 300 miles from SE Missouri to Indiana and killed over 600.   Above photo illustrates the awesome power of a tornado demonstrated by slaming this 33rpm plastic record into a telephone pole. Historic NWS Collection Courtesy NOAA/Department of Commerce Aggregate hailstone. Large hailstone with smaller stones visible. Ruler shows radius of this remarkable…

The Tri-State Tornado Desoto, Illinois after the Tri-State Tornado Yahoo News COUNTIES: REYNOLDS / IRON / MADISON / BOLLINGER / CAPE GIRARDEAU / PERRY, MO / JACKSON / WILLIAMSON / FRANKLIN / HAMILTON / WHITE, IL / POSEY / GIBSON / PIKE, IN– At About 1:01 PM on March 18, 1925, trees began to snap north-northwest of Ellington, Missouri, and for the next three and a half hours more people would die, more schools would be destroyed, more students and farm owners would be killed, and more deaths would occur in a single city than from any other tornado in U.S. history. Records would be set for speed, path length,…