Massive Storm Heads East,Wind Shapes Valero Texas Open

A vast storm ravaged the lower 48 the past few days from north to south,killing 10 in Arkansas,Oklahoma and Alabama with tornadoes.In the Northern Plains,it brought blizzard conditions,but by the time it hits the Mid-Atlantic Saturday,it will simply be a rainy,windy day.
At the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio,the wind gusted to 25 mph,keeping scores high.There were only a handful of birdies on Friday as the stiff breeze twisted judgement.Seven players were tied for first at the end of the 2nd round at three under par,all Americans except for Australian Geoff Ogilve,who has seven career victories.
The stock market was less stormy,with modest losses caused by earnings disappointments from the likes of Google,Bank of America and Alcoa.For the week,the Dow lost 0.31,while the S&P dropped 0.64 and the NASDAQ slipped 0.25.Next week will be dominated by a cascade of earnings reports,with one fifth of the S&P 500 reporting.Sharing their Q1 results will be Citigroup,IBM,Intel,General Electric and McDonald's,among others.
The S&P futures were up strongly Friday evening,rising 8.50 on good consumer confidence and industrial production news.
Google(GOOG),Citigroup(C),International Business Machines(IBM),Intel(INTC),General Electric(GE),McDonald's(MCD)
Update:There have been nearly 100 reports of tornadoes in Oklahoma alone,and 120 in Alabama.The death toll form the wild weather has risen to at least 17.The chance of tornadic conditions is reportedly about 40% for Virginia on Saturday,and about 70% for North Carolina.
April reports of severe weather have been nearly double the average number this year.
In the Northern Plains,12" of snow has fallen.The severe weather threat may extend as far north as Washington,D.C.,and flooding may occur farther north than that.On the back side of the storm,wind speeds of up to 60 mph could be reached.
Update 2:By late Saturday,many areas were quieting down as the great spring storm pulled northwards.Tornado watches had been posted earlier as far north as Adams and York Counties in Pennsylvania,and there were at least 30 high water rescues,as well as flooded basements,from Mechanicsburg to Harrisburg in the Keystone State.In many cases,motorists ignored high water signs and drove right into the potentially deadly ponding,necessitating rescues by firefighters.
Scores improved at the Valero Texas Open on Saturday as the wind died down in the Texas hill country,with American Brendan Steele topping the field with a 3rd round seven under par 68.Defending champion Adam Scott of Australia was tied for 5th with two other Americans,having shot a four under par 70.