Yahoo! aggregates the billions of searches performed across Yahoo! properties to give the pulse on what people are thinking and talking about. Searches represent the people, an instant poll every moment of the day, looking into the fleeting moods and entrenched attitudes of Internet users across the world. Each week Yahoo! Web Life Editor Heather Cabot explores these trends on local and national broadcast. The heartbreaking story in Joplin has been captivating searchers online this week. On a lighter note, news of Kim Kardashian’s 20.5 carat diamond ring caused searches to spike and the rumored romance of the latest American Idols is buzzing.

Tornadoes
The heartbreaking stories of tornadoes ravaging parts of the country are sparking searches online.  Searches for tornadoes are up 440% this week on Yahoo!.  All of us have been riveted by those haunting photos of the mayhem – especially in Joplin, Missouri.  Look-ups for tornado photos jumped 278% this week. Hundreds of locals are uploading their own images of the destruction to our photo sharing site, Flickr. So far there are more than 5,000 images, see some of the images here.  As you can imagine, people are anxious about what’s next as the violent storms continue. We’ve seen lots of queries about “what causes tornadoes” and “how to build tornado shelters.”

Kim Kardashian Engagement
Yahoo! users just can’t get enough of Kim Kardashian’s engagement ring and her fiancée, Kris Humphries.  Fans want to see Kim’s 20.5 carat stunner  and they also want to know more about groom to be. The NBA player is fast becoming a star online thanks to his mega celebrity partner and her family.

Read more celebrity buzz on omg!: http://omg.yahoo.com

-The Search Trends Team, for questions please contact the team at searchtrendsteam@yahoo-inc.com