February 6, 2008 by ParsonsWeather.com.

EF4 damage rating at Union University in Jackson Tennessee.

The National Weather Service conducted a ground survey of Madison County…including Union University in Jackson Tennessee…and Carroll County. In addition…the team reviewed aerial survey footage conducted by emergency management officials.

Based on these surveys the National Weather Service concluded there were three tornado segments in Madison County and one segment in Carroll County.

The first segment was EF-3 damage with winds of 160 mph. This tornado was up to 3/4 of a mile wide and 5 miles in length. Numerous homes…a church and an Interstate 40 rest area were damaged. Eight semi tractor trailers were blown off Interstate 40 during the tornado’s passage.

The second segment caused tremendous damage at Union University and buildings near the U.S. Highway 45 bypass. The National Weather Service rated this tornado segment as EF-4 damage with winds of 170 mph. The path was up to 125 yards wide and 11 miles long. In addition…EF-3 damage was noted 5 miles east southeast of Fairview.

A third segment indicated a brief EF-2 tornado touchdown in Spring Creek along Highway 152…approximately 1/4 of a mile west of Highway 70. One home suffered total roof loss and partial failure of the front exterior wall. Three additional homes received extensive roof damage. Large trees were snapped and uprooted. Winds were estimated at 125 miles an hour with a maximum width of 150 yards.

A fourth and final EF-0 tornado touchdown occurred one mile west southwest of Cedar Grove in Carroll County…along roger Frye Road. Trees were downed and snapped in a small wooded area. Maximum winds speed was 65 miles an hour with a width of 25 yards.

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February 6, 2008 by ParsonsWeather.com.

Based on Doppler radar images and damage reports from around middle Tennessee last night, it appears that at least two significant long lived supercell thunderstorms moved across the area. Both of them entered middle Tennessee from the west at about 800 PM and then moved rapidly northeastward. One produced damage in northwestern middle Tennessee, between the towns of Big Sandy and Oakwood. Another traveled from near the town of Clifton, in northwestern Wayne County, all the way to the Kentucky border northeast of Lafayette. Although there are indications that this tornado was not on the ground along its entire path, there are intermittent damage reports extending along the entire 140 mile path of the supercell.

Following are the preliminary damage reports for each supercell track.

Supercell 1 entered extreme northwestern Wayne County at approximately 800 PM and damaged several houses 4 miles east of Clifton. The storm then traveled across southern Perry County, blowing trees down and damaging a home along Hurricane Creek Road, 6 miles southeast of Linden. The tornado moved across extreme northwestern Lewis County, damaging homes and trailers, blowing down trees, barns, and outbuildings, and causing some of the first injuries of the night. The storm raced across southern and eastern Hickman County, producing extensive damage 7 miles south of Centerville in the brushy community. The tornado clipped northwestern Williamson County, hitting the town of Fairview, where damage occurred, along with 13 additional injuries.

The tornado appears to have lifted as it crossed into Davidson County, and there were no further reports of wind damage until it touched back down on the other side of Old Hickory Lake in southern Sumner County. The tornado appears to have increased markedly in intensity. Widespread damage was reported in the town of Castalian Springs, where the first deaths from the tornado occurred. It then moved across extreme northern Trousdale County, killing an elderly couple, and causing damage to a natural gas plant that resulted in a large file, before producing its most widespread devastation in Macon County. As of early this morning, the Tennessee emergency management agency reported that there were 5 deaths in Sumner County, 2 in Trousdale County, and 10 in Macon County.

The 17 fatalities would make last night’s tornado the deadliest single storm to strike middle Tennessee in nearly 75 years, since an F4 tornado hit Overton and Pickett counties on may 10, 1933, claiming 35 lives.

The second supercell produced a tornado in northern Benton County that caused widespread damage between Big Sandy, Faxon, and granny’s branch. One home was completely blown away, with other houses damaged and numerous power lines torn down. Fire and Rescue communications were dealt a harsh blow when the tornado lifted the communications building and slammed it against a water tower, temporarily halting emergency communications into the northern rural parts of Benton County. Other damage occurred between Stewart and McKinnon, in western Houston County, with additional damage reported in western Montgomery County at the town of Oakwood. As of early this morning, no deaths or injuries had been reported as a result of this supercell.

The National Weather Service has sent three survey teams to assess the damage along the first supercell track. One team has been sent to Macon County. A second team will survey the damage in Sumner and Trousdale counties. And the third team will begin in Bellevue and work southward along the remainder of the storm track.

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