February 8, 2008 by ParsonsWeather.com.

National Weather Service damage survey findings on tornado damage in Tippah, Alcorn and McNairy counties.

A National Weather Service damage survey team has determined that tornado damage occurred over portions of Tippah and Alcorn counties in north Mississippi and in McNairy County in west Tennessee. The tornado was not continuously on the ground making short touchdowns and retreating back into the air.

In Tippah County…the first tornado touchdown occurred just south of Chalybeate near the intersection of County Road 225 and County Road 222. Many trees were knocked down in the area. One tree knocked down half of a brick chimney on a house located on County Road 222-a. A couple of Mobile homes in the area were also damaged. The tornado was rated an EF-0 in this area with winds speeds estimated to be around 60 mph. The width of the tornado was estimated to be around 50 yards.

In Alcorn County…the tornado touched down again in the community of Union Center which is about one mile west of the town of Theo. At least one Mobile home was destroyed and several other nearby Mobile homes were also damaged. Numerous trees were knocked down in the vicinity. The tornado was rated an EF-1 in the this area with wind speeds estimated to be around 90 mph. The width of the tornado was estimated to be around 100 yards.

In McNairy County…the tornado touched down near Highway 57 just east of Ramer. Several large trees were knocked down in the area. The tornado touched down again in the town of Eastview. One business was destroyed and a second business was damaged along U.S. Highway 45. The tornado continued northeast and traveled through a forested area where numerous trees were blown down. The tornado continued across Highway 142. Two homes received roof damaged and one Mobile home was destroyed in the area. The tornado was rated an EF-1 with winds speeds estimated to be around 105 mph. The width of the tornado was estimated to be around 150 yards.

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February 8, 2008 by ParsonsWeather.com.

Here are the results of surveys by the National Weather Service of tornadoes spawned by the supercell storm that moved across Tennessee the evening of Feb 5th.

After surveying damage from Tuesday night’s tornadoes that struck middle Tennessee, it has been determined that four individual tornadoes occurred along a path extending from Clifton to northeast of Lafayette.

The first tornado touched down over northeast Hardin County, moved near Clifton, and lifted near Flatwoods in northern Wayne County.

A second tornado touched down in extreme southeast Perry County, a few miles northeast of the end of the previous tornado track. This tornado remained on the ground as the storm moved across northwest Lewis County, and into Hickman County. The tornado struck the brushy community, then turned toward the left just east of Centerville before dissipating.

The first two tornadoes have been rated as either EF-0 or EF-1.

A third tornado touched down near the end of the previous tornado track east of Centerville, and passed through Fairview, in northwest Williamson County, before lifting near the Davidson County line. This tornado has been rated as either EF-1 or EF-2.

The supercell thunderstorm continued to move northeastward, across Nashville, before spawning a fourth tornado, which dropped down on the south side of Gallatin, near the Cumberland River. This tornado moved through Castalian Springs, extreme northern Trousdale County, across Macon County, striking the northwest side of Lafayette, before moving into Kentucky, where it finally lifted northeast of Tompkinsville. The path length of this tornado was approximately 51 miles.

A total of 24 fatalities have so far been attributed to this tornado: 7 in Sumner County, 3 in Trousdale County, and 14 in Macon County.

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February 7, 2008 by ParsonsWeather.com.

The initial tornado touchdown occurred west of the Tennessee River near the intersection of Coffee Landing Road and towboat Lane about 740 PM CST. The tornado then quickly raced northeast causing extensive damage to homes and trees just east of the Tennessee River near the Oak Grove and swift communities. Nearly 35 to 50 homes were damaged or destroyed along this path.

Three deaths occurred in Mobile homes once the tornado reached near the swift community.

The tornado continued moving northeast before lifting near the intersection of Highway 114 and 128 around 757 PM CST.

The path length of this tornado was 15 miles. The maximum width was one half mile. The highest estimated winds were around 170 mph.

A Tornado Warning was in effect from 655 to 730 PM CST and 725 to 800 PM CST for Hardin County. A Tornado Watch was in effect as well.

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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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