National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office

February 28th, 2011 Storm Surveys 

Madison County Tornado Survey 

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
451 PM CST TUE MAR 1 2011

...PRELIMINARY STORM SURVEY INFORMATION FROM LINCOLN AND MADISON
COUNTIES...

A PRELIMINARY STORM SURVEY OF THE DAMAGE INCURRED ACROSS LINCOLN
AND MADISON COUNTIES HAS BEEN COMPLETED BY NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE PERSONNEL. INITIAL FINDINGS ARE AS FOLLOWS:

* EVENT TYPE: TORNADO AND STRAIGHT LINE WINDS
* EVENT DATE: 02/28/11
* EVENT TIME: 12:18 TO 12:25 PM /ESTIMATED/

* ESTIMATED PEAK WIND: 95 MPH
* PRELIMINARY TORNADO RATING: EF-1

* PATH LENGTH: 4.2 MILES
* MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH: 200 YARDS

* SUMMARY: THE TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN BETWEEN GREENVILLE PIKE AND
  EVERETT JONES ROAD...IMMEDIATELY SOUTH OF BORDERLINE ROAD AND THE
  ALABAMA TENNESSEE STATE LINE. AS THE TORNADO TRACKED EASTWARD...IT
  DEMOLISHED A WELL BUILT SHED...SIGNIFICANTLY DAMAGED SEVERAL
  BARNS...AND SNAPPED AND UPROOTED NUMEROUS TREES. THE WORST DAMAGE
  OCCURRED FROM BH REEVES ROAD EASTWARD TO VANNTOWN SCHOOL
  ROAD...WHERE MULTIPLE SHEDS WERE DEMOLISHED OR HAD ROOFS
  REMOVED...NUMEROUS TREES WERE SNAPPED AND UPROOTED...AND A MOBILE
  HOME HAD ITS ROOF PEELED OFF. THE TORNADO LIFTED JUST WEST OF
  SCHOOL HOUSE ROAD.

  THERE WAS A BROAD AREA OF DAMAGE JUST SOUTH OF THE TORNADO TRACK.
  IN MULTIPLE AREAS ALONG NORTH-SOUTH ROADS SUCH AS ST CLAIR ROAD AND
  EVERETT JONES ROAD...TREES WERE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED...AND BARNS AND
  SHEDS SUFFERED ROOF DAMAGE. SINCE NEARLY ALL OF THIS DAMAGE
  CONSISTENTLY FACED FROM WEST TO EAST...THIS DAMAGE WAS DETERMINED
  TO OCCUR WITH STRAIGHT LINE WINDS. DUE TO ITS LOCATION...THIS WAS
  LIKELY ASSOCIATED WITH THE STORM`S REAR FLANK DOWNDRAFT.

  FINALLY...AS THE TORNADO LIFTED...SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE OCCURRED TO
  TREES AND STRUCTURES ALONG SCHOOL HOUSE ROAD IMMEDIATELY SOUTH OF
  THE STATE LINE. ALL OF THIS DAMAGE FACED WEST TO EAST...AGAIN
  SUGGESTING STRAIGHT LINE WINDS...LIKELY OCCURRING AS THE TORNADO
  DISSIPATED.

THESE FINDINGS ARE PRELIMINARY AND ARE SUBJECT TO ADJUSTMENT.
PICTURES AND SUMMARY MATERIALS WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ON OUR WEB PAGE
AT WEATHER.GOV/HUNTSVILLE /ALL LOWER CASE/.

SURVEYED BY: CARCIONE/LACORTE

Moore and Franklin County Tornado Survey 

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
403 PM CST TUE MAR 1 2011

...PRELIMINARY STORM SURVEY INFORMATION FROM FRANKLIN TN AND
MOORE COUNTIES...

A PRELIMINARY STORM SURVEY OF THE DAMAGE INCURRED ACROSS FRANKLIN
AND MOORE COUNTIES IN TENNESSEE HAS BEEN COMPLETED BY NATIONAL
WEATHER SERVICE AND LOCAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL. INITIAL
FINDINGS ARE AS FOLLOWS:

* EVENT TYPE: TORNADO
* EVENT DATE: 02/28/11

* ESTIMATED PEAK WIND: 125.0 MPH
* PRELIMINARY RATING: EF-2

* PATH LENGTH: 11 MILES
* MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH: 600 YARDS

* FATALITIES: 1
* INJURIES: 4
* SUMMARY: EARLY MONDAY AFTERNOON A TORNADO TRACKED ACROSS PORTIONS
  OF MOORE AND NORTHERN FRANKLIN COUNTY. THE TORNADO FIRST TOUCHED
  DOWN AS A WEAK EF-0 ALONG PORTIONS OF TANYARD HILL ROAD SOUTHEAST
  OF DOWNTOWN LYNCHBURG WHERE A FEW TREES WERE DOWNED. ADDITIONAL
  TREES WERE DOWNED ALONG BAKERTOWN ROAD. THE TORNADO BEGAN TO
  STRENGTHEN AS IT MOVED INTO EASTERN MOORE COUNTY. HOMES AND
  STRUCTURES WERE DAMAGED ALONG RIDGEVILLE ROAD...TURKEY CREEK
  LOOP...AND HURRICANE CREEK ROAD. ONE HOME SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL
  ROOF DAMAGE ALONG WITH PARTIAL WALL COLLAPSE. ADDITIONAL HOMES HAD
  MINOR ROOD DAMAGE. LARGE SWATHS OF TREES WERE ALSO SNAPPED AND
  UPROOTED IN THIS AREA. DAMAGE IN THIS AREA WAS CONSISTENT WITH A
  LOWER END EF-2 TORNADO.

  THE TORNADO CONTINUED TO STRENGTHEN AND WIDEN AS IT CROSSED INTO
  FRANKLIN COUNTY. WIDESPREAD MODERATE DAMAGE WAS NOTED ALONG A PATH
  FROM AWALT ROAD THROUGH OLD TULLAHOMA ROAD THROUGH BLUE CREEK ROAD
  AND ROCK CREEK ROAD. IN THESE AREAS OVER 20% OF THE HOMES SUSTAINED
  SIGNIFICANT ROOF DAMAMGE AS THE PATH WIDTH INCREASED TO NEARLY 600
  YARDS. SEVERAL MOBILE HOMES WERE DESTROYED WITH ONE COMPLETELY
  OBLITERATED. THE VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT SUSTAINED SIGNIFICANT
  ROOF DAMAGE. AT LEAST 12 LARGE POWER POLES WERE SNAPPED AND
  THOUSANDS OF TREES WERE UPROOTED OR SNAPPED ACROSS THE COUNTY. THE
  TORNADO WAS LIKELY AT ITS STRONGEST INTENSITY IN THIS PORTION OF
  THE COUNTY WITH A MAXIMUM ESTIMATED INTENSITY OF 125 MPH OR EF-2 ON
  THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE.

  THE TORNADO CONTINUED TO TRACK EAST CROSSING THE TULLAHOMA
  HIGHWAY. JUST EAST ALONG THE UT FARM ROAD TWO MOBILE HOMES WERE
  DESTROYED. HERE A 79 YEAR OLD MALE WAS KILLED WHEN THE MOBILE HOME
  WAS PICKED UP AND BLOWN APPROXIMATELY 70 YARDS BEFORE BEING
  ROLLED. THREE ADDITIONAL INJURIES OCCURRED IN THIS AREA TWO OF
  WHICH WERE SIGNIFICANT. DAMAGE HERE WAS CONSISTENT WITH THE LOWER
  END OF AN EF-2 AROUND 115 MPH. AN ADDITIONAL INJURY WAS REPORTED
  ELSEWHERE IN THE COUNTY. THE TORNADO NARROWED IN WIDTH AS IT
  TRACKED EAST CROSSING SPRING CREEK ROAD WITH ADDITIONAL DAMAGE
  ALONG RESERVOIR ROAD. THE TORNADO FINALLY LIFTED ALONG ELK RIVER
  DAM ROAD ON THE WEST SIDE OF WOODS RESERVOIR.

  BASED ON RADAR DATA AND GROUND TRUTH INFORMATION...THE TORNADO
  FIRST TOUCHED DOWN AROUND 12:18 PM CST IN MOORE COUNTY AND REACHED
  MAXIMUM INTENSITY SHORTLY AFTER 12:22 PM IN FRANKLIN COUNTY. THE
  FATALITY OCCURRED AROUND 12:28 PM ON UT FARM ROAD. THE INITIAL
  TORNADO WARNING WAS ISSUED FOR MOORE AND NORTHERN FRANKLIN AT 12:12
  PM CST. TORNADO EMERGENCY WORDING WAS INCLUDED FOR THE IMPACTED
  AREA AT 12:25 PM CST.

  THESE FINDINGS ARE PRELIMINARY AND ARE SUBJECT TO ADJUSTMENT.
  PICTURES AND SUMMARY MATERIALS WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ON OUR WEB
  PAGE AT WEATHER.GOV/HUNTSVILLE /ALL LOWER CASE/.

SURVEYED BY: LEE/BOYD/AMIN/BURGETT/DARDEN