The final week of February and the first couple of days of March brought very destructive and deadly severe weather for many in the east-central United States.
Friday, February 24 brought the first widespread round of severe weather during this period. Significant wind gusts, hail, and tornadoes or funnel clouds were reported in eleven states, primarily in the southeast, and including North Carolina. Expected significant instability combined with extremely fast winds aloft and mild but still strong wind shear prompted the Storm Prediction Center to issue a "moderate risk" of severe weather for most of central and eastern North Carolina, northeastern South Carolina, and southeastern Virginia. This included a 10% chance of tornadoes and a 45% chance of significant (defined as in excess of 75 mph) severe straight-line wind gusts, both within 25 miles of a given point within those areas. However, moisture in the form of moderate to heavy rain moved into most of eastern NC and central/northeastern SC early in the afternoon, significantly hampering instability, and causing the moderate risk area forecast to "bust", or not to verify, as the focus of severe weather was south and west of that area. The following graphic from the SPC explains what I'm referring to very well. As far as I know, no fatalities were reported as a result of the Feb. 24 event. Five tornadoes were confirmed by local National Weather Service offices in South Carolina, Georgia, and Virginia. This was the first SPC moderate risk for NC, SC, and VA since the devastating outbreak that affected the same region on April 16, 2011, which saw a "high risk" from the SPC.
The night of Tuesday, February 28 brought the next significant instance of severe weather. Seven states in the south-central US, from Kansas and Oklahoma eastward to Kentucky, experienced a rash of tornadoes and wind damage, almost entirely overnight. This episode was given a "slight risk" by the SPC, despite the fact that in the end, more damage was done than on February 24. Nine tornadoes were confirmed in parts of Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri. Two people were killed. Extensive damage was reported near Harveyville, KS, and Halfway, MO; the tornadoes that impacted those tornadoes were rated EF2, the strongest of that day.
The outbreak continued into Wednesday, February 29. 28 tornadoes were confirmed across five states on this day, 16 of which were considered significant (rated EF2 or greater on the Enhanced Fujita Scale). 12 people were killed. The strongest individual tornadoes were the following, chronologically. All times CST.
The outbreak continued into Wednesday, February 29. 28 tornadoes were confirmed across five states on this day, 16 of which were considered significant (rated EF2 or greater on the Enhanced Fujita Scale). 12 people were killed. The strongest individual tornadoes were the following, chronologically. All times CST.
- EF2 - Cassville, MO - 12:42 am - 1 fatality
- EF2 - Branson, MO - 1:13 am - 32 injuries and significant damage in and around Branson. Tornado was on ground for about 22 miles.
- EF3 - Asherville, MO - 4:00 am - 1 fatality, over 50 structures damaged, nearly half of those destroyed. On ground for 21 miles.
- EF4 - Harrisburg, IL - 4:51 am - 7 fatalities, approximately 110 injuries. Over 200 homes and 25 businesses destroyed in and near Harrisburg, and an additional 140 homes and businesses destroyed in Ridgeway. This was the strongest tornado so far in 2012.
For the entire Leap Day outbreak, a total of 442 reports of severe weather were received by the Storm Prediction Center. 37 tornadoes were confirmed. 14 people were killed. As bad as the Tuesday-Wednesday outbreak was for the southern plains, an even larger threat of severe weather loomed two days away.
Friday, March 2 brought the worst tornado outbreak to impact the United States since May 25, 2011. The SPC has issued a high risk for most of Kentucky, as well as parts of central Tennessee, as well as southern Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois (which included a 30% chance of significant tornadoes and a 45% chance of significant severe wind gusts); the SPC went on to receive 954 reports of severe weather that day. 61 tornadoes were confirmed by NWS damage surveys. 41 people were killed, primarily in Kentucky, and hundreds were injured. Here are some of the most significant tornadoes from this outbreak:
Early in the morning on Saturday, March 3, as the remnants of the storms that caused mass havoc in the Tennessee and Ohio river valleys during the previous day, one storm began to rotate as it approached the city of Charlotte, N.C. Chief Meteorologist Brad Panovich at WCNC-TV in Charlotte has a great write up about this event on his blog, which you can find here. Thankfully, no fatalities occurred, despite the lack of warning to the public, the timing, and the strength of the tornado. The worst tornado of the day occurred later on, in Lowndes and Lanier counties in southern Georgia, near Moody Air Force Base. This tornado was rated EF3 by an NWS survey team; several homes were destroyed.
This brings this post to a close, my first here since creating this blog nearly 4 months ago. I've let this take a back seat to the other goings-on in my life, but eventually I realized that doing that wasn't doing anything except stopping me from doing something I enjoy. I'll be sure to write a LOT more frequent posts (perhaps two or three per week, maybe more) during the coming weeks. Thanks for reading, and I hope it was worth it for you. I'll also have a post tomorrow about the weather forecasts for this coming week across the state.
Ari Brown
Friday, March 2 brought the worst tornado outbreak to impact the United States since May 25, 2011. The SPC has issued a high risk for most of Kentucky, as well as parts of central Tennessee, as well as southern Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois (which included a 30% chance of significant tornadoes and a 45% chance of significant severe wind gusts); the SPC went on to receive 954 reports of severe weather that day. 61 tornadoes were confirmed by NWS damage surveys. 41 people were killed, primarily in Kentucky, and hundreds were injured. Here are some of the most significant tornadoes from this outbreak:
- An EF3 tornado that impacted areas near Harvest, Alabama, that suffered significant damage from a previous EF5 tornado during the April 27 outbreak in 2011.
- An EF4 tornado that was on the ground for 49 miles from Fredericksburg, Indiana to Bedford, Kentucky, killing 11 and causing significant damage to several towns, including New Pekin, Henryville, and Chelsea, Indiana.
- Another EF4 tornado that tracked for 10 miles, touching down near Crittenden, Kentucky, and killing four.
- An EF3 tornado that was on the ground from near Peach Grove, Kentucky to near Hamersville, Ohio, tracking for about 23 miles, and killing three.
- An EF3 tornado that was on the ground for an astounding 95 miles from near West Liberty, Kentucky into West Virginia, killing 11 and injuring at least 75. West Liberty suffered the most extensive damage from this tornado. This was the first F3 or EF3 (these have different strengths) tornado to impact eastern Kentucky since 1988.
- Another EF3 tornado that tracked for 49 miles from eastern Kentucky into West Virginia, impacting communities such as Salyersville, Kentucky, killing two.
This was an outbreak that not only devastated parts of the east-central U.S., but also helped test the usefulness of new dual-polarization radar technology, which is currently being installed at NEXRAD WSR-88D radar domes operated by the National Weather Service across the country. Dual-pol has become more popular after its development because of how it operates: it scans both vertically and horizontally, to provide more detailed data on what's in a storm -- hail, snow, freezing rain, debris, etc. Here is one screenshot I took of a debris ball with a storm in northern Alabama on March 2.
Early in the morning on Saturday, March 3, as the remnants of the storms that caused mass havoc in the Tennessee and Ohio river valleys during the previous day, one storm began to rotate as it approached the city of Charlotte, N.C. Chief Meteorologist Brad Panovich at WCNC-TV in Charlotte has a great write up about this event on his blog, which you can find here. Thankfully, no fatalities occurred, despite the lack of warning to the public, the timing, and the strength of the tornado. The worst tornado of the day occurred later on, in Lowndes and Lanier counties in southern Georgia, near Moody Air Force Base. This tornado was rated EF3 by an NWS survey team; several homes were destroyed.
This brings this post to a close, my first here since creating this blog nearly 4 months ago. I've let this take a back seat to the other goings-on in my life, but eventually I realized that doing that wasn't doing anything except stopping me from doing something I enjoy. I'll be sure to write a LOT more frequent posts (perhaps two or three per week, maybe more) during the coming weeks. Thanks for reading, and I hope it was worth it for you. I'll also have a post tomorrow about the weather forecasts for this coming week across the state.
Ari Brown
9:00:30 PM EST
Saturday, 10 March 2012
Saturday, 10 March 2012
