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FEBRUARY 2008 VOLUME 50 SSTORMTORM DDATAATA NUMBER 2 AND UNUSUAL WEATHER PHENOMENA WITH LATE REPORTS AND CORRECTIONS NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION noaa NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL SATELLITE, DATA AND INFORMATION SERVICE NATIONAL CLIMATIC DATA CENTER, ASHEVILLE, NC Cover: This cover represents a few weather conditions such as snow, hurricanes, tornadoes, heavy rain and flooding that may occur in any given location any month of the year. (Photos courtesy of NCDC) TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Outstanding Storm of the Month …..…………….….........……..…………..…….…..…..... 4 Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena ....…….…....…………...…...........…............ 5 Reference Notes .............……...........................……….........…..….…............................................ 278 STORM DATA (ISSN 0039-1972) National Climatic Data Center Editor: William Angel Assistant Editors: Stuart Hinson and Rhonda Herndon STORM DATA is prepared, and distributed by the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service (NESDIS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena narratives and Hurricane/Tropical Storm summaries are prepared by the National Weather Service. Monthly and annual statistics and summaries of tornado and lightning events re- sulting in deaths, injuries, and damage are compiled by the National Climatic Data Center and the National Weather Service’s (NWS) Storm Prediction Center. STORM DATA contains all confi rmed information on storms available to our staff at the time of publication. Late reports and corrections will be printed in each edition. Except for limited editing to correct grammatical errors, the data in Storm Data are published as received. Note: “None Reported” means that no severe weather occurred and “Not Received” means that no reports were received for this region at the time of printing. Subscription, pricing, and ordering information is available from: NCDC Subscription Services 310 State Route 956 Building 300 Rocket Center, WV 26726 (866) 742-3322 Toll Free The editor of STORM DATA solicit your help in acquiring photographs (prints or slides; black and white, or color), maps, clippings, etc. of signifi cant or severe weather events (past or present) for use in the “Outstanding Storms of the Month’’ section of STORM DATA. We request our subscribers or other interested persons to mail such items to: Storm Data National Climatic Data Center 151 Patton Avenue Asheville, NC 28801 e-mail: [email protected] Any such items received by the editor will be for use in STORM DATA only. Any other use will be with the per- mission of the owner of said items. Materials will be returned if requested. This is an of cial publication of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and is compiled from information received at the National Climatic Data Center Asheville, North Carolina 28801-5001. Thomas R. Karl Director, National Climatic Data Center 2 Febuary 2008 Tornado Map !( !( !(!(!(!( !(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!( !(!( !( !(!(!( !(!( !(!(!(!( !( !(!(!(!(!(!( !( !(!(!( !(!(!( !( !( !( !( 3 !( !( !( !(!(!( !( !(!( !(!(!(!(!( !( !(!( !( !(!(!(!( !( !( !(!(!( !( !(!(!(!( !( !( !( !( !(!(!( !(!(!(!( !(!( !(!(!( !(!( !( !( !( !( !( !( !( !( !( !( !( EF Scale ! EF0 ! EF1 ! EF2 EF Scale EF0 EF1 EF2 EF3 EF4 EF5 Total ! EF3 Number494519530121 ! EF4 ! EF5 OUTSTANDING STORMS OF THE MONTH THERE IS NO “OUTSTANDING STORM OF THE MONTH” FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY 2008. 4 Time Path Path Number of Estimated February 2008 Local/ Length Width Persons Damage Location Date Standard (Miles) (Yards) Killed Injured Property Crops Character of Storm ALABAMA, Central ALZ011>015-017> Autauga - Barbour - Bibb - Blount - Bullock - Calhoun - Chambers - Cherokee - Chilton - Clay - Cleburne 050 - Coosa - Dallas - Elmore - Etowah - Fayette - Greene - Hale - Jefferson - Lamar - Lee - Lowndes - Macon - Marengo - Marion - Montgomery - Perry - Pickens - Pike - Randolph - Russell - Shelby - St. Clair - Sumter - Talladega - Tallapoosa - Tuscaloosa - Walker - Winston 01 0000CST 0 0 0.00K 0.00K Drought 29 0600CST Several storm systems across Central Alabama brought limited improvement to the ongoing drought, that had begun in the Spring of 2007. By the end of February, only about 10 percent of Central Alabama remained in Exceptional (D4) Drought. This area was roughly from the cities of Jasper, Birmingham, Pell City, and Piedmont, northward. Most of the remainder of Central Alabama remained in Moderate (D1) to Extreme (D3) Drought. Soil moistures improved to 30 to as much as 70 percent of normal, and stream flows and reservoir levels improved to near normal seasonal levels by the end of the month. Lamar County Beaverton 06 0204CST 5.69 150 0 0 50.00K 0.00K Tornado (EF1) 0211CST The tornado touched down just southwest of the town of Beaverton, along US-278, and then tracked northeast from there. The metal roof of the Beaverton Post Office was blown off, and City Hall also sustained roof damage. Also in Beaverton, two trains were stranded on the tracks due to a power outage. The conductors were aware of the tornado warnings because they said they heard the tornado sirens about 20 minutes before the storm hit. One of the railroad personnel apparently witnessed the tornado. Elsewhere along the path, several hardwood trees were uprooted and many more softwood trees were snapped off. A few homes suffered significant damage from downed trees, and a few roads were temporarily closed due to the fallen trees. The tornado continued into Marion County. Marion County 2 WNW Guin 06 0211CST 1.61 50 0 0 20.00K 0.00K Tornado (EF0) 0213CST The tornado that touched down in Lamar County moved into southern Marion County, near CR-16 northwest of Guin. It continued to move northeastward for about another mile and a half, and lifted just before it reached US-43 north of Guin. In Marion County, the tornado blew down several trees, at least one of which landed on and destroyed a barn. Pickens County 7 SE Palmetto 06 0242CST 0 0 3.00K 0.00K Thunderstorm Wind (50EG) Trees were blown down near AL-159 and Zion Road, north of Gordo. Fayette County 2 E Newtonville 06 0251CST 6.56 1000 0 0 100.00K 0.00K Tornado (EF2) 7 SSW Berry 0358CST A tornado that would eventually cross 3 county lines first touched down in southeastern Fayette County, about a mile southeast of the Newtonville Community. From there the tornado moved on a northeast path, for about 6.5 miles, before crossing briefly into Tuscaloosa County. In this segment of its path, damage was generally light until the tornado approached the Tuscaloosa County Line, when several mobile homes were hit and badly damaged. The tornado crossed into Tuscaloosa County just south of Fayette CR-68. Tuscaloosa County New Lexington 06 0258CST 5.46 1000 0 0 25.00K 0.00K Tornado (EF1) 4 N Sterling 0304CST The tornado that touched down in southeastern Fayette County entered Tuscaloosa County just west of the New Lexington Community. From there, the tornado continued its northeastward path, staying just inside Tuscaloosa County for about 5.5 miles. The tornado damaged a gas station building in New Lexington, and downed numerous trees. The tornado then moved back into Fayette County near Upper Ridge Road. Lamar County Crews 06 0300CST 0 0 0.00K 0.00K Hail (0.75) Fayette County 3 SSE Berry 06 0304CST 7.65 100 0 0 10.00K 0.00K Tornado (EF0) 2 NE Alta 0312CST The Newtonville tornado moved back into Fayette County, and continued its journey northeastward. In this segment, the tornado moved through a sparsely populated area between the city of Berry and the Boley Springs Community. No significant structures were hit, and only sporadic tree damage was observed. The tornado reached the Walker County line just west of Fayette CR-83. 5 Time Path Path Number of Estimated February 2008 Local/ Length Width Persons Damage Location Date Standard (Miles) (Yards) Killed Injured Property Crops Character of Storm ALABAMA, Central Walker County 2 WSW Carona 06 0312CST 6.52 2000 0 4 200.00K 0.00K Tornado (EF2) 1 NNW Oakman 0319CST The tornado that first touched down in Fayette County, and also moved through a small portion of Tuscaloosa County, moved into southeastern Walker County just southwest of the Corona Community. From there, the tornado traveled northeast for about 6.5 miles, and finally lifted northwest of the town of Oakman. The greatest amount of damage along the entire path of this tornado was experienced on Patton Hill Road, just west of Oakman. Several homes sustained significant damage near Corona, and several mobile homes were damaged or destroyed west of Oakman. There were also 4 minor injuries reported in Walker County. Along the entire path, at least 8 structures were destroyed, most of them mobile homes, and 15 other structures sustained varying degrees of damage. Walker County 1 NNE Jasper 06 0329CST 0 0 25.00K 0.00K Thunderstorm Wind (55EG) A billboard was blown down at AL-118 and Airport Road. Sumter County 1 ENE Cuba 06 0401CST 0 0 5.00K 0.00K Thunderstorm Wind (50EG) Several trees were blown down onto power lines along Pretty Branch Road, in Cuba. Sumter County 4 NE Panola 06 0420CST 0 0 3.00K 0.00K Thunderstorm Wind (50EG) Several trees were blown down along CR-85, about a mile south of the Pickens County line. Coosa County 5 SW Marble Vly 06 0625CST 13.64 2000 0 0 115.00K 0.00K Tornado (EF2) 4 WNW Stewartsville 0640CST The tornado touched down in the Hidden Valley community along Lay Lake, about 2 miles northeast of Lay Dam. It then tracked northeastward, before producing its most significant damage just east of Marble Valley along County Road 56. Four large wooden power poles were snapped off. Two mobile homes were knocked off their foundations and rolled over. Hundreds of hardwood and softwood trees were either snapped off or uprooted along the path. The tornado then continued northeastward, eventually crossing into Talladega County. Talladega County 3 S Gantts Quarry 06 0640CST 2.26 25 0 0 5.00K 0.00K Tornado (EF0) 2 SW Gantt Jct 0645CST The tornado that touched down in Coosa County moved northeastward, and crossed into Talladega County just east of CR-61.