MARCH 1997 VOLUME 39 NUMBER 3 SSTTOORRMM DDAATTAA AND UNUSUAL WEATHER PHENOMENA WITH LATE REPORTS AND CORRECTIONS NATIONAL OCEANIC AND NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL SATELLITE NATIONAL CLIMATIC DATA CENTER noaa ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION DATA, AND INFORMATION SERVICE ASHEVILLE, N.C. Cover:TheremnantsofabuildingwhichoncestoodinArkadelphia,Arkansas.AnF4tornadomoveddirectlythroughthetownabout2:21PMon March1,1997.ThetornadoesinArkansasleft25peopledeadandinjuredanother400.Morethan13.000structuresweredamagedwithmorethan 1,000destroyed.(PhotocourtesyofTimHogan,Arkadelphia,AR) TABLEOF CONTENTS Page OutstandingStormsoftheMonth.................................................5 StormDataandUnusualWeatherPhenomena..........................................8 Additions/Corrections....................................................... N/A ReferenceNotes.......................................................... 189 STORMDATA (ISSN0039-1972) NationalClimaticDataCenter Editor:StephenDelGreco AssistantEditor:StuartHinson STORMDATAisprepared,funded,anddistributedbytheNationalOceanicandAtmosphericAdministration(NOAA).The OutstandingStormsoftheMonthsectionispreparedbytheDataOperationsBranchoftheNationalClimaticDataCenter. TheStormDataandUnusualWeatherPhenomenanarrativesandHurricane/TropicalStormsummariesarepreparedbytheNational WeatherService.Monthlyandannualstatisticsandsummariesoftornadoandlightningeventsresultingindeaths,injuries,anddamage arecompiledbycooperativeeffortsbetweentheNationalClimaticDataCenterandtheStormPredictionCenter. STORMDATAcontainsallconfirmedinformationonstormsavailabletoourstaffatthetimeofpublication.However,dueto difficultiesinherentinthecollectionofthistypeofdata,itisnotall-inclusive.Latereportsandcorrectionsareprintedineachedition. MapsoftheNationalWeatherServiceCountyWarningAreaswhichareusedintheStormDataandUnusualWeatherPhenomena sectionwillbeprintedinalleditions. Exceptforlimitededitingtocorrectgrammaticalerrors,materialssubmittedaregenerallypublishedasreceived. Subscription,pricing,andorderinginformationisavailablefrom: NationalClimaticDataCenter 151PattonAvenue Asheville,NC28801-5001 (704)271-4800or(704)CLIMATE TheeditorofSTORMDATAsolicitsyourhelpinacquiringphotographs(printsorslides;blackandwhite,orcolor),maps,clippings, etc.ofsignificantorunusualweatherevents(pastorpresent).Thesecouldbeforuseinthe"OutstandingStormsoftheMonth''or"Et Cetera''sectionsofSTORMDATA.Werequestoursubscribersorotherinterestedpersonstomailsuchitemsto: StuartHinson NationalClimaticDataCenter 151PattonAvenue Asheville,NC28801-5001 AnysuchitemsreceivedbytheeditorwillbeforuseinSTORMDATAonly.Anyotherusewillbewiththepermissionoftheowner ofsaiditems.Materialssubmittedwillbereturnedifrequestedintheoriginalsubmission. "Icertifythatthisisanofficialpublicationofthe NationalOceanicandAtmosphericAdministration andiscompiledfrominformationreceivedatthe NationalClimaticDataCenter Asheville,NorthCarolina 28801-2733." KennethD.Davidson ActingDirector, NationalClimaticDataCenter 2 March 1997 Confirmed Tornadoes 4 F Scale F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F Scale F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 Total Num ber 30 25 25 16 7 0 103 OUTSTANDING STORMS OF THE MONTH 1. CENTRAL ARKANSAS DAMAGED BY TORNADOES A severe weather outbreak on March 1 spawned numerous tornadoes in central Arkansas, leaving 25 people dead and another 400 injured. A strong cold front moved southeast from the central plains where it clashed with a warm, moist airmass moving north from the Gulf of Mexico. Surface air temperatures ahead of the front were in the mid 70's while temperatures behind the front were between 30 and 50 degrees. Surface dewpoint temperatures were in the low 70's ahead of the front and in the 40's behind the front. Doppler radar indicated cloud tops as high as 50,000 feet. A tornado warning was issued by the National Weather Service at 1:45 PM LST, 22 minutes before an F4 tornado (wind speed 207 - 260 mph) tornado touched down in Nevada County. This tornado moved into Clark County and continued northeast toward Arkadelphia causing heavy damage and five deaths as it moved through the center of town. Another F4 tornado touched down at 3:25 LST in Saline County and passed just south of Little Rock. The Shannnon Hills and Vimy Ridge sections were heavily damaged with 10 deaths, mostly in mobile homes or prefabricated housing. A total of 13,485 residential and commercial structures were damaged, including much of Arkadelphia. Left: An aerial view of Arkadelphia indicating the extent of damage incurred by the F4 tornado. More than 1,000 homes and businesses were severely damaged or destroyed. (Photo courtesy of the City of Arkadelphia Chamber of Commerce, Arkadelphia, AR) Right: A view of a home in the outskirts of Arkadelphia. This home has only one wall remaining and most of its contents are scattered around the neighborhood. Scenes similar to this were common throughout the Arkadelphia area. (Photo courtesy of Kenny Barnes, Arkadelphia, AR) 5 Right: A carport was blown into this tree behind the City of Arkadelphia Chamber of Commerce Building. It will take months for the city of Arkadelphia to complete its cleanup and rebuilding process. (Photo courtesy of Kenny Barnes, Arkadelphia, AR) Left: President Bill Clinton visited his home state shortly after the tornado destroyed much of Arkadelphia. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) declared many counties in central Arkansas a disaster area. National Guard troops were deployed to provide help in securing the city. (Photo courtesy of Kenny Barnes, Arkadelphia, AR) Right: Many mobile homes and frame houses did not survive the tornadic winds. Large trees were snapped off a few feet from the ground as the tornado moved through Arkadelphia (Photo courtesy of Bob Coats, Arkadelphia, AR) 6 2. SEVERE FLOODING IN NORTHERN KENTUCKY The same storm system that spawned the tornadoes in Arkansas moved into the Ohio valley late on March 1 and caused up to 12 inches of rainfall at some locations in the Ohio Valley. There was severe flash flooding along the Ohio River and many of its tributaries in northern Kentucky and southern Ohio. Some selected rainfall totals (March 1-2) for the area include: Lexington, KY - 7.00", Louisville, KY - 7.41", Williamstown, KY - 12.00”, Belton, KY - 9.25". The severe flooding event caused 30 deaths including 16 in Kentucky, 5 in Ohio, 3 each in west Virginia and Tennessee, 2 in Missouri and 1 in Indiana. Most of these deaths were caused by drivers attempting to drive across a water covered roadway and being drowned when their vehicle was swept downstream by swift moving water. Thousands of homes were evacuated and property damage was significant. Total damage to commercial and private property has been estimated near $1 Billion. Left: This house in Falmouth, KY along the Licking River was pushed from its foundation by the strong force of the moving water. (Photo courtesy of Stephen Wilkinson and Julie Dian, NWS, Wilmington, OH) Right: An aerial photograph of the swollen Ohio River at Richmond, OH. Many towns along the Ohio river and its tributaries were heavily damaged. (Photo courtesy of Stephen Wilkinson and Julie Dian, NWS, Wilmington, OH) Left: Downtown Sheppardsville, KY (Bullitt County) after the Salt River flood waters had partially receded. The water crested at the Gifts sign in the left-center background of the photograph. (Photo courtesy of Michael Koch, Meteorologist, NWS, Louisville, KY) 7 Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena Time Path Path Number of Estimated March 1997 Local/ Length Width Persons Damage Location Date Standard (Miles) (Yards) Killed Injured Property Crops Character of Storm ALABAMA, North Central ALZ002-006-019- Colbert - Madison - Calhoun - Tuscaloosa - Jefferson - Montgomery 023>024-044 01 1200CST 0 0 0 0 Excessive Heat 1800CST Record heat affected much of the northern two-thirds of Alabama. The following record highs were reported: Montgomery 82 Birmingham 82 Anniston 82 Huntsville 80 Muscle Shoals 82 Tuscaloosa 83 Marion County Hamilton 03 0010CST 0 0 5K 0 Thunderstorm Wind (G50) A few trees were reported down just west of Hamilton. Franklin County Hodges 03 0017CST 0 0 3K 0 Hail (0.75) Three-quarter inch hail was reported between Hodges and Vina in western Franklin County. Marion County Winfield 03 0031CST 0 0 3K 0 Hail (0.75) Dime size hail was reported in Winfield in southern Marion County. Franklin County Russellville 03 0039CST 0 0 6K 0 Thunderstorm Wind (G57) A wind gust to 65 mph was reported by storm spotters along with trees down in Russellville. Winston County Haleyville 03 0100CST 0 0 5K 0 Thunderstorm Wind (G50) Trees and power lines were downed in Haleyville. Lawrence County Moulton 03 0132CST 0 0 0 0 Thunderstorm Wind (G52) A wind gust to 60 mph was reported by storm spotters. Colbert County Sheffield 05 1210CST 0 0 10K 0 Thunderstorm Wind (G50) Trees fell on a car in Sheffield, totally destroying the car. Franklin County Phil Campbell 05 1300CST 0 0 5K 0 Thunderstorm Wind (G50) Several large trees were blown down in Phil Campbell in the southeast part of the county. Franklin County Russellville 05 1315CST 0 0 15K 2K Thunderstorm Wind (G52) Several trees were blown onto houses and cars and a garage door was ripped off one house. Roofs were blown off several chicken houses. One chicken house was totally destroyed. Lawrence County Mt Hope 05 1325CST 0 0 3K 0 Thunderstorm Wind (G52) A gust to 60 mph was reported in Mt. Hope in western Lawrence County. Marion County 2 SW Haleyville 05 1325CST 0 0 10K 0 Thunderstorm Wind (G50) The EMA reported roofs were blown off two house and that two