Super Tuesday tornado outbreak of February 5-6, 2008
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Super Tuesday tornado outbreak of February 5-6, 2008
Filetype[PDF-1.27 MB]


Details:
  • Corporate Authors:
    United States, National Weather Service,
  • Description:
    "During a 12-hour period in the evening and early morning of February 5-6, 2008, 87 tornadoes occurred in nine states with 57 fatalities in four states. This is the second largest February tornado outbreak since 1950 (beginning year of official tornado database) in terms of fatalities and the largest since May 31, 1985. Fatalities occurred in Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Alabama. There were five violent Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale 4 tornadoes reported; two each in Tennessee and Alabama, and one in Arkansas. The EF4 tornado in Arkansas had a remarkable 122-mile continuous damage path; this was the longest path length of a tornado in the state since at least 1950. A deadly EF3 tornado that touched down northeast of Nashville, Tennessee, carved a 51- mile path of destruction claiming 22 lives. This was the deadliest tornado in the United States since a tornado in Evansville, Indiana, November 2005 killed 25 people. Due to the magnitude of this event, a service assessment team was formed to evaluate the warning and forecast services provided to key decision makers and the public. In keeping with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) goals of developing hazardresilient communities, the team was also tasked with trying to identify possible reasons for the large loss of life during this event. The facts, findings, recommendations, and best practices from this assessment are offered with the goals of 1) improving the quality of warning and forecast products and services; and 2) enhancing the ability of the National Weather Service (NWS) to increase public education and awareness regarding issues associated with tornado safety. The ultimate goal is to help meet the NWS mission of protecting lives and property and enhancing the national economy"--Preface.
  • Keywords:
  • Document Type:
    Service Assessment
  • Place as Subject:
    Southern States
  • Collection(s):
    National Weather Service (NWS)
  • Main Document Checksum:
  • File Type:
  • Supporting Files:
    No Additional Files
    1. Filetype[PDF - 1.28 MB]
      Corporate Authors:
      United States, National Weather Service,
      Published Date:
      2012
      Series:
      Service assessment
      Description:
      "Large scale weather patterns allowed tropical moisture from the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee and the Atlantic Ocean to stream northward across the Mid-Atlantic Region, September 6-9, 2011. This pattern allowed continuous rain, very heavy at times,...
      File Type:
      Filetype[PDF - 1.28 MB]
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      Corporate Authors:
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      Published Date:
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      Service assessment
      Description:
      "Super Typhoon Pongsona (Pong-sahn-WAH) was one of the most intense typhoons to ever strike the island of Guam. It was comparable to Super Typhoon Paka (1997) and was exceeded only by Karen (1962) and the Typhoon of 1900. Due to the magnitude of this...
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    3. Filetype[PDF - 656.07 KB]
      Corporate Authors:
      United States, National Weather Service,
      Published Date:
      1998
      Series:
      Service assessment
      Description:
      "The devastating tornadoes that struck central Florida the night of February 22-23, 1998, resulted in a decision by the National Weather Service (NWS) to conduct a Service Assessment. Service Assessments and their subsequent reports are used by the N...
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      Corporate Authors:
      United States, National Weather Service,
      Published Date:
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      Description:
      "A magnitude 8.0 earthquake occurred on September 29, 2009, 120 miles southwest of American Samoa. This major earthquake generated a tsunami that took many lives and caused significant destruction to neighboring islands in the Pacific Ocean. With onl...
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    5. Filetype[PDF - 4.32 MB]
      Corporate Authors:
      United States, National Weather Service,
      Published Date:
      2011
      Series:
      Service assessment
      Description:
      "On April 27, 2011, a series of devastating tornadoes struck the southeastern United States. This tornado event was one of the deadliest in the country since systematic tornado record keeping began in 1950. With 316 fatalities (31 in Mississippi, 234...
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    6. Filetype[PDF - 3.17 MB]
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      Published Date:
      2004
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      Description:
      "The October-November 2003 solar storms rank as one of the largest outbreaks of solar activity in recent history. The global effects were wide-ranging, impacting power grids, airline flights, spacecraft operations, and much more. Media interest and p...
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    7. Filetype[PDF - 966.31 KB]
      Corporate Authors:
      United States, National Weather Service,
      Published Date:
      1997
      Series:
      Service assessment
      Description:
      "Fran was a category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale when it made landfall on the North Carolina coast near Cape Fear on September 5, 1996. Besides sustained winds of 115 miles per hour (mph), the storm surge and high water marks to...
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    8. Filetype[PDF - 2.00 MB]
      Corporate Authors:
      United States, National Weather Service., Central Region,
      Published Date:
      2011
      Series:
      Service assessment
      Description:
      "On May 22, 2011, one of the deadliest tornadoes in United States history struck Joplin, Missouri, directly killing 158 people and injuring over 1,000. The tornado, rated EF-5 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, with maximum winds over 200 mph, affected a ...
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    9. Filetype[PDF - 2.07 MB]
      Corporate Authors:
      United States, National Weather Service,
      Published Date:
      2008
      Series:
      Service assessment
      Description:
      "From December 1 through December 3, 2007, three potent storm systems moved onshore along the Washington and Oregon coasts. These storms brought snow, hurricane force winds, coastal flooding, heavy rain and avalanches. Heavy rain and rapidly melting ...
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    10. Filetype[PDF - 1.19 MB]
      Corporate Authors:
      United States, National Weather Service., Central Region,
      Published Date:
      2006
      Series:
      Service assessment
      Description:
      "During the late evening of September 16, 2006, a tornado developed near Rogers, Minnesota. The tornado had an eight-mile long damage path across Hennepin and Anoka counties in eastern Minnesota. The Rogers tornado was rated F2 on the Fujita Scale (F...
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      Filetype[PDF - 1.19 MB]
    11. Filetype[PDF - 5.28 MB]
      Corporate Authors:
      United States, National Weather Service,
      Published Date:
      2010
      Series:
      Service assessment
      Description:
      "Copious moisture drawn into the southeastern United States from the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico produced showers and thunderstorms from Friday, September 18, through Monday, September 21, 2009. Rainfall amounts across the region totaled 5-7 inches, ...
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    12. Filetype[PDF - 2.40 MB]
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      Published Date:
      2001
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      Service assessment
      Description:
      "Federal and state land management organizations recognized the wildfires of 2000 as historic in both extent and duration. Due to the impact of these wildfires, a Service Assessment Team examined the warning and forecast services provided by the Nati...
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    13. Filetype[PDF - 4.83 MB]
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      Published Date:
      1999
      Series:
      Service assessment
      Description:
      "On May 3, 1999, one of the largest tornado outbreaks in history struck west-central Oklahoma and southern Kansas, killing48 people, leaving thousands homeless and resulting in over $1 billion in property damage. Due to the magnitude of this event, t...
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    14. Filetype[PDF - 3.73 MB]
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      Published Date:
      2003
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      Service assessment
      Description:
      "During the Veterans Day weekend of November 9-11, 2002, tornadoes struck 17 states from the Mississippi Valley to the Atlantic Coast and from the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes. From Saturday afternoon, November 9, to the early morning hours of Monda...
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    15. Filetype[PDF - 5.38 MB]
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      United States, National Weather Service.. United States, National Weather Service,.
      Published Date:
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      Service assessment
      Description:
      "Hurrican Floyd impacted the U.S. East Coast from September 14 to 17, 1999. Torrential rains caused major river and flash flooding from the Carolinas to New England. In some areas, particularly North Carolina, the magnitude of the flooding was unprec...
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      Published Date:
      2014
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      Description:
      "Copious amounts of tropical moisture flowed northward from the Pacific Ocean and Gulf of Mexico into eastern Colorado on September 9-16, 2013. The combination of a slow moving upper-level system over the Great Basin region, favorable upslope easterl...
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    17. Filetype[PDF - 496.21 KB]
      Corporate Authors:
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      Published Date:
      1998
      Series:
      Service assessment
      Description:
      "A NWS evaluation team was sent to the Ohio River Valley following severe weather events in early March of 1997 that produced extensive flash flooding and record river flooding across the region. The team focused on the hardest hit areas in the Ohio ...
      File Type:
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    18. Filetype[PDF - 2.72 MB]
      Personal Author:
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      Corporate Authors:
      United States, National Weather Service,
      Published Date:
      2015
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      Description:
      "NOAA commissioned this assessment of its services for decision makers impacted by the historic California drought that began in late 2011 and was exacerbated in 2014. This assessment focuses on (1) documenting impacts highlighted by decision makers ...
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    19. Filetype[PDF - 2.82 MB]
      Corporate Authors:
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      Published Date:
      2013
      Series:
      Service assessment
      Description:
      "On October 22-29, 2012, Hurricane/Post-Tropical Cyclone Sandy moved from the Caribbean to the U.S. Eastern Seaboard, ultimately making landfall near Brigantine, NJ, around 7:30 p.m. on October 29. The storm resulted in an enormous impact to life and...
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    20. Filetype[PDF - 1.21 MB]
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      Published Date:
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