EF2 tornado, Ware'S Chapel to Whiteville, Arkansas, February 5, 2008

1. EF065 to 85 mph

   Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

2. EF186 to 110 mph

   Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

3. EF2111 to 135 mphthis tornado

   Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

4. EF3136 to 165 mph

   Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

5. EF4166 to 200 mph

   Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

6. EF5over 200 mph

   Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

7. Unrated

   The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

Rating

EF2

Date

February 5, 2008

Touchdown

5:02 PM CST (23:02 UTC)

Lifted

5:16 PM CST (23:16 UTC)

On the ground

14 minutes

Path length

12.5 miles (20.1 km)

Path width

880 yards (805 m)

Deaths

1

Injuries

36

Property damage

$18 million

Counties

Marion and Baxter counties

Touchdown point

36.207, -92.622

Lift-off point

36.319, -92.446

Record number

0802051702-01

Early on the 5th, a strong storm system approached from the Plains. Ahead of the system, breezy southerly winds provided well above normal temperatures and abundant moisture. Warmth and moisture destabilized the atmosphere and fueled developing thunderstorms. A cold front moved across the state causing numerous severe storms and several tornadoes. One of the tornadoes tracked from Yell County to Sharp County, staying on the ground for 121.84 miles. This track length set a record for the longest tornado path ever recorded in Arkansas. The continuous track was confirmed by two National Weather Service meteorologists who flew the track with the Civil Air Patrol. The final track was based on ground surveys, the Civil Air Patrol flight, and an aerial mapping flight performed for the Arkansas Forestry Commission.

A Red Cross survey indicated that 3 houses had major damage, 5 had minor damage, and 5 others were affected. In addition, 3 mobile homes were destroyed, 3 had major damage, and 2 had minor damage. Numerous trees and power lines were blown down as well. The tornado continued into Baxter County, just east-southeast of Cotter.

The tornado moved from Marion County, north-northeast of Rea Valley, into Baxter County, just east-southeast of Cotter. A survey by the Red Cross indicated 21 houses were destroyed, 23 suffered major damage, 35 had minor damage, and 147 others were affected. In addition, 9 mobile homes were destroyed, 12 suffered major damage, 10 had minor damage, and 10 others were affected. One fatality occurred in a mobile home park. Most of the residential structures were in the area around Gassville. A number of businesses in Gassville, along U.S. Highway 62/412, were damaged. Numerous trees, power lines, and power poles were blown down. The tornado dissipated before reaching Mountain Home.

The deaths

1 direct deaths are recorded for this tornado, each with what Storm Data knows of it.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

24 minutes of warning. NWS LZK issued a tornado warning for this county at 22:38 UTC, 24 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 23:30 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 18:39 UTC and running to 02:00 UTC.

Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Moderate Risk, with a 0.15 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 19:40 UTC.

SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.

The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.

Flippin (Awos) (FLP), 6 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

The Springfield radar (KSGF), 133 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 23:00 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track

Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.

The live radar over the trackEvery 2008 tornado in ArkansasEvery tornado in Arkansas since 1950Warnings in force in Arkansas nowThe forecast where you are

61 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

All 62 of them

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.