Tornadoes · United States · Florida · 2007

EF0 tornado, Indian Ford, Florida, March 1, 2007

Name: EF0 tornado, Indian Ford, Florida, March 1, 2007
Start: 2007-03-01T17:20:00.000Z
End: 2007-03-01T17:22:00.000Z
Location: Indian Ford, Florida

This EF0 tornado ran 0.5 miles across Santa Rosa County on March 1, 2007, touching down at 11:20 AM CST and reaching 30 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $8,000 of property damage.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Enhanced Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

EF065 to 85 mphthis tornado
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
EF2111 to 135 mph
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.
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.
EF4166 to 200 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
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.
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.

The record

Rating: EF0
Date: March 1, 2007
Touchdown: 11:20 AM CST (17:20 UTC)
Lifted: 11:22 AM CST (17:22 UTC)
On the ground: 2 minutes
Path length: 0.5 miles (0.8 km)
Path width: 30 yards (27 m)
Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $8,000
County: Santa Rosa County
Touchdown point: 30.770, -86.940
Lift-off point: 30.770, -86.940
Record number: 0703011120-01

What the Weather Service recorded

Isolated thunderstorms developed ahead of a strong spring cold front.

A park ranger observed a weak tornado briefly touch down in the forest. Several trees and power lines were blown down. The tornado remained over the forest and dissipated shortly after touching down.

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

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the tornado touched down, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Mobile, AL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Mar 1, 4:15 AM CST, 7 hours 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 1, 4:15 AM CST, 7 hours 5 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
415 AM CST THU MAR 1 2007

.SHORT TERM...(TODAY AND TONIGHT). STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS THE
ENTIRE FORECAST AREA...ACTUALLY THE ENTIRE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI AND
ALABAMA...IN A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE STORMS TODAY. A HIGH RISK
NORTH OF A LINE FROM GREENVILLE TO CASTLEBERRY TO TO CENTRAL WAYNE
COUNTY MISSISSIPPI. SUFFICE TO SAY...ALL THE DETAILS CAN BE FOUND ON
THE SPC WEB SITE...SO NO NEED TO REHASH THEM HERE. ROUGHLY...THE
UPPER JET IS FORECAST TO MOVE THROUGH THE SOUTHERN PLAINS AND
NORTHERN GULF STATES TODAY...WITH SURFACE LOW GRADUALLY OCCLUDING AS
IT MOVES THROUGH THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. UNLIKE THE LAST
EVENT...THIS ONE WILL OCCUR DURING PRIME HEATING AND WE EXPECT A
MUCH BETTER CHANCE OF SEVERE STORMS AND POSSIBLE TORNADOES...HENCE
THE MODERATE TO HIGH RISK FROM SPC. SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS
DEVELOPING OVER THE AREA AFTER MIDNIGHT WERE IN ADVANCE OF THE WARM
FRONT AND ARE MOVING INTO DRIER AIR TO THE EAST...FOR THE MOMENT.
CLOUDS BREAK UP OVERNIGHT AS THE FRONT CROSSES LATE THIS AFTERNOON
AND EVENING. ALL INTEREST SHOULD STAY INFORMED TODAY FOR LATER
DEVELOPMENTS...WATCHES AND WARNING. /11

&&

.LONG TERM...BY 12Z FRI MAIN SFC LOW CONTINUES TO OCCLUDE AND LIFT
OUT OVER THE GREAT LAKES REGION WITH THE FIRST OF 2 COLD FRONTS
MOVING SOUTH OVER THE CENTRAL GULF COAST REGION AND ADJACENT GULF
WATERS. THE FIRST COLD FRONT LOOKS TO BE A RATHER SHALLOW LAYER OF
COOL AIR BECOMING MODIFIED QUICKLY AS IT MOVES OFFSHORE OVER THE
OPEN GULF WATERS ON FRI. AS A RESULT AS HIGH PRESSURE GRADUALLY BUILDS
IN FROM THE WEST A WEAK SOUTHWEST FLOW WILL REDEVELOP AT THE SFC FRI
AFTERNOON GENERALLY IN ADVANCE OF THE NEXT SURGE OF COLDER AIR
PROGGED TO MOVE ACROSS THE CWFA EARLY SAT. THIS COLD FRONT WILL BE
JUST AHEAD OF THE MAIN UPPER TROF PROGGED TO MOVE ACROSS THE LOWER
MS RIVER SAT NIGHT. AHEAD OF THE FRONT SCATTERED SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS WILL REDEVELOP SAT AND EARLY SAT NIGHT MOSTLY OVER THE
ADJACENT GULF WATERS EXTENDING EASTWARD WITH MAYBE A FEW ISOLATED
SHOWERS...MOSTLY ELEVATED...FORMING ALONG THE IMMEDIATE COAST DURING
THE DAY ON SAT. BY LATE SAT NIGHT INTO SUN MID TO UPPER TROF AXIS
MOVES EAST OF THE REGION GIVING WAY TO COOLER DRIER WEATHER THROUGH
MON. BY MON NIGHT INTO TUE SFC HIGH PRESSURE BEGINS TO MOVE EAST OF
THE REGION GIVING WAY TO A WEAK ONSHORE FLOW TUE AND TUES NIGHT. BY
EARLY WED ANOTHER DIGGING MID TO UPPER TROF MOVES QUICKLY EASTWARD
OVER THE LOWER MS RIVER VALLEY POSSIBLY RESULTING IN SOME ISOLATED
SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS MOSTLY ALONG THE COAST AND OFFSHORE TUES
NIGHT AND EARLY WED. DRIER AND MORE SEASONABLE CONDITIONS FOLLOW IN
THE WAKE OF THIS SYSTEM FOR LATER IN THE WEEK AS A MORE ZONAL FLOW
DEVELOPS ALOFT. WILL CONTINUE TO USE THE CURRENT MEXMOS FOR TEMPS IN
THE EXTENDED PERIODS. /32

&&

.MARINE...WINDS OVER THE MARINE AREA WILL INCREASE AS THE WARM FRONT
MOVES NORTH AND THE COLD FRONT BEGINS TO APPROACH. EXPECT TO HAVE
SMALL CRAFT CONDITIONS LATE THIS MORNING AND CONTINUE OVER NIGHT.
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE MORE NUMEROUS AND LIKELY STRONGER
NEAR THE COAST THIS AFTERNOON. SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE WILL RIDGE
ACROSS THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK AND CONTINUE THROUGH THE WEEKEND.
/11

&&

.FIRE WEATHER...AFTERNOON RELATIVE HUMIDITIES WILL HAVE TO BE CLOSELY
MONITORED FRI THROUGH MON AS SFC HIGH PRES BUILDS FROM THE WEST.
WITH THIS WILL GO WITH A FIRE WEATHER WATCH FOR FRI AFTERNOON. /32

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
MOBILE      76  49  69  40 /  90  50  10  10
PENSACOLA   71  51  65  44 /  90  70  10  10
DESTIN      69  54  67  48 /  90  70  10  10
EVERGREEN   73  47  70  36 / 100  70  10  10
WAYNESBORO  76  42  69  39 / 100  40  10  10
CAMDEN      76  46  67  36 / 100  60  10  10

&&

.MOB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
AL...NONE.
FL...FIRE WEATHER WATCH FROM 11 AM FRIDAY TO 6 PM FRIDAY FOR
     THE FOLLOWING ZONES: COASTAL ESCAMBIA...COASTAL OKALOOSA...
     COASTAL SANTA ROSA...COASTAL WALTON...INLAND ESCAMBIA...INLAND
     OKALOOSA...AND INLAND SANTA ROSA.
MS...NONE.
GM...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL MIDNIGHT FRIDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING
     ZONES: COASTAL WATERS FROM DESTIN TO PENSACOLA FL OUT 20
     NM...AND COASTAL WATERS FROM PENSACOLA FL TO PASCAGOULA MS
     OUT 20 NM.

     SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 6 AM FRIDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES:
     WATERS FROM DESTIN TO PENSACOLA FL FROM 20 TO 60 NM...AND
     WATERS FROM PENSACOLA FL TO PASCAGOULA MS FROM 20 TO 60 NM.

     SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FROM 9 AM THURSDAY TO MIDNIGHT FRIDAY FOR
     THE FOLLOWING ZONES: AND MOBILE BAY.

&&

Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 1, 7:45 AM CST, 3 hours 35 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
745 AM CST THU MAR 1 2007

ALZ051>064-FLZ001>006-GMZ630-650-655-670-675-MSZ067-075-076-078-079-
021200-
COASTAL WATERS FROM DESTIN TO PENSACOLA FL OUT 20 NM-
WATERS FROM DESTIN TO PENSACOLA FL FROM 20 TO 60 NM-
COASTAL WATERS FROM PENSACOLA FL TO PASCAGOULA MS OUT 20 NM-
WATERS FROM PENSACOLA FL TO PASCAGOULA MS FROM 20 TO 60 NM-
MOBILE BAY-BALDWIN COASTAL-BALDWIN INLAND-BUTLER-CHOCTAW-CLARKE-
CONECUH-COVINGTON-CRENSHAW-ESCAMBIA-ESCAMBIA COASTAL-ESCAMBIA INLAND-
GEORGE-GREENE-MOBILE COASTAL-MOBILE INLAND-MONROE-OKALOOSA COASTAL-
OKALOOSA INLAND-PERRY-SANTA ROSA COASTAL-SANTA ROSA INLAND-STONE-
WASHINGTON-WAYNE-WILCOX-
745 AM CST THU MAR 1 2007

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR INLAND SOUTHEAST
MISSISSIPPI...SOUTHWEST ALABAMA...THE WESTERN FLORIDA
PANHANDLE...AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT...

...HIGH RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TODAY OVER ALL OF SOUTH ALABAMA
AND THE WEST FLORIDA PANHANDLE...

...A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVER
PERRY...STONE...GEORGE AND GREEN COUNTIES OF MISSISSIPPI...

THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION...WITH FAVORABLE
CONDITIONS ALREADY IN PLACE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT AND
ISOLATED...POSSIBLE LONG TRACK TORNADOES TODAY.  THE STORM
PREDICTION CENTER IN NORMAN OKLAHOMA HAS PLACED A HIGH RISK OF
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND ISOLATED TORNAODES OVER ALL OF SOUTH
ALABAMA...THE WEST FLORIDA PANHANDLE AND WAYNE COUNTY MISSISSIPPI.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI
AROUND NOON AND SPREAD EAST THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. DAMAGING
WINDS...LARGE HAIL AND ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE AS THE STORMS
SPREAD EAST.

THUNDERSTORMS ARE OCCURRING THIS MORNING...GENERALLY ALONG AND EAST
OF INTERSTATE 65 AND MOVING EAST. THESE STORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE
THIS MORNING AND MOVE EAST OUT OF THE AREA BEFORE THE AFTERNOON
STORMS ARRIVE.

IT IS ADVISED TO MAKE SURE NOAA WEATHER RADIOS ARE SET TO ALERT YOU
OF IMPENDING SEVERE WEATHER WATCHES AND WARNINGS.  EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT AND SPOTTER NETWORKS SHOULD MAKE PREPARATIONS FOR SEVERE
WEATHER ACTIVATION TODAY.  STAY TUNED FOR UPDATES ON THIS DEVELOPING
DANGEROUS WEATHER SITUATION.

HAZARDOUS BOATING CONDITIONS WILL EXIST THROUGH FRIDAY UNTIL THE
STRONG ONSHORE FLOW AND SEAS SUBSIDE.  HAZARDOUS BOATING CONDITIONS
WILL EXIST AGAIN ON SATURDAY AS ANOTHER FRONT MOVES THROUGH THE
REGION.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL FOR
SEVERE WEATHER OPERATIONS WILL BE REQUIRED TODAY.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...

THE PROBABILITY OF WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Mar 1, 10:22 AM CST, 58 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
1022 AM CST THU MAR 01 2007

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0958 AM     HAIL             2 W GREENVILLE          31.83N 86.65W
03/01/2007  M1.00 INCH       BUTLER             AL   EMERGENCY MNGR

            QUARTER SIZE HAIL JUST WEST OF GREENVILLE

&&

DL

The air that afternoon

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.

Eglin AFB/Valpar, FL (KVPS), 00:00Z

6.7 hours after it, 53 km from the path. March 2, 2007.

Skew-T log-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.

Hodograph

The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.

Mixed-layer CAPE: 902 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -24 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 220 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 604 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 65 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 328 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 409 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 2.0
Supercell composite: 11.5
0-3 km lapse rate: 4.4 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Whiting Field Nas-N. (NSE), 9 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)	Temp (°F)	Dew point (°F)	Wind	Gust (kt)	Pressure (mb)	Weather
00:00 UTC

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

The radar

The Eglin Afb radar (KEVX), 100 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 17:19 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.

This ground now

The live radar over the track Every 2007 tornado in Florida Every tornado in Florida since 1950 Warnings in force in Florida now The forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of March 1, 2007

42 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
March 1	1:30 AM CST	EF0	Monroe, MO	2.1	50
March 1	1:40 AM CST	EF1	Monroe, MO	3.4	60
March 1	1:43 AM CST	EF1	Monroe, MO	8.6	100
March 1	4:28 AM CST	EF0	Carroll, AR	2.0	50			$10,000
March 1	6:24 AM CST	EF3	Ozark, MO	15.0	200	1		$760,000
March 1	9:50 AM CST	EF0	Catahoula Parish, LA	0.5	50
March 1	10:45 AM CST	EF0	Union, IL	1.8	150			$100,000
March 1	11:58 AM CST	EF1	Yazoo, MS	6.5	100			$90,000
March 1	12:05 PM CST	EF0	Butler, AL	3.1	30			$20,000
March 1	12:27 PM CST	EF4	Millers Ferry tornado, AL	6.1	500	1	2	$2.0 million
March 1	12:31 PM CST	EF1	Dallas, AL	12.2	500			$250,000
March 1	12:47 PM CST	EF0	Macon, IL	1.0	30		1	$37,000
March 1	1:08 PM CST	EF4	Enterprise tornado, AL	10.3	500	9	50	$250 million
March 1	1:48 PM CST	EF1	Dale, AL	7.1	150		4	$2.5 million
March 1	1:52 PM CST	EF1	Henry, AL to GA	30.8	150		2	$11 million
March 1	2:20 PM CST	EF1	Todd, KY	0.2	30			$35,000
March 1	2:48 PM CST	EF2	Lowndes, AL	24.6	600		6	$700,000
March 1	2:59 PM CST	EF1	Fayette, AL	11.2	150			$50,000
March 1	3:00 PM CST	EF1	Tuscaloosa, AL	3.7	100			$50,000
March 1	4:11 PM EST	EF1	Stewart, GA	1.5	250			$400,000
March 1	3:12 PM CST	EF1	Barbour, AL	2.4	75
March 1	3:45 PM CST	EF2	Winston, AL	9.6	100			$50,000
March 1	4:06 PM CST	EF1	Jefferson, AL	0.9	400			$100,000
March 1	5:29 PM EST	EF2	Taylor, GA	7.7	448	1	4	$500,000
March 1	5:34 PM EST	EF3	Crawford, GA	9.7	448		9	$525,000
March 1	5:49 PM EST	EF1	Crawford, GA	11.9	100			$100,000
March 1	5:51 PM EST	EF0	Bibb, GA	2.5	100			$100,000
March 1	5:27 PM CST	EF2	Muscogee, AL to GA	11.7	300		1	$28 million
March 1	6:30 PM EST	EF1	Jones, GA	3.6	150			$500,000
March 1	6:44 PM EST	EF0	Jones, GA	0.0	50			$5,000
March 1	5:56 PM CST	EF1	Shelby, AL	0.7	100			$30,000
March 1	7:00 PM EST	EF1	Talbot, GA	4.1	100			$50,000
March 1	8:08 PM EST	EF2	Warren, GA	11.7	448		3	$700,000
March 1	9:00 PM EST	EF3	Webster, GA	40.1	1,790	2	11	$111 million
March 1	9:36 PM EST	EF3	Macon, GA	3.1	1,790			$2,000
March 1	10:30 PM EST	EF0	Bleckley, GA	1.4	448			$250,000
March 1	10:40 PM EST	EF2	Wilkinson, GA	13.3	895			$30,000
March 1	10:52 PM EST	EF1	Marion, GA	2.5	100			$25,000
March 1	11:44 PM EST	EF2	Baker, GA	30.5	200	6	3	$4.0 million
March 1	12:20 AM EST	EF2	Worth, GA	4.5	150		2	$275,000
March 1	12:30 AM EST	EF2	Worth, GA	2.9	200			$500,000
March 1	12:42 AM EST	EF1	Tift, GA	7.9	150			$1.4 million

What this means

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.

Sources

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