EF3 tornado, Ferry Pass to Escambia, Florida, February 23, 2016

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 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.

4. EF3136 to 165 mphthis tornado

   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

EF3

Date

February 23, 2016

Touchdown

8:10 PM CST (02:10 UTC)

Lifted

8:15 PM CST (02:15 UTC)

On the ground

5 minutes

Path length

3.0 miles (4.8 km)

Path width

300 yards (274 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

3

Property damage

$22 million

County

Escambia County

Touchdown point

30.491, -87.205

Lift-off point

30.517, -87.165

Record number

1602232010-01

21 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS MOB, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF3. The highest wind the damage implies is 155 mph.

• several homes with minor to moderate roof damage
• Minor roof damage to several homes. 100-150 yard width.
• center point. 250-300 yard width.
• Near end point. Estimated center 1/8 mile to the north

Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.

A unusually strong storm system produced a highly favorable setup for severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. The highest impact across the Florida Panhandle was from a strong tornado that impacted the Pensacola metro. Some flooding was also experienced.

The tornado first touched down southwest of Creighton Road and quickly strengthened as it moved northeast. The first area of EF-2 damage was noted on Lansing Drive where significant roof damage was observed to a couple of homes along with snapped power poles and extensive tree damage. The tornado crossed over Interstate 10 just west of 9th Avenue. EF-1 damage was noted primarily to hardwood trees in the area of Interstate 10 and 9th Avenue. Intensification was noted as it moved further east of 9th Avenue and east of Northpointe Boulevard. The roof was blown off of two homes, one on La Borde Lane and one on Gladstone Drive. Additional EF-2 damage to homes was observed further to the northeast on Tradewinds Drive. Two vehicles were overturned in this location. It was at this point that further intensification began. The tornado reached peak intensity as it moved over the Mooring Apartments on Old Spanish Trail and the General Electric plant. EF-3 damage was observed at two of the apartment buildings with major damage to the second story. EF-3 damage occurred at the GE plant where a warehouse was destroyed. Additional EF-3 damage was noted at the Grand Baroque townhomes on Scenic Highway where two unities were destroyed. The tornado then moved into Escambia Bay and produced additional damage once it moved into Santa Rosa County.

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

57 minutes of warning. NWS MOB issued a tornado warning for this county at 01:13 UTC, 57 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 02:15 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 02:10 UTC and running to 05:29 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 01:00 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 Mobile radar (KMOB), 103 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 02:12 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 2016 tornado in FloridaEvery tornado in Florida since 1950Warnings in force in Florida nowThe forecast where you are

38 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

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.