Tornadoes · United States · Florida · 2018

EF1 tornado, Weeki Wachee Acres to Berkeley, Florida, November 2, 2018

From Weeki Wachee Acres to Berkeley, this EF1 tornado ran 0.7 miles across Hernando County on November 2, 2018, touching down at 3:22 PM EDT and reaching 100 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $500,000 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.

  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 mphthis tornado

    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 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.

The record

Rating
EF1
Date
November 2, 2018
Touchdown
3:22 PM EDT (19:22 UTC)
Lifted
3:24 PM EDT (19:24 UTC)
On the ground
2 minutes
Path length
0.7 miles (1.1 km)
Path width
100 yards (91 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$500,000
County
Hernando County
Touchdown point
28.468, -82.566
Lift-off point
28.475, -82.557
Record number
1811021322-01

What the Weather Service recorded

A strong cold front pushed through the Florida peninsula during the afternoon hours on the 2nd. A squall-line associated with the front produced widespread damaging wind gusts along with multiple tornadoes embedded within the fast-moving line.

Local Emergency Management reported two roofs that sustained major damage from a tornado in Spring Hill with 15 additional homes having minor sustained minor damage.

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

The warnings

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down. One was issued for the county at another hour that day.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
19:15 UTC20:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBW
19:45 UTC20:15 UTCTornado WarningTBW
19:47 UTC20:15 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBW

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 forecast that day

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Marginal Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 16:27 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 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.

Tampa Bay, FL (KTBW), 12:00Z

7.4 hours before the tornado, 87 km from the path. November 2, 2018.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Tampa Bay, FL at 12:00Z on 2018-11-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 125 joules per kilogram, CIN -31, lifted condensation level 693 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
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.
HodographHodograph, Tampa Bay, FL at 12:00Z on 2018-11-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 109 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 39 knots.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
125 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-31 J/kg
Surface CAPE
371 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
693 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
39 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
13 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
109 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
139 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
2.9
0-3 km lapse rate
4.1 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Tampa Bay, FL (KTBW), 00:00Z

4.6 hours after it, 87 km from the path. November 3, 2018.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Tampa Bay, FL at 00:00Z on 2018-11-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 12 joules per kilogram, CIN -16, lifted condensation level 497 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
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.
HodographHodograph, Tampa Bay, FL at 00:00Z on 2018-11-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -68 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 49 knots.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
12 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-16 J/kg
Surface CAPE
8 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
497 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
49 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
33 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-68 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-48 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
4.4 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Brooksville (Asos) (BKV), 10 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
17:25 UTC190° 11 kt1012.5
17:30 UTC190° 11 kt1012.5
17:35 UTC210° 13 kt1012.5
17:40 UTC190° 16 kt1012.5
17:45 UTC190° 14 kt1012.5
17:50 UTC200° 13 kt1012.2
17:53 UTC8272200° 14 kt191012.2
17:55 UTC200° 13 kt
18:00 UTC 15 kt1012.2
18:05 UTC 13 kt1012.2
18:10 UTC 13 kt181012.2
18:15 UTC190° 13 kt1011.9
18:25 UTC190° 14 kt201011.9
18:30 UTC200° 16 kt1011.9
18:35 UTC190° 17 kt1011.9
18:40 UTC190° 13 kt1011.5
18:45 UTC200° 9 kt1011.5
18:50 UTC190° 10 kt1011.2
18:53 UTC8070200° 11 kt1011.2
18:55 UTC 10 kt1011.2
19:00 UTC180° 11 kt161011.2-RA
19:05 UTC170° 13 kt1010.8RA
19:10 UTC170° 9 kt1010.8-RA
19:15 UTC170° 10 kt1010.5
19:16 UTC7771170° 10 kt1010.5VCTS
19:20 UTC160° 9 kt1010.2
19:24 UTC7771160° 9 kt1010.2TS
19:25 UTC150° 10 kt1010.2
19:30 UTC140° 6 kt1010.2
19:35 UTC160° 8 kt1010.5
19:40 UTC 18 kt1011.2RA
19:41 UTC7470230° 18 kt251011.2+TSRA BR
19:45 UTC 14 kt1012.2+RA BR
19:49 UTC69.866.2290° 17 kt251012.9+TSRA BR
19:50 UTC300° 21 kt1012.2+RA BR
19:53 UTC7067300° 19 kt301012.9+TSRA BR
19:55 UTC6967300° 15 kt301012.5+TSRA BR
19:59 UTC6866330° 12 kt301011.9VCTS RA BR
20:00 UTC340° 11 kt1011.9RA BR
20:01 UTC6866340° 9 kt1011.9VCTS RA BR
20:05 UTC330° 7 kt1011.9RA BR
20:10 UTC330° 6 kt1011.9-RA
20:15 UTC0° 0 kt1011.5-RA
20:16 UTC6765360° 3 kt1011.5-RA
20:20 UTC30° 3 kt1011.2-RA
20:25 UTC20° 3 kt1011.2-RA
20:30 UTC230° 3 kt1011.5-RA
20:35 UTC210° 5 kt1012.2-RA
20:40 UTC210° 5 kt1011.9RA
20:45 UTC200° 3 kt1011.5-RA BR
20:50 UTC170° 3 kt1011.5-RA
20:53 UTC6866150° 3 kt1011.5-RA
20:55 UTC150° 3 kt1011.9-RA
21:00 UTC140° 3 kt1011.9-RA
21:05 UTC140° 3 kt1011.9-RA
21:10 UTC160° 5 kt1011.9
21:15 UTC190° 5 kt1012.5-RA
21:20 UTC6867210° 7 kt1012.9-RA
21:20 UTC210° 7 kt1012.9-RA

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

The radar

The Tampa radar (KTBW), 87 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 19:18 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.

What was reported nearby

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

Time (UTC)ReportWhereCountyRemark
19:18 UTCTORNADO 15 Ese New Port RicheyPasco, FLCORRECTED LOCATION AND RATED AS EF1 TORNADO. 7 HOMES WERE DAMAGED ON 3400 BLOCK PLAYER DRIVE IN NEW PORT RICHEY, IN THE FAIRWAY SPRINGS SUBDIVISION. 1 HOME HAD MAJOR DAMAGE, 4 WITH STRUCTURAL DAMAGE.
19:18 UTCTORNADONew Port RicheyPasco, FL7 HOMES WERE DAMAGED ON 3400 BLOCK PLAYER DRIVE IN NEW PORT RICHEY, IN THE FAIRWAY SPRINGS SUBDIVISION. 1 HOME HAD MAJOR DAMAGE, 4 WITH STRUCTURAL DAMAGE.
19:22 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 N Spring HillHernando, FLEMERGENCY MANAGER REPORTED TWO ROOFS BLOWN OFF HOUSES ON LARENDALE CIRCLE IN SPRING HILL. OTHER HOMES IN AREA HAD PARTIAL ROOF DAMAGE.
19:22 UTCTORNADO 12 N Spring HillHernando, FLTHUNDERSTORM WIND DAMAGE CHANGED TO TORNADO. EMERGENCY MANAGER REPORTED TWO ROOFS HAD MAJOR DAMAGE TO HOUSES ON LARENDALE CIRCLE IN SPRING HILL AND 17 HOMES HAD ROOF DAMAGE OVERALL. DAMAGE PATH 0.70 MILES.
19:25 UTCTORNADO1 Ese Land O' LakesPasco, FLROOF DAMAGE TO HOME ALONG BELL LAKE RD. RELAYED VIA PASCO COUNTY SHERIFFS OFFICE. TIME ESTIMATED BY RADAR 3:18-3:26 PM EDT.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2018 tornado in FloridaEvery tornado in Florida since 1950Warnings in force in Florida nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of November 2, 2018

7 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
November 23:13 PM EDTEF1Pinellas, FL1.7751$300,000
November 23:17 PM EDTEF1Pasco, FL0.350$500,000
November 23:24 PM EDTEF1Pasco, FL0.8125$27,000
November 24:22 PM EDTEF1Pasco, FL1.275$100,000
November 27:14 PM EDTEF2Halifax, VA1.7300$500,000
November 28:19 PM EDTEF2Howard, MD5.5400$900,000
November 29:42 PM EDTEF1City of Baltimore, MD2.715021$15,000

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.