Tornadoes · United States · Georgia · 2008

EF0 tornado, St Marys Arpt, Georgia, March 7, 2008

Name: EF0 tornado, St Marys Arpt, Georgia, March 7, 2008
Start: 2008-03-07T16:30:00.000Z
End: 2008-03-07T16:35:00.000Z
Location: St Marys Arpt, Georgia

This EF0 tornado ran 0.6 miles across Camden County on March 7, 2008, touching down at 11:30 AM EST and reaching 100 yards wide. It killed nobody.

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 7, 2008
Touchdown: 11:30 AM EST (16:30 UTC)
Lifted: 11:35 AM EST (16:35 UTC)
On the ground: 5 minutes
Path length: 0.6 miles (1.0 km)
Path width: 100 yards (91 m)
Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
County: Camden County
Touchdown point: 30.810, -81.495
Lift-off point: 30.812, -81.485
Record number: 0803071030-01

What the Weather Service recorded

A squall line with severe weather and several tornadoes moved across north Florida and southeast Georgia.

Former National Weather Service employee reported a waterspout and tornado over the intra-coastal waterway and marshes between Kings Bay Submarine Base and Cumberland Island Georgia. The mesocyclone which spawned this tornado was tracked across north Florida and southeast Georgia from Taylor County through Lake City to near Cumberland Island.

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 Jacksonville, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Mar 7, 9:21 AM EST, 2 hours 9 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 7, 9:21 AM EST, 2 hours 9 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSONVILLE FL
921 AM EST FRI MAR 7 2008

.UPDATE...STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS ARE PUSHING THRU THE LOCAL AREA
THIS MORNING WITH THE MAJORITY OF OUR ZONES UNDER A TORNADO WATCH.
STRONG SLY WINDS ARE GUSTING TO 25-35 MPH IN ADVANCE OF THE
STORMS. STRONGEST STORMS OVER THE SUWANNEE VALLEY ARE BEING
MONITORED FOR ROTATION. LAPS HELICITIES ARE ABOVE 500 IN THIS
REGION. SATELLITE ESTIMATED RAINFALL RATES ARE AVERAGING 1.5
INCHES AN HOUR. RADAR ESTIMATES ARE NEAR 2 INCHES AN HOUR NEAR
LIVE OAK AND HAVE ISSUED AN URBAN AND SMALL STREAM FLOOD ADVISORY
FOR THE WRN ZONES. CURSORY LOOK AT GRIDS SHOWS UPDATES ARE NOT
NECESSARY.

&&

.AVIATION...STRONG AND GUSTY SOUTH WINDS WILL CONTINUE INTO THE
AFTERNOON. A LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA
LATE THIS MORNING AND AN AIRPORT WARNING MAY BE ISSUED.

&&

.MARINE...SCA CONDITIONS ARE OCCURRING AT SAUF1 AND MAY NEED TO
ISSUE ANOTHER MWW TO EXPAND THE SCA.

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
AMG  71  47  54  30 / 100  70  10   0
SSI  69  50  58  35 / 100  80  20   0
JAX  75  52  59  32 / 100  80  20   0
SGJ  78  53  63  36 /  80  80  20   0
GNV  76  53  60  32 /  80  80  20   0
OCF  79  55  62  31 /  80  80  20   0

&&

.JAX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
FL...FLOOD WATCH THROUGH LATE TONIGHT FOR BAKER-COLUMBIA-GILCHRIST-
     HAMILTON-SUWANNEE.

     RED FLAG WARNING FROM 11 AM TO 7 PM EST SATURDAY FOR ALACHUA-
     BAKER-BRADFORD-CLAY-COLUMBIA-DUVAL-FLAGLER-GILCHRIST-
     HAMILTON-MARION-NASSAU-PUTNAM-ST JOHNS-SUWANNEE-UNION.

     FIRE WEATHER WATCH FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SUNDAY EVENING
     FOR ALACHUA-BAKER-BRADFORD-CLAY-COLUMBIA-DUVAL-FLAGLER-
     GILCHRIST-HAMILTON-MARION-NASSAU-PUTNAM-ST JOHNS-SUWANNEE-
     UNION.

GA...FLOOD WATCH THROUGH LATE TONIGHT FOR APPLING-ATKINSON-BACON-
     BRANTLEY-CHARLTON-CLINCH-COASTAL CAMDEN-COASTAL GLYNN-
     COFFEE-ECHOLS-INLAND CAMDEN-INLAND GLYNN-JEFF DAVIS-PIERCE-
     WARE-WAYNE.

AM...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 6 AM EST SATURDAY FOR ALTAMAHA SOUND
     GA TO FERNANDINA BEACH FL 20 NM TO 60 NM OFFSHORE-
     FERNANDINA BEACH TO ST AUGUSTINE FL 20 NM TO 60 NM OFFSHORE-
     ST AUGUSTINE TO FLAGLER BEACH FL 20 NM TO 60 NM OFFSHORE.

     GALE WARNING FROM 6 AM TO 4 PM EST SATURDAY FOR ALTAMAHA SOUND
     GA TO FERNANDINA BEACH FL 20 NM TO 60 NM OFFSHORE-
     FERNANDINA BEACH TO ST AUGUSTINE FL 20 NM TO 60 NM OFFSHORE-
     ST AUGUSTINE TO FLAGLER BEACH FL 20 NM TO 60 NM OFFSHORE.

     SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FROM 7 PM THIS EVENING TO 11 PM EST
     SATURDAY FOR ALTAMAHA SOUND GA TO FERNANDINA BEACH FL OUT
     20 NM-FERNANDINA BEACH TO ST AUGUSTINE FL OUT 20 NM-ST
     AUGUSTINE TO FLAGLER BEACH FL OUT 20 NM.

&&

TRABERT/ENYEDI/SANDRIK/KERNS

Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 7, 4:45 AM EST, 6 hours 45 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSONVILLE FL
445 AM EST FRI MAR 7 2008

FLZ020>025-030>033-035>038-040-GAZ132>136-149>154-162>166-080940-
ALACHUA-APPLING-ATKINSON-BACON-BAKER-BRADFORD-BRANTLEY-
CAMDEN (COASTAL)-CAMDEN (INLAND)-CHARLTON-CLAY-CLINCH-COFFEE-
COLUMBIA-DUVAL-ECHOLS-FLAGLER-GILCHRIST-GLYNN (COASTAL)-
GLYNN (INLAND)-HAMILTON-JEFF DAVIS-MARION-NASSAU-PIERCE-PUTNAM-
ST JOHNS-SUWANNEE-UNION-WARE-WAYNE-
445 AM EST FRI MAR 7 2008

THIS OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST FLORIDA AND SOUTHEAST GEORGIA.

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

...TORNADO WATCH 104 IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON EAST FOR MUCH OF NORTH
FLORIDA AND SOUTHEAST GEORGIA...

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE TODAY AND EARLY TONIGHT...

...FLOOD WATCH FOR SOUTHEAST GEORGIA AND THE SUWANNEE RIVER VALLEY
OF NORTHEAST FLORIDA THROUGH LATE TONIGHT...

A SQUALL LINE WILL CONTINUE EASTWARD ACROSS NORTHERN FLORIDA AND
SOUTHEAST GEORGIA THIS MORNING WITH STRONG THUNDERSTORMS SEGMENTS
AND A FEW SUPERCELLS THUNDERSTORMS. ISOLATED SUPERCELLS
THUNDERSTORMS  ARE ALSO POSSIBLE AHEAD OF THE SQUALL LINE. LOW LEVEL
WIND SHEAR REMAINS EXTREME UNDER A 70 KT SOUTHWESTERLY LOW LEVEL JET
STREAM AND INSTABILITY IS EXPECTED TO INCREASE WITH SOME MODEST
HEATING THIS MORNING.  DAMAGING WINDS WILL BE PRIMARY SEVERE
THREAT...THOUGH TORNADO THREAT MAY BECOME MORE PRONOUNCED LATER THIS
MORNING. THE LINE WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE THROUGH THE AREA INTO THE
OVERNIGHT HOURS WITH A POSSIBILITY OF SEVERE WEATHER THROUGHOUT THE
DAY.

LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES...EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS...STORM
SPOTTER GROUPS...AND OTHER INTERESTED CONCERNS SHOULD MONITOR THIS
SITUATION AND TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION SHOULD SEVERE WEATHER APPROACH
YOUR AREA.

GUSTY SOUTHERLY WINDS MAY REACH UP TO 25 TO 30 MPH OVER THE COASTAL
COUNTIES THIS AFTERNOON.

LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IS EXPECTED OVER THE AREA AND WILL CONTINUE
THROUGH TONIGHT. WIDESPREAD RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 3 INCHES ARE
POSSIBLE WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS OF NEAR 3 TO 4 INCHES IN HEAVIER
BANDS OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...MAINLY ACROSS SOUTHEAST GEORGIA
AND THE SUWANNEE RIVER VALLEY OF NORTHEAST FLORIDA. SOME AREA RIVERS
ARE NEAR OR ABOVE FLOOD STAGE AND SHOULD BE CLOSELY MONITORED IF
HEAVY RAINFALL DOES OCCUR.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY...

...GUSTY WEST WINDS ON SATURDAY...
...GALE WARNING FOR OFFSHORE COASTAL WATERS ON SATURDAY...

VERY WINDY CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE FROM EARLY SATURDAY MORNING
THROUGH THE AFTERNOON HOURS. GUSTY WINDS OF AROUND 40 MPH ARE
LIKELY. WINDS THIS STRONG CAN MAKE DRIVING DIFFICULT...ESPECIALLY FOR
HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES. A WIND ADVISORY MAY EVENTUALLY BE NEEDED FOR
ALL OR PORTIONS OF THE FORECAST AREA.

ON SUNDAY MORNING...A LIGHT FREEZE AND PATCHY FROST ARE POSSIBLE
WITH LOWS NEAR 30 DEGREES TO THE MID 30S NEAR THE COAST.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUESTED TODAY.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION...VISIT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
IN JACKSONVILLE WEBSITE ON THE INTERNET AT WEATHER.GOV/JAX.

SANDRIK

In the hours before

Local storm report, Mar 7, 10:03 AM EST, 1 hour 27 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSONVILLE FL
1003 AM EST FRI MAR 07 2008

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

0945 AM     TSTM WND DMG     LIVE OAK                30.29N 82.99W
03/07/2008                   SUWANNEE           FL   EMERGENCY MNGR

            POWER IS OUT ALL OVER THE CITY OF LIVE OAK.

&&

BKERNS

Local storm report, Mar 7, 10:14 AM EST, 1 hour 16 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSONVILLE FL
1014 AM EST FRI MAR 07 2008

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

0950 AM     TORNADO          N LAKE CITY             30.19N 82.64W
03/07/2008                   COLUMBIA           FL   EMERGENCY MNGR

            WIDESPREAD DAMAGE NORTH SIDE OF LAKE CITY. OVERTURNED
            VEHICLES AND BUILDING DAMAGE.

&&

LETRO

Local storm report, Mar 7, 10:16 AM EST, 1 hour 14 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSONVILLE FL
1016 AM EST FRI MAR 07 2008

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

1010 AM     HEAVY RAIN       W LIVE OAK              30.29N 82.99W
03/07/2008  E0.00 INCH       SUWANNEE           FL   TRAINED SPOTTER

            A NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STORM SPOTTER REPORTED
            RAINFALL IN EXCESS OF 2 INCHES PER HOUR WITH SOME
            FLOODING OF ROADS AND LOW AREAS.

&&

BKERNS

Local storm report, Mar 7, 10:30 AM EST, 1 hour before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSONVILLE FL
1030 AM EST FRI MAR 07 2008

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

1027 AM     TORNADO          9 W WAYNESVILLE         31.23N 81.94W
03/07/2008                   BRANTLEY           GA   EMERGENCY MNGR

            5 PUBLIC REPORTS OF A TORNADO RECEIVED BY EMERGENCY
            MANAGEMENT 9 MILES WEST OF WAYNESVILLE AT TURKEY RIDGE.
            DAMAGE TO AT LEAST ONE HOME.

&&

BKERNS

Local storm report, Mar 7, 10:52 AM EST, 38 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSONVILLE FL
1052 AM EST FRI MAR 07 2008

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

0950 AM     TSTM WND DMG     BELL                    29.76N 82.86W
03/07/2008                   GILCHRIST          FL   EMERGENCY MNGR

            PUBLIC REPORTED A POSSIBLE TORNADO ON THEIR PROPERTY AT
            5401 NW 22ND CT IN BELL. FOUR TREES WERE BLOWN DOWN.

&&

BKERNS

Local storm report, Mar 7, 11:02 AM EST, 28 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSONVILLE FL
1102 AM EST FRI MAR 07 2008

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

1020 AM     TORNADO          N SANDERSON             30.25N 82.27W
03/07/2008                   BAKER              FL   EMERGENCY MNGR

            BRICK HOME DESTROYED AT 11456 O.C. HORNE RD.

&&

LETRO

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.

Jacksonville, FL (KJAX), 12:00Z

4.5 hours before the tornado, 40 km from the path. March 7, 2008.

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: 128 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -83 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 599 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 47 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 37 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 357 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 436 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.2
0-3 km lapse rate: 5.2 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Jacksonville, FL (KJAX), 00:00Z

7.5 hours after it, 40 km from the path. March 8, 2008.

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

Mixed-layer CAPE: 7 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -134 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 10 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 784 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 49 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 48 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -176 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: -14 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0
0-3 km lapse rate: 4.9 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Brunswick/Malcolm (SSI), 39 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 Jacksonville radar (KJAX), 42 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 16:24 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 2008 tornado in Georgia Every tornado in Georgia since 1950 Warnings in force in Georgia now The forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of March 7, 2008

11 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
March 7	7:25 AM EST	EF1	Leon, FL	4.6	150		1	$750,000
March 7	8:36 AM EST	EF2	Taylor, FL	0.4	200		2	$500,000
March 7	9:30 AM EST	EF0	Suwannee, FL	0.0	50
March 7	9:45 AM EST	EF2	Columbia, FL	1.5	800	1	5	$4.0 million
March 7	10:10 AM EST	EF0	Baker, FL	1.2	100		1
March 7	10:20 AM EST	EF1	Wayne, GA	0.6	200			$1,000
March 7	10:20 AM EST	EF1	Charlton, GA	5.5	100
March 7	10:27 AM EST	EF0	Brantley, GA	0.0	50
March 7	10:30 AM EST	EF0	Nassau, FL	0.0	100
March 7	10:57 AM EST	EF0	McIntosh, GA	0.0	25
March 7	7:25 PM EST	EF1	Douglas, GA	7.0	100		1	$2.0 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.