Tornadoes · United States · Kentucky · 2008
EF1 tornado, Stedmantown to Switzer, Kentucky, February 6, 2008
From Stedmantown to Switzer, this EF1 tornado ran 2.4 miles across Franklin County on February 6, 2008, touching down at 1:08 AM EST and reaching 170 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $250,000 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 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mphthis tornado
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
- EF1
- Date
- February 6, 2008
- Touchdown
- 1:08 AM EST (06:08 UTC)
- Lifted
- 1:12 AM EST (06:12 UTC)
- On the ground
- 4 minutes
- Path length
- 2.4 miles (3.9 km)
- Path width
- 170 yards (155 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $250,000
- Crop damage
- $250,000
- County
- Franklin County
- Touchdown point
- 38.243, -84.812
- Lift-off point
- 38.257, -84.771
- Record number
- 0802060008-01
What the Weather Service recorded
A cold front along with a strong upper level low produced a squall line that crossed central Kentucky. This set off widespread severe weather, and spawned several tornadoes.
The tornado downed numerous hardwood trees on a steep ridge near Elkhorn Creek. It increased in intensity as it moved to the northeast, and did extensive roof damage to two homes on the west side of Lucas Lane. It destroyed five barns on the east side of the road.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The forecast that day
The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a General Thunderstorms Risk, with a 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 05:58 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.
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 Louisville, KY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Feb 5, 10:30 PM EST, 2 hours 38 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 5, 10:30 PM EST, 2 hours 38 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY
1030 PM EST TUE FEB 5 2008
...MESOSCALE CONVECTIVE DISCUSSION...
.UPDATE...
MAIN STORY IS THE SUPERCELL APPROACHING DOWNTOWN NASHVILLE, TN...BUT
FOR US SQUALL LINE IS APPROACHING RAPIDLY AND IS IN DUBOIS COUNTY.
LATEST FT KNOX VWP HAS ABOUT 20 DEGREES OF BACKING AS UPPER JET
TRAVERSES EASTWARD. LIS ARE STILL -2 TO -3...AND WIND FIELDS ARE IN
THE EXTREME CATEGORY. MAIN THREAT WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS WITH THIS
LINE...BUT WE ARE WATCHING CELL MERGERS WITH WAA PRECIP MOVING ALONG
AND AHEAD OF THE MAIN LINE WHICH COULD ACCENT THE TOR THREAT.
MEANWHILE...ANTECEDENT CONDITIONS IN DUBOIS COUNTY ARE WET...AND IT
WONT TAKE MUCH MORE TO FLOOD. WE EXPECT 1 TO 1 AND ONE HALF INCHES
OF RAIN OVER NEXT SEVER HOURS. WE ISSUED FFWS FOR DUBOIS AND ORANGE
COUNTIES WITH LEWP MOVING EAST.
&&
.PREV DISCUSSION...
/ISSUED 926 PM EST TUE FEB 5 2008/
FOR US AN IMPRESSIVE TORNADIC SUPERCELL JUST PAST OHIO COUNTY SEAT
OF HARTFORD WHERE SIRENS ARE BLOWING. NO REPORTS YET OF ANY DAMAGE
IN OHIO COUNTY...WITH FUNNEL CLOUD REPORT FROM TRAINED SPOTTER.
THIS STORM HAS A HISTORY OF DAMAGING WINDS AND TORNADOES WITH IT.
LOW LEVEL JET CONTINUES TO STIFFEN AND WILL BE A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR
TO HEAVY RAIN OVER SRN INDIAN FROM AROUND MIDNIGHT INTO THE
OVERNIGHT HOURS. THERE ARE 3 MORE SUPERCELLS OVER CENTRAL AND
WESTERN TN WILL BE THE OTHER CONCERN AS THEY WORK OFF TO THE NE AT
40 MPH.
INSTABILITY STILL REMAINS MODEST AND WITH 0-3 SRH VALUES ON LATEST
ACARS SOUNDING AT BNA NEAR 800 M2/S2. THE HODOGRAPH FROM THAT
AIRCRAFT IS VERY TWISTY AND ONCE AGAIN FEEL THE PRIMARY TOR THREAT
IS FOR AREAS MAINLY ALONG AND WEST OF I65.
JDG
&&
.PREV DISCUSSION...
/ISSUED 833 PM EST TUE FEB 5 2008/
...MESOSCALE CONVECTIVE DISCUSSION...
.UPDATE...
ONE TORNADIC SUPERCELL IN NE CHRISTIAN COUNTY HAS 60KTS OF
ROTATIONAL VELOCITY AND WILL BE WESTERN OHIO COUNTY AROUND 02Z. THIS
STORM APPEARS TO BE A CYCLIC AND MAY BE UNDERGOING SPLITTING ON SRN
FLANK OVER LAST VOLUME SCAN WITH 70 DBZ. LATEST 00Z SOUNDINGS ARE
IMPRESSIVE:
OHX JAN
SWEAT 485 477
LIS -5 -5
0 TO 3 SRH 450 M2/S2 440 M2/S2
CAPE 800 J/KG 970
THIS CELL IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS WIND FIELDS ARE SLOWLY INCREASING
IN THE BOUNDARY LAYER THRU 850 MB. IN FACTS O00Z SOUNDINGS ALL
HAVE 40-55 KTS AT 850MB WITH SOUNDINGS.
PWS ARE STILL IMPRESSIVE...AND FLOOD THREAT OVER SRN INDIANA IS
BECOMING AN INCREASING RISK.
WE WILL HAVE SEVERAL MESO UPDATES TONIGHT FOR THIS PDS SITUATION
WEST OF I65.
JDG
&&
.PREV DISCUSSION...
/ISSUED 637 PM EST TUE FEB 5 2008/
..SEVERE WEATHER EPISODE LIKELY ACROSS THE REGION TONIGHT...
AFTERNOON VIS SAT IMAGERY SHOWING BREAKS IN THE CLOUD COVER ACROSS
SOUTHERN KENTUCKY. MORNING CONVECTION ASSOCIATED WITH RETREATING
WARM FRONTAL BOUNDARY CONTINUES TO MIGRATE NORTHWARD AND AWAY FROM
THE AREA. A FEW AREA OF SCT SHOWERS REMAIN ACROSS KENTUCKY WITH
MORE DEVELOPMENT TAKING PLACE ACROSS SW TN. QUITE A GRADIENT IN
TEMPERATURES NOTED ACROSS THE REGION WITH READINGS IN THE LOW TO MID
50S NORTH OF THE OHIO RIVER TO UPPER 60S AND LOWER 70S ACROSS FAR
SOUTHERN KENTUCKY.
DIAGNOSTIC ANALYSIS ACROSS THE REGION SHOWS DESTABILIZATION IN
PROGRESS MAINLY WEST OF I-65 THIS AFTERNOON. COMBINATION OF SFC
TEMPS IN THE UPPER 60S WITH DEWPOINTS IN THE LOWER 60S HAS YIELDED
SFC LIFTED INDICES OF -2C TO -3C WITH CAPES OF 300-800 J/KG. CAPES
GREATER THAN 1000 J/KG EXISTS WEST OF THE LMK CWA WHERE MORE SUN HAS
HELPED INCREASE INSTABILITY. SCATTERED CONVECTION HAS STARTED TO
DEVELOP ACROSS WESTERN TN AND FAR SW KY. LATEST MODEL DATA SUGGESTS
THAT SCATTERED/DISCRETE CONVECTION WILL LIKELY FIRE ACROSS OUR
WESTERN SECTIONS THIS AFTERNOON. THIS DEVELOPMENT MAY BE QUICK AS
THE MODELS TEND TO UNDER FORECAST CONVECTION DEVELOPMENT. GIVEN THE
DEEP LAYER SHEAR...SOME SUPERCELLULAR STORMS WILL BE
POSSIBLE...ALONG WITH STORMS WITH BOWING SEGMENTS. THUS...ISOLATED
TORNADOES AND DAMAGING WINDS WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THIS ACTIVITY
DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS.
LATE TONIGHT...CONVECTION WELL TO OUR WEST IS FORECAST TO CONGEAL
INTO A LARGE SQUALL LINE THAT WILL MOVE EASTWARD THROUGH THE OHIO
VALLEY. THE MODEL TREND IN THE LAST 24 HOURS HAS BEEN TO SLOW DOWN
THE SYSTEM. IN FACT...EVEN THE LATEST RUC SOLUTIONS ARE A BIT
SLOWER. GIVEN THE DATA RIGHT NOW...LARGE SQUALL LINE SHOULD MOVE
INTO OUR WESTERN AREAS BY LATE EVENING...PERHAPS AROUND 10-11 PM
EST. THE CORRIDOR BETWEEN SDF AND BWG WOULD LIKELY TAKE A HIT
BETWEEN 11-2 AM EST WITH THE FRANKFORT AND LEXINGTON AREAS SEEING
THE ACTION PROBABLY AFTER 3AM EST. MAIN THREAT WITH THIS LINE WILL
BE DAMAGING WINDS WITH ISOLATED TORNADOES POSSIBLE EMBEDDED WITHIN
THE MAIN LINE. THERE CONTINUES TO BE A HEAVY RAIN/FLOOD THREAT
ACROSS OUR INDIANA COUNTIES DUE TO PREVIOUS CONVECTION ACROSS THE
REGION THIS MORNING. WITH AN ADDITIONAL 1 TO AS MUCH AS 2 INCHES
POSSIBLE TONIGHT...WILL EXTEND THE FLOOD WATCH ACROSS OUR INDIANA
COUNTIES THROUGH 700 AM WED.
COLD FRONT WILL SURGE EASTWARD AND OUT OF THE AREA BY WED MORNING
FOLLOWED BY A FALL IN TEMPERATURES. SCT SHOWERS CONTINUE TO LOOK
POSSIBLE AS H5 THERMAL TROF MOVES INTO THE REGION. GRADIENT WINDS
WILL BE A BIT ON THE HIGH SIDE IN THE MORNING...HOWEVER CONFIDENCE
IN EXCEEDING WIND ADVISORY CRITERIA IS NOT VERY HIGH...SO PLAN ON
HOLDING OFF ON THAT HEADLINE.
LONG TERM (WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY)...
RELATIVELY BENIGN WEATHER IN STORE FOR THE LONG TERM AS MORE COOLER
AIR REMAINS IN PLACE FOLLOWING FRONTAL PASSAGE LATER TONIGHT AND
TOMORROW. EVEN SO...TEMPERATURES AT OR ABOVE SEASONAL NORMS FOR
REMAINDER OF THE WORK WEEK BEFORE A SECOND SURGE ARCTIC AIR MAKES
ITS WAY IN FOR THE WEEKEND WITH A CLIPPER CURRENTLY PROGGED TO HAVE
A BIGGER IMPACT ON THE EAST COAST THAN THE OHIO VALLEY.
AT THIS TIME THE WEEKEND SYSTEM DOES NOT APPEAR TO OFFER MUCH MORE
THAN A DUSTING OF SNOW SOUTH OF THE OHIO RIVER...BUT SOME
MEASURABLE SNOWFALL COULD OCCUR IN SOUTHERN INDIANA. HOWEVER...TOO
FAR OUT AT THIS TIME FOR HIGH CONFIDENCE.
MAX TEMPS THROUGH THE PERIOD WILL SEE SAW FROM 40S THURSDAY TO LOWER
50S FRIDAY...THEN BACK DOWN TO 30S ON SATURDAY BEFORE RETURNING TO
NEAR 50 BY TUESDAY.
MIN TEMPS BOTTOM OUT IN THE TEENS SUN AND 20S MONDAY...OTHERWISE
MAINLY IN THE 30S.
&&
.AVIATION (00Z TAFS)...
ATMOSPHERE IS DESTABILIZING WITH LI/S -3 TO -4 TO OUR WEST. LINES OF
STRONG/SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXTEND FROM WESTERN TN NORTH INTO
WESTERN KENTUCKY. STORMS ARE MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AND WILL BE
IMPACTING BWG AND SDF LATER THIS EVENING. UNTIL THEN CIGS AND VSBYS
WILL REMAIN VFR. EXPECT TSTMS TO MOVE INTO BWG AFT 02Z WITH ISOLATED
SHOWERS POSSIBLE UNTIL THEN. STORMS SHOULD REACH SDF AFTER 04Z THEN
ABOUT 06Z AT LEX. EXPECT GUSTS TO 50 TO 60 KTS OR MORE IN SEVERE
STORMS. A SECOND LINE WILL FOLLOW WITH THE COLD FRONT LATER TONIGHT.
CIGS AND VSBYS IN THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE MVFR AND BRIEFLY IN VFR
RANGE. FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH WITH CIGS AND VSBYS IMPROVING BACK TO
VFR WEDNESDAY MORNING BUT SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL STAY GUSTY DURING THE
DAY BEHIND THE FRONT.
&&
.LMK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
KY...FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 7 AM EST WEDNESDAY FOR KYZ032.
IN...FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 7 AM EST /6 AM CST/ WEDNESDAY FOR INZ076>079-
083-084-089>092.
&&Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 5, 3:40 PM EST, 9 hours 28 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY 340 PM EST TUE FEB 5 2008 INZ076>079-083-084-089>092-KYZ023>043-045>049-053>057-061>067- 070>078-081-082-061000- ORANGE IN-WASHINGTON IN-SCOTT IN-JEFFERSON IN-DUBOIS IN- CRAWFORD IN-PERRY IN-HARRISON IN-FLOYD IN-CLARK IN-HANCOCK KY- BRECKINRIDGE KY-MEADE KY-OHIO KY-GRAYSON KY-HARDIN KY-BULLITT KY- JEFFERSON KY-OLDHAM KY-TRIMBLE KY-HENRY KY-SHELBY KY-FRANKLIN KY- SCOTT KY-HARRISON KY-SPENCER KY-ANDERSON KY-WOODFORD KY- FAYETTE KY-BOURBON KY-NICHOLAS KY-NELSON KY-WASHINGTON KY- MERCER KY-JESSAMINE KY-CLARK KY-LARUE KY-MARION KY-BOYLE KY- GARRARD KY-MADISON KY-BUTLER KY-EDMONSON KY-HART KY-GREEN KY- TAYLOR KY-CASEY KY-LINCOLN KY-LOGAN KY-WARREN KY-SIMPSON KY- ALLEN KY-BARREN KY-MONROE KY-METCALFE KY-ADAIR KY-RUSSELL KY- CUMBERLAND KY-CLINTON KY- 340 PM EST (240 PM CST) TUE FEB 5 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL INDIANA AND CENTRAL KENTUCKY. .DAY ONE...THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ACROSS THE OUTLOOK AREA LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...GENERALLY WEST OF INTERSTATE 65. SOME OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS COULD BE SEVERE WITH DAMAGING WINDS AND ISOLATED TORNADOES POSSIBLE. LATER TONIGHT...A STRONG COLD FRONT IS FORECAST TO MOVE EAST THROUGH THE REGION. ACCOMPANYING THIS FRONT WILL BE A LINE OF STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS. THE FRONT SHOULD ENTER THE WESTERN SECTIONS OF THE OUTLOOK AREA AFTER 10 PM EST. THE MAIN THREAT WITH THIS LINE OF STORMS WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS ALONG WITH THE THREAT OF ISOLATED TORNADOES. HEAVY RAIN ASSOCIATED WITH THE STORMS MAY LEAD TO LOCAL FLOODING ISSUES...ESPECIALLY ACROSS SOUTHERN INDIANA. A FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL WEDNESDAY MORNING FOR ALL OF SOUTH-CENTRAL INDIANA. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. COLDER AIR RETURNS FOR THE WEEKEND...WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF SOME LIGHT SNOW SATURDAY MORNING. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS WILL BE REQUIRED THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT. MJ/JBS
In the hours before
Local storm report, Feb 6, 12:52 AM EST, 16 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY
1252 AM EST WED FEB 06 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1250 AM TSTM WND DMG MILTON 38.71N 85.37W
02/06/2008 TRIMBLE KY TRAINED SPOTTER
TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN.
&&
MRCSpecial weather statement, Feb 6, 12:52 AM EST, 16 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY 1252 AM EST WED FEB 6 2008 INZ076>079-083-084-089>092-KYZ023>032-061-062-070>072-060800- ORANGE IN-WASHINGTON IN-SCOTT IN-JEFFERSON IN-DUBOIS IN- CRAWFORD IN-PERRY IN-HARRISON IN-FLOYD IN-CLARK IN-HANCOCK KY- BRECKINRIDGE KY-MEADE KY-OHIO KY-GRAYSON KY-HARDIN KY-BULLITT KY- JEFFERSON KY-OLDHAM KY-TRIMBLE KY-BUTLER KY-EDMONSON KY-LOGAN KY- WARREN KY-SIMPSON KY- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...PAOLI...SALEM...SCOTTSBURG...MADISON... JASPER...MARENGO...TELL CITY...CORYDON...NEW ALBANY... JEFFERSONVILLE...HAWESVILLE...HARDINSBURG...BRANDENBURG... BEAVER DAM...LEITCHFIELD...ELIZABETHTOWN...FORT KNOX... MOUNT WASHINGTON...SHEPHERDSVILLE...LOUISVILLE...LA GRANGE... BEDFORD...MORGANTOWN...BROWNSVILLE...RUSSELLVILLE... BOWLING GREEN...FRANKLIN 1252 AM EST WED FEB 6 2008 /1152 PM CST TUE FEB 5 2008/ ...THUNDERSTORMS AND GUSTY WINDS TO CONTINUE THROUGH 3 AM EST / 2 AM CST... THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE AREA THROUGH AT LEAST 3 AM EST / 2 AM CST WEDNESDAY MORNING. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTAIN DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...GUSTY WINDS TO 50 MPH AT TIMES...AND HEAVY RAIN WITH RAINFALL RATES OF UP TO 2 INCHES AN HOUR. HEAVY RAINFALL MAY RESULT IN FLOODING OF ROADWAYS...LOW LYING AREAS AND LOCAL CREEKS AND STREAMS.
Local storm report, Feb 6, 1:03 AM EST, 5 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Service Notice</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="wrap">
<section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
<div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
<h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
<p id="message1">
The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
</p>
<p id="message2">
Please try again in a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="small" id="detail">
If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>Local storm report, Feb 6, 1:04 AM EST, 4 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Service Notice</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="wrap">
<section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
<div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
<h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
<p id="message1">
The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
</p>
<p id="message2">
Please try again in a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="small" id="detail">
If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>Local storm report, Feb 6, 1:05 AM EST, 3 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Service Notice</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="wrap">
<section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
<div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
<h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
<p id="message1">
The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
</p>
<p id="message2">
Please try again in a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="small" id="detail">
If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>Local storm report, Feb 6, 1:08 AM EST, 0 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY
108 AM EST WED FEB 06 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1245 AM TSTM WND DMG CECILIA 37.67N 85.95W
02/06/2008 HARDIN KY LAW ENFORCEMENT
THE ROOF WAS BLOWN OFF A SCHOOL. ELSEWHERE IN HARDIN
COUNTY...TRAILERS WERE DESTROYED...MAJOR ROOF DAMAGE WAS
REPORTED...SOME REPORTS OF INJURIES.
&&
MRCThe 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.
Cncnati-Daytn, OH (KILN), 00:00Z
6.1 hours before the tornado, 157 km from the path. February 6, 2008.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -62558 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 537 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 74 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 28 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 295 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 379 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.1
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 4.3 K/km
Cncnati-Daytn, OH (KILN), 12:00Z
5.9 hours after it, 157 km from the path. February 6, 2008.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -149 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 1 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 669 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 70 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 23 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 124 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 185 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 5.3 K/km
The surface observations
Capital City Airport/Frankfort (FFT), 12 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 Louisville radar (KLVX), 105 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 06:06 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 trackEvery 2008 tornado in KentuckyEvery tornado in Kentucky since 1950Warnings in force in Kentucky nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of February 6, 2008
23 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 6 | 1:01 AM EST | EF1 | Washington, KY | 0.3 | 150 | $60,000 | ||
| February 6 | 1:06 AM EST | EF2 | Washington, KY | 1.0 | 250 | $15,000 | ||
| February 6 | 1:20 AM EST | EF1 | Mercer, KY | 0.9 | 350 | $1.0 million | ||
| February 6 | 1:29 AM EST | EF2 | Harrison, KY | 3.5 | 440 | 1 | $500,000 | |
| February 6 | 12:32 AM CST | EF0 | Dickson, TN | 0.1 | 20 | |||
| February 6 | 12:44 AM CST | EF0 | Davidson, TN | 0.1 | 20 | |||
| February 6 | 12:46 AM CST | EF0 | Yazoo, MS | 4.8 | 75 | $180,000 | ||
| February 6 | 1:51 AM EST | EF0 | Clark, KY | 0.9 | 125 | $200,000 | ||
| February 6 | 2:06 AM EST | EF1 | Bath, KY | 8.7 | 250 | $250,000 | ||
| February 6 | 1:12 AM CST | EF0 | Sumner, TN | 3.3 | 50 | |||
| February 6 | 1:22 AM CST | EF1 | Sumner, TN | 11.8 | 100 | |||
| February 6 | 2:23 AM EST | EF0 | Menifee, KY | 4.0 | 150 | $50,000 | ||
| February 6 | 1:25 AM CST | EF1 | Leake, MS | 1.5 | 50 | |||
| February 6 | 1:40 AM CST | EF3 | Allen, KY | 9.4 | 440 | 4 | 11 | $1.3 million |
| February 6 | 1:45 AM CST | EF0 | Williamson, TN | 1.6 | 300 | |||
| February 6 | 1:55 AM CST | EF0 | Noxubee, MS | 1.7 | 50 | |||
| February 6 | 2:04 AM CST | EF1 | Lamar, AL | 7.3 | 150 | $70,000 | ||
| February 6 | 2:51 AM CST | EF2 | Fayette, AL | 26.2 | 2,000 | 4 | $335,000 | |
| February 6 | 3:02 AM CST | EF4 | Moulton–Decatur tornado, AL | 16.7 | 880 | 4 | 23 | |
| February 6 | 4:00 AM CST | EF0 | Cullman, AL | 0.3 | 20 | |||
| February 6 | 4:45 AM CST | EF1 | Marshall, AL | 0.2 | 35 | |||
| February 6 | 5:17 AM CST | EF4 | Rosalie–Flat Rock tornado, AL | 10.9 | 660 | 1 | 12 | |
| February 6 | 6:25 AM CST | EF2 | Coosa, AL | 15.9 | 2,000 | $120,000 |
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.