EF1 tornado, Riceville to Pilot Oak, Kentucky, February 24, 2011

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.

Rating

EF1

Date

February 24, 2011

Touchdown

6:32 PM CST (00:32 UTC)

Lifted

6:46 PM CST (00:46 UTC)

On the ground

14 minutes

Path length

7.2 miles (11.6 km)

Path width

100 yards (91 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Property damage

$80,000

Counties

Hickman, Fulton and Graves counties

Touchdown point

36.526, -88.889

Lift-off point

36.550, -88.765

Record number

1102241832-01

A powerful mid-level shortwave trough ejected east-northeast across the southern Plains, reaching the lower and mid Mississippi Valley during the night. In the lower levels, a low intensified as it tracked from Oklahoma into southern Missouri during the day, then across the Lower Ohio Valley in the evening. To the east of the low, a warm front advanced northward to the Lower Ohio Valley. Storms moving east-northeast evolved into an extensive QLCS (quasi-linear convective system) that produced scattered wind damage and a few tornadoes. Preceding the QLCS, widespread heavy rain accompanied the warm front.

The initial touchdown point was about two miles northwest of Fulton at the Amtrak station on U.S. Highway 51. At initial touchdown, a few power poles were snapped and lying across power lines. A citywide power outage affected Fulton. Further northeast, two grain bins were tossed for several hundred yards, damaging nearby grain storage bins. Several sheds and garages were damaged or destroyed. A field irrigation system was toppled. Hundreds of trees were snapped or uprooted. A barn was destroyed. Several homes and barns had roof or shingle damage. Two campers were blown over. Peak winds were estimated at 95 mph. The average path width was 100 yards. The tornado crossed into Hickman County as it moved along Kentucky Highway 2569.

The tornado crossed into Hickman County from Fulton County, then crossed U.S. Highway 45 and the Purchase Parkway. Trees and power poles were snapped off. A barn was destroyed. Shingles were blown off houses. Peak winds were estimated near 95 mph. The average path width was 100 yards. The tornado then exited into Graves County south of Water Valley.

The tornado crossed from Hickman County into Graves County south of Water Valley. Two houses sustained minor to moderate roof damage. The roof of a pole barn was blown off. A camper was blown over. A small metal shed was destroyed. Kentucky 1219 was closed south of Water Valley near the Hickman County line due to downed trees and power lines. Near Water Valley, trees were down and building debris was on Route 94. The tornado tracked east-northeast to just south of Feliciana, then paralleled Highway 94 before dissipating. Peak winds were estimated near 95 mph.

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

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.

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 19:32 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 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.

The Paducah radar (KPAH), 59 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 00:32 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 2011 tornado in KentuckyEvery tornado in Kentucky since 1950Warnings in force in Kentucky nowThe forecast where you are

12 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.