Tornadoes · United States · Tennessee · 2008

EF0 tornado, Tidwell, Tennessee, February 6, 2008

This EF0 tornado ran 0.1 miles across Dickson County on February 6, 2008, touching down at 12:32 AM CST and reaching 20 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.

  1. EF065 to 85 mphthis tornado

    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 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
EF0
Date
February 6, 2008
Touchdown
12:32 AM CST (06:32 UTC)
Path length
0.1 miles (0.2 km)
Path width
20 yards (18 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Dickson County
Touchdown point
36.013, -87.317
Lift-off point
36.013, -87.317
Record number
0802060032-01

What the Weather Service recorded

The Super Severe Weather Outbreak on Feb. 5, 2008 produced supercelluar thunderstorms, well in advance of a multicell line of thunderstorms. The whole episode lasted about 6 hours. This occurred ironically while many states, including Tennessee, were participating in the Super Tuesday Primary Election. Fortunately, polls had already closed in the mid state when these tornadoes struck.

Minor tree 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.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 01:20 UTC and running to 07:00 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
01:20 UTC07:00 UTCTornado WatchOHX
02:35 UTC03:00 UTCTornado WarningOHX
02:57 UTC03:30 UTCTornado WarningOHX
06:02 UTC06:30 UTCTornado WarningOHX
07:21 UTC07:45 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningOHX
18:00 UTC00:00 UTCLake Wind AdvisoryOHX

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 General Thunderstorms Risk. 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 Nashville, TN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Feb 5, 9:40 PM CST, 2 hours 52 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 5, 9:40 PM CST, 2 hours 52 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
940 PM CST TUE FEB 5 2008

.DISCUSSION...
NO CHANGES TO THE FCST AT THIS TIME. 1ST ROUND OF STORMS IS MOVING
THROUGH THE WESTERN AND NORTH CENTRAL PORTIONS OF THE MID STATE.
NEXT ROUND OF STORMS ARE MOVING ACROSS THE MS RIVER AT THIS TIME.
MEG REPORTING TORNADOES AND HAIL IN ASSOCIATION WITH THIS NEXT ROUND.

UPDATED GFE TO INCLUDE TORS IN GRIDS. OTW...NO UPDATE NEEDED FOR NOW.

&&

.OHX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NONE.
&&

21
Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 5, 5:10 AM CST, 19 hours 22 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...COR EXPIRATION TIME
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
510 AM CST TUE FEB 5 2008

TNZ005>011-022>034-056>066-075-077>080-093>095-061130-
STEWART-MONTGOMERY-ROBERTSON-SUMNER-MACON-CLAY-PICKETT-BENTON-HOUSTON-
HUMPHREYS-DICKSON-CHEATHAM-DAVIDSON-WILSON-TROUSDALE-SMITH-JACKSON-
PUTNAM-OVERTON-FENTRESS-PERRY-HICKMAN-LEWIS-WILLIAMSON-MAURY-MARSHALL
-RUTHERFORD-CANNON-DEKALB-WHITE-CUMBERLAND-BEDFORD-COFFEE-WARREN-
GRUNDY-VAN BUREN-WAYNE-LAWRENCE-GILES-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...DOVER...CLARKSVILLE...SPRINGFIELD...
GALLATIN...LAFAYETTE...CELINA...BYRDSTOWN...CAMDEN...ERIN...
WAVERLY...DICKSON...ASHLAND CITY...KINGSTON SPRINGS...NASHVILLE...
LEBANON...MOUNT JULIET...HARTSVILLE...CARTHAGE...GAINESBORO...
COOKEVILLE...LIVINGSTON...JAMESTOWN...ALLARDT...LINDEN...
LOBELVILLE...CENTERVILLE...HOHENWALD...FRANKLIN...BRENTWOOD...
COLUMBIA...LEWISBURG...MURFREESBORO...WOODBURY...SMITHVILLE...
SPARTA...CROSSVILLE...FAIRFIELD GLADE...SHELBYVILLE...TULLAHOMA...
MANCHESTER...MCMINNVILLE...TRACY CITY...ALTAMONT...COALMONT...
SPENCER...WAYNESBORO...LAWRENCEBURG...PULASKI
506 AM CST TUE FEB 5 2008

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MIDDLE TENNESSEE.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

THERE IS A MODERATE RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN WEST MIDDLE
TENNESSEE TONIGHT.

WARM MOIST AIR WILL BE IN PLACE AS A STRONG COLD FRONT MOVES INTO
MIDDLE TENNESSEE TONIGHT. THE ATMOSPHERE WILL BE SUFFICIENTLY
UNSTABLE FOR SEVERE WEATHER TO DEVELOP. STORMS WILL LIKELY PRODUCE
DAMAGING WINDS...HEAVY RAINFALL AND ISOLATED TORNADOES.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

ISOLATED STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE IN THE
CUMBERLAND PLATEAU REGION WEDNESDAY MORNING...AS THE STRONG COLD
FRONT PUSHES EAST.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER AND EMERGENCY MANAGER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED THIS EVENING.

04

In the hours before

Local storm report, Feb 5, 11:01 PM CST, 1 hour 31 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
1101 PM CST TUE FEB 05 2008

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

1020 PM     HAIL             10 E WESTMORELAND       36.56N 86.07W
02/05/2008  E2.00 INCH       MACON              TN   AMATEUR RADIO

&&

SHERRON
Local storm report, Feb 5, 11:15 PM CST, 1 hour 17 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
1115 PM CST TUE FEB 05 2008

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

0807 PM     TORNADO          BIG SANDY               36.23N 88.09W
02/05/2008                   BENTON             TN   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            TRAILERS DAMAGED AND NUMEROUS TREES DOWN

&&

21
Local storm report, Feb 5, 11:24 PM CST, 1 hour 8 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
1124 PM CST TUE FEB 05 2008

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

1004 PM     TORNADO          7 E GALLATIN            36.38N 86.33W
02/05/2008                   SUMNER             TN   NWS EMPLOYEE

            POST OFFICE DESTROYED IN CASTILLIAN SPRINGS

&&

21
Local storm report, Feb 5, 11:40 PM CST, 52 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
1140 PM CST TUE FEB 05 2008

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

1004 PM     TORNADO          7 E GALLATIN            36.38N 86.33W
02/05/2008                   SUMNER             TN   NWS EMPLOYEE

            *** 2 FATAL, 5 INJ *** IN BETH PAGE AND CASTALIAN SPRINGS
            AREA...NUMEROUS INJURIES...PEOPLE TRAPPED IN
            HOMES...PEOPLE MISSING. TWO FATALITIES THUS FAR.

&&

21
Local storm report, Feb 6, 12:11 AM CST, 21 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
1211 AM CST WED FEB 06 2008

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

1211 AM     HAIL             DICKSON                 36.08N 87.38W
02/06/2008  E1.00 INCH       DICKSON            TN   AMATEUR RADIO

            LARGE HAIL IN DOWNTOWN DICKSON

&&

SHERRON
Local storm report, Feb 6, 12:32 AM CST, 0 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
1232 AM CST WED FEB 06 2008

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

0810 PM     TORNADO          7 S LINDEN              35.51N 87.84W
02/05/2008                   PERRY              TN   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            NUMEROUS TREES DOWN ACROSS THE SOUTHERN PART OF COUNTY

&&

21

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.

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), 00:00Z

6.5 hours before the tornado, 66 km from the path. February 6, 2008.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Nashville Metro, TN at 00:00Z on 2008-02-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 706 joules per kilogram, CIN -45, lifted condensation level 812 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°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, Nashville Metro, TN at 00:00Z on 2008-02-06The 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 300 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 54 knots.1939587897117Sfc1 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
706 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-45 J/kg
Surface CAPE
750 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
812 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
54 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
300 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
362 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.6
Supercell composite
3.2
0-3 km lapse rate
6.3 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), 12:00Z

5.5 hours after it, 66 km from the path. February 6, 2008.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Nashville Metro, TN at 12:00Z on 2008-02-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 0 joules per kilogram, CIN -75186, lifted condensation level 675 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°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, Nashville Metro, TN at 12:00Z on 2008-02-06The 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 -77 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 75 knots.1939587897117Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-75186 J/kg
Surface CAPE
15 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
675 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
75 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
29 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-77 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
221 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
5.0 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Columbia (MRC), 52 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
04:53 UTC7161190° 16 kt341005.8
05:53 UTC7161190° 14 kt321004.7
06:53 UTC7061180° 17 kt301003.7-RA
07:05 UTC69.862.6190° 13 kt251004.4+TSRA
07:13 UTC6862.6190° 9 kt231004.1TSRA
07:20 UTC6862.6190° 11 kt191003.7-TSRA
07:53 UTC6863190° 12 kt191003.4TS
08:18 UTC6862.6240° 10 kt391003.7-TSRA SQ

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

The radar

The Nashville radar (KOHX), 73 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 06:33 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
03:32 UTCTSTM WND DMGDicksonDickson, TN1 TREE DOWN ON WHITE BLUFF RD.
03:35 UTCTSTM WND DMGNashvilleDavidson, TNTREES DOWN VARIOUS PARTS OF COUNTY.
03:40 UTCHAIL 1.751 N NashvilleDavidson, TNGOLFBALL SIZE HAIL IN MADISON
06:11 UTCHAIL 1DicksonDickson, TNLARGE HAIL IN DOWNTOWN DICKSON

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2008 tornado in TennesseeEvery tornado in Tennessee since 1950Warnings in force in Tennessee nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of February 6, 2008

23 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
February 61:01 AM ESTEF1Washington, KY0.3150$60,000
February 61:06 AM ESTEF2Washington, KY1.0250$15,000
February 61:08 AM ESTEF1Franklin, KY2.4170$250,000
February 61:20 AM ESTEF1Mercer, KY0.9350$1.0 million
February 61:29 AM ESTEF2Harrison, KY3.54401$500,000
February 612:44 AM CSTEF0Davidson, TN0.120
February 612:46 AM CSTEF0Yazoo, MS4.875$180,000
February 61:51 AM ESTEF0Clark, KY0.9125$200,000
February 62:06 AM ESTEF1Bath, KY8.7250$250,000
February 61:12 AM CSTEF0Sumner, TN3.350
February 61:22 AM CSTEF1Sumner, TN11.8100
February 62:23 AM ESTEF0Menifee, KY4.0150$50,000
February 61:25 AM CSTEF1Leake, MS1.550
February 61:40 AM CSTEF3Allen, KY9.4440411$1.3 million
February 61:45 AM CSTEF0Williamson, TN1.6300
February 61:55 AM CSTEF0Noxubee, MS1.750
February 62:04 AM CSTEF1Lamar, AL7.3150$70,000
February 62:51 AM CSTEF2Fayette, AL26.22,0004$335,000
February 63:02 AM CSTEF4Moulton–Decatur tornado, AL16.7880423
February 64:00 AM CSTEF0Cullman, AL0.320
February 64:45 AM CSTEF1Marshall, AL0.235
February 65:17 AM CSTEF4Rosalie–Flat Rock tornado, AL10.9660112
February 66:25 AM CSTEF2Coosa, AL15.92,000$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.