Tornadoes · United States · Tennessee · 2008

EF2 tornado, North Highland, Tennessee, January 10, 2008

Name: EF2 tornado, North Highland, Tennessee, January 10, 2008
Start: 2008-01-10T20:55:00.000Z
End: 2008-01-10T20:57:00.000Z
Location: North Highland, Tennessee

This EF2 tornado ran 1.3 miles across Wayne and Lawrence counties on January 10, 2008, touching down at 2:55 PM CST and reaching 40 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $200,000 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 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
EF2111 to 135 mphthis tornado
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: EF2
Date: January 10, 2008
Touchdown: 2:55 PM CST (20:55 UTC)
Lifted: 2:57 PM CST (20:57 UTC)
On the ground: 2 minutes
Path length: 1.3 miles (2.1 km)
Path width: 40 yards (37 m)
Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $200,000
Counties: Wayne and Lawrence counties
Touchdown point: 35.329, -87.587
Lift-off point: 35.343, -87.572
Record number: 0801101455-01

What the Weather Service recorded

Squall line type thunderstorms, with some bow echoes, occurred on January, 10. Isolated supercells spawned a tornado in Wayne County.

A National Weather Service Storm Survey indicated that an EF2|tornado with wind speeds of 111-135 MPH struck Wayne County.||The worst damage was at 9110 Buttermilk Ridge Rd. A 30 foot by 30|foot metal barn was completely destroyed. Other metal barns|received considerable damage with most of the roof blown off.||Some homes lost shingles on their roofs. A dog house that was|anchored onto a concrete platform was blown away. Several trees|were snapped at the trunk. A wooden plank was planted into the|ground.||Sheets of metal from the barn were carried about a half mile away|into some trees on the Natchez Trace Parkway...just across into|Lawrence county. Trees were lying in different directions on the|Natchez Trace Parkway. Numerous trees were also uprooted at this|location on the Natchez Trace. ||The EMA Director assessed the damage by the tornado at 200,000 dollars.

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 Nashville, TN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Jan 10, 2:22 PM CST, 33 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 10, 2:22 PM CST, 33 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
222 PM CST THU JAN 10 2008

.DISCUSSION...
STRONG UPPER H5 WAVE MOVING THROUGH THE MID MS VALLEY WITH A COLD
FRONT JUST AHEAD ALONG THE MS RIVER. A WARM FRONT EXTENDS EWD
ALONG THE AR/MO AND KY/TN BORDER AREAS. STRONG DESTABILIZATION
IS FOSTERING SEVERE TSTMS OVER THE CNTRL AND WRN PORTIONS OF THE
MIDSTATE. THIS ACTIVITY WILL MOVE EWD ACROSS THE AREA THIS EVENING
AS THE COLD FRONT MOVES INTO THE MIDSTATE WITH RAIN TAPERING OFF
FROM THE WEST. NOT MUCH IN THE WAY OF COLD AIR BEHIND THIS
FRONT...LOW TEMPS ONLY DROP INTO THE LOW TO MID 30S.

THE NEXT H5 WAVE ENTERS THE MID MS VALLEY SAT NGT WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN
FOR SAT NGT THRU SUN NGT...POSSIBLY MIXED WITH SNOW DURING THE
LATE EVENING AND EARLY MORNING HOURS.

THE NEXT WAVE MOVES SEWD OUT OF THE MIDWEST INTO THE DEEP SOUTH
IN THE MON AFTN TO TUE AM TIME FRAME. THIS ALLOWS A BIT MORE COLD AIR
INTO THE AREA AND ALSO A CHANCE OF RAIN AND RAIN MIXED WITH SNOW.

MOS TEMPS AND POP GUIDANCE WAS IN DECENT AGREEMENT AND NO SGFNT
DEVIATIONS ARE ANTICIPATED.
&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
NASHVILLE      41  49  34  55 /  50   0  10  10
CLARKSVILLE    39  50  31  54 /  40   0  10  10
CROSSVILLE     39  46  30  51 /  90   0  10  10
COLUMBIA       41  50  34  56 /  50   0  10  10
LAWRENCEBURG   41  50  33  56 /  60   0  10  10
WAVERLY        40  50  32  55 /  40   0  10  10

&&

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

JLM

Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 10, 10:40 AM CST, 4 hours 15 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
1040 AM CST THU JAN 10 2008

TNZ005>011-022>034-056>066-075-077>080-093>095-111645-
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-
1040 AM CST THU JAN 10 2008

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MIDDLE TENNESSEE.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

A POTENT COLD FRONT WILL MARCH INTO THE MID STATE LATE THIS
AFTERNOON AND EVENING. STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP
AHEAD OF THE FRONT THIS AFTERNOON. THE MAIN HAZARD WILL BE
DAMAGING WINDS. LARGE HAIL AND ISOLATED TORNADOES CANNOT BE RULED
OUT. THE COLD FRONT WILL BE IN METRO NASHVILLE AROUND 6 PM.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER AND EMERGENCY MANAGER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED.

04

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jan 10, 1:56 PM CST, 59 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
156 PM CST THU JAN 10 2008

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

0155 PM     HAIL             HOHENWALD               35.55N 87.56W
01/10/2008  E1.00 INCH       LEWIS              TN   EMERGENCY MNGR

&&

JCOHEN

Local storm report, Jan 10, 1:59 PM CST, 56 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
159 PM CST THU JAN 10 2008

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

0145 PM     HAIL             3 SW HOHENWALD          35.52N 87.60W
01/10/2008  E1.75 INCH       LEWIS              TN   AMATEUR RADIO

&&

JCOHEN

Local storm report, Jan 10, 2:07 PM CST, 48 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
207 PM CST THU JAN 10 2008

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

0205 PM     HAIL             BERRY HILL              36.12N 86.77W
01/10/2008  E1.75 INCH       DAVIDSON           TN   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

21

Local storm report, Jan 10, 2:19 PM CST, 36 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
219 PM CST THU JAN 10 2008

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

0140 PM     TSTM WND GST     HOHENWALD               35.55N 87.56W
01/10/2008  E70 MPH          LEWIS              TN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH AND GOLFBALL HAIL

&&

21

Local storm report, Jan 10, 2:30 PM CST, 25 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
230 PM CST THU JAN 10 2008

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

0225 PM     FLOOD            MOUNT JULIET            36.21N 86.52W
01/10/2008                   WILSON             TN   EMERGENCY MNGR

            INTERSECTION OF SAUNDERSVILLE RD AND LUCY DRIVE IS
            IMPASSABLE.

&&

21

Local storm report, Jan 10, 2:55 PM CST, 0 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
255 PM CST THU JAN 10 2008

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

0253 PM     FLOOD            6 SSW LEBANON           36.13N 86.36W
01/10/2008                   WILSON             TN   EMERGENCY MNGR

            ROAD CLOSE DUE TO WATER OVER ROAD AT CENTRAL PIKE AND
            CHANDLER BRADFORD

&&

31

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), 12:00Z

8.9 hours before the tornado, 125 km from the path. January 10, 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: 4 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -63 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 589 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 59 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 37 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 155 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 170 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0
0-3 km lapse rate: 2.4 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

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

3.1 hours after it, 125 km from the path. January 11, 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: 449 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -6 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 313 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 674 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 75 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 47 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 318 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 372 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.9
Supercell composite: 3.0
0-3 km lapse rate: 6.4 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Columbia (MRC), 44 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 Nashville radar (KOHX), 137 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 20:56 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 Tennessee Every tornado in Tennessee since 1950 Warnings in force in Tennessee now The forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of January 10, 2008

16 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
January 10	11:27 AM CST	EF1	Claiborne, MS	3.1	250		$20,000
January 10	11:51 AM CST	EF3	Holmes, MS	9.7	1,320	3	$3.0 million
January 10	12:28 PM CST	EF3	Attala, MS	23.6	880	3	$4.0 million
January 10	12:39 PM CST	EF0	Rankin, MS	1.8	40
January 10	1:08 PM CST	EF0	Marengo, AL	0.5	200		$100,000
January 10	1:10 PM CST	EF1	Pointe Coupee Parish, LA	0.3	30		$1.5 million
January 10	1:42 PM CST	EF0	Neshoba, MS	1.5	75		$130,000
January 10	1:54 PM CST	EF1	Tishomingo, MS	2.8	100		$25,000
January 10	2:02 PM CST	EF1	Barren, KY	3.1	350		$500,000
January 10	2:09 PM CST	EF3	Lowndes, MS to AL	13.3	2,500	11	$7.1 million
January 10	12:15 PM PST	EF1	Clark, WA	10.1	440		$525,000
January 10	2:58 PM CST	EF1	Noxubee, MS	1.9	75		$30,000
January 10	3:02 PM CST	EF0	Noxubee, MS	0.8	40
January 10	3:10 PM CST	EF0	Pickens, AL	0.0	50		$10,000
January 10	3:43 PM CST	EF1	Pickens, AL	2.0	100		$55,000
January 10	4:11 PM CST	EF3	Tuscaloosa, AL	5.6	350		$435,000

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.