Tornadoes · United States · Tennessee · 2011
EF0 tornado, Ragsdale to Manchester Ragsdale, Tennessee, April 27, 2011
From Ragsdale to Manchester Ragsdale, this EF0 tornado ran 1.7 miles across Coffee County on April 27, 2011, touching down at 6:45 AM CDT and reaching 50 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $5,000 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 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
- April 27, 2011
- Touchdown
- 6:45 AM CDT (11:45 UTC)
- Lifted
- 6:46 AM CDT (11:46 UTC)
- On the ground
- 1 minutes
- Path length
- 1.7 miles (2.7 km)
- Path width
- 50 yards (46 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Crop damage
- $5,000
- County
- Coffee County
- Touchdown point
- 35.527, -85.997
- Lift-off point
- 35.533, -85.969
- Record number
- 1104270545-01
What the Weather Service recorded
During the early morning hours on Wednesday, April 27th, twelve tornadoes occurred across Middle Tennessee. Seven of these were EF0 tornadoes and five of these were EF1 tornadoes. Numerous thunderstorm wind damage events, along with several flash flooding events, occurred across the mid state also. This severe weather outbreak was the result of a very unstable airmass across Middle Tennessee ahead of a strong frontal system, with a warm front positioned near the Tennessee/Alabama border. As this frontal system pushed across the area through the remainder of the morning through the early evening hours, several thunderstorm wind and flash flood events also occurred as additional severe thunderstorms developed.
An EF0 tornado with maximum winds 70 to 80 mph briefly touched down around 645 am in northeast Coffee County. Aamage was noted along Swann and Rock Roads. The damage path was around 1 mile long and 50 yds wide.
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 High Risk, with a 0.30 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 06:10 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 Apr 27, 3:52 AM CDT, 2 hours 53 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 27, 3:52 AM CDT, 2 hours 53 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN 352 AM CDT WED APR 27 2011 ...LONG-TRACKED STRONG TO VIOLENT TORNADOES POSSIBLE IN MIDDLE TENNESSEE TODAY... ...HEAVY RAINFALL IS EXPECTED TO CAUSE SOME AREA CREEKS, STREAMS AND RIVERS TO REACH FLOOD STAGE... .SHORT TERM...TRAINING OF HEAVY THUNDERSTORM RAINS ACROSS WESTERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE CONTINUES TO INCREASE FLOOD POTENTIAL. THESE HEAVY RAINS ARE FALLING ON GROUNDS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN SOAKED BY REPEATED HEAVY RAIN EPISODES SINCE SUNDAY. FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS ARE ALREADY IN EFFECT FOR A LARGE PART OF WESTERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE AND ADDITIONAL FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS AND RIVER FLOOD WARNINGS WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED AS THE DAY PROGRESSES. THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION FOR HEAVY RAINFALL ACROSS WESTERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE TODAY...INCLUDING THE NASHVILLE METRO AREA. RAPID RISES WILL LIKLEY OCCUR TODAY ALONG SOME AREA CREEKS AND STREAMS AND THOSE LIVING NEARBY SHOULD CLOSELY MONITOR WATER LEVELS AND LISTEN FOR ANY ADDITIONAL FLASH FLOOD OR FLOOD WARNINGS THAT MIGHT BE ISSUED (SEE HYDROLOGY SECTION BELOW). EXPECT THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN TO CONTINUE THROUGH MUCH OF THE EARLY MORNING HOURS, AND PROGRESS SLOWLY EASTWARD. HOWEVER, THINGS WILL START TO RAPIDLY EVOLVE INTO A WIDESPRAD SEVERE WEATHER EVENT BY LATE MORNING AND EARLYAFTERNOON, AS A STRENGTHENING LOW PRESSURE AREA LIFTS NORTHEASTWARD FROM ARKANSAS ACROSS THE OHIO RIVER VALLEY. A WARM FRONT IS FORECAST TO LIFT NORTHEASTWARD ACROSS WESTERN PARTS OF OUR AREA BY EARLY AFTERNOON, ALLOWING SKIES TO BECOME PARTLY SUNNY. THIS WILL LEAD TO RAPID DESTABILIZATION OF THE AIR MASS AND RAPID SEVERE THUNDERSTORM GENERATION. EXPECT ROTATING SUPER CELLS TO DEVELOP IN THE WARM SECTOR, WITH LONG- TRACK DANGEROUS TORANDOES POSSIBLE, ESPECIALLY OVER SOUTHERN PARTS OF THE MID STATE, WHERE SPC HAS PLACED A HIGH RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TODAY. RIGHT NOW, IT LOOKS LIKE THE PEAK OF THE SEVERE WEATHER EVENT WILL OCCUR AROUND MID-AFTERNOON. A MODERATE RISK FOR SEVERE STORMS COVERS THE MAJORITY OF NORTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE TODAY. SO, ALL PARTS OF THE MID STATE ARE AT RISK FOR A SIGNIFICANT SEVERE WEATHER OUTBREAK TODAY. AFTER THE FRONT PASSES THIS EVENING, EXPECT SOME DRIER AND COOLER AIR TO PUSH IN FROM THE WEST. A WEAK UPPER LEVEL SHORTWAVE ZIPS THROUGH LATE THURSDAY AND EARLY THURSDAY NIGHT LEADING TO A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR SHOWERS IN EXTREME NORTHERN SECTIONS. THERE WILL BE AT LEAST A SMALL CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS OVER NORTHWEST MIDDLE TENNESSEE ON SUNDAY, BUT INCREASINGLY GREATER CHANCES FOR RAIN AREA-WIDE SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY. .LONG TERM...AFTER A COLD FRONT PASSES MONDAY NIGHT, EXPECT ANOTHER DRYING TREND FOR TUESDAY. .HYDROLOGY... CURRENT RADAR SHOWS MODERATE TO HEAVY RAINFALL OVER MANY AREAS WEST OF I 65. THE HEAVIEST BAND HAS BEEN MOVING RATHER SLOWLY EASTWARD...AND THIS HAS CAUSED SOME HEAVY RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 2 TO 3 INCHES SINCE LAST EVENING. MUCH OF THE NW HAS ALREADY BEEN UNDER A FLASH FLOOD WARNING...AND MORE WARNINGS WILL LIKELY BE ISSUED. WE CONTINUE TO EXPECT THE NW TO BE HARDEST HIT WITH EVENT TOTALS EXCEEDING 5 INCHES...WITH LOCALLY GREATER AMOUNTS. THIS MASS OF RAINFALL WILL GRADUALLY WORK EAST NORTHEAST THROUGH THE MORNING...AND ADDITIONAL FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS MAY BE NEEDED. THERE WILL LIKELY BE A BREAK IN THE RAIN FOR MANY AREAS AROUND MIDDAY...THEN HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS WILL RAMP UP THE FLASH FLOOD RISK AGAIN IN THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING WITH ANOTHER 1 TO 3 INCHES OF RAIN. FALLEN RAIN AND EXPECTED RAINFALL BRING PORT ROYAL ON THE RED RIVER TO MAJOR FLOOD STAGE EARLY THURSDAY MORNING. IT IS EXPECTED TO REACH FLOOD STAGE THIS MORNING...SO WE AHEAD WITH A FLOOD WARNING FOR THAT SITE. GENERALLY MINOR FLOODING IS IN THE FORECAST ON PORTIONS OF THE CUMBERLAND RIVER BELOW CHEATHAM DAM...THE HARPETH RIVER BELOW BELLEVUE...THE DUCK RIVER BELOW CENTERVILLE...THE BUFFALO RIVER NEAR LOBELVILLE...AND SHOAL CREEK NEAR IRON CITY. A FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THESE SITES...AND ANY NEEDED UPGRADES TO WARNINGS WILL BE ISSUED TODAY...WITH MOST EXPECTED TO REACH FLOOD STAGE AFTER MIDNIGHT. MINOR FLOODING IS ALSO POSSIBLE ON THE TRIBUTARIES OF THESE RIVERS...AS WELL AS LOCALIZED FLASH FLOODING. LOCALIZED RAINFALL AMOUNTS IN EXCESS OF 6 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE NORTHWEST MID TN...BUT WIDESPREAD EVENT TOTALS OF 3 TO 6 INCHES ARE TO BE EXPECTED. THE FLOOD WATCH WILL CONTINUE...AND UPGRADES TO FLOOD WARNINGS AND FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS ARE LIKELY FOR PARTS OF THE AREA THROUGH THE DAY. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... NASHVILLE 80 51 70 48 / 100 50 10 05 CLARKSVILLE 78 46 68 46 / 100 50 20 20 CROSSVILLE 74 50 63 46 / 100 80 10 05 COLUMBIA 81 52 71 48 / 100 50 10 05 LAWRENCEBURG 81 51 69 48 / 100 40 10 05 WAVERLY 79 48 70 47 / 100 50 10 05 && .OHX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH THIS EVENING FOR TNZ005>011-022>034- 056>066-075-077>080-093>095. WIND ADVISORY FROM 7 AM THIS MORNING TO 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR TNZ005>011-022>034-056>066-075-077>080-093>095. && 19
Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 27, 4:47 AM CDT, 1 hour 58 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN 447 AM CDT WED APR 27 2011 TNZ005>011-022>034-056>066-075-077>080-093>095-281000- 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-DE KALB-WHITE- CUMBERLAND-BEDFORD-COFFEE-WARREN-GRUNDY-VAN BUREN-WAYNE-LAWRENCE- GILES- 447 AM CDT WED APR 27 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MIDDLE TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT... THERE IS A HIGH RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE TODAY AND THIS EVENING. A MODERATE RISK EXISTS OVER MOST OF THE REMAINDER OF THE MID STATE. LONG TRACKED STRONG TO VIOLENT TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE TODAY AND THIS EVENING... ALONG WITH DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE WINDS...AND LARGE HAIL. HEAVY RAINFALL WILL LIKELY CAUSE SOME AREA CREEKS, STREAMS AND RIVERS TO REACH...OR APPROACH...FLOOD STAGE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... A SIGNIFICANT SEVERE WEATHER EVENT IS EXPECTED. SPOTTER REPORTS WILL BE NEEDED. SPOTTER THUNDERSTORM REPORTING CRITERIA... TORNADO FUNNEL CLOUD FLOODING HAIL >= 1/2 INCH WINDS > 50 MPH (MEASURED) STRUCTURAL DAMAGE TREES OR POWER LINES DOWN 19
In the hours before
Local storm report, Apr 27, 6:32 AM CDT, 13 minutes before
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</html>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
11.8 hours before the tornado, 87 km from the path. April 27, 2011.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1852 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -8 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 2754 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1222 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 47 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 22 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 144 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 169 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 1.3
- Supercell composite
- 8.9
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 6.8 K/km
Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), 12:00Z
0.2 hours after it, 87 km from the path. April 27, 2011.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -195 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 714 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 57 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 44 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -84 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- -38 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 4.9 K/km
The surface observations
Mc Minnville (RNC), 23 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 Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 67 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 11:45 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 2011 tornado in TennesseeEvery tornado in Tennessee since 1950Warnings in force in Tennessee nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of April 27, 2011
209 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 27 | 1:12 AM CDT | EF1 | Yazoo, MS | 9.7 | 250 | $70,000 | ||
| April 27 | 1:15 AM CDT | EF1 | Leflore, MS | 27.7 | 50 | $50,000 | ||
| April 27 | 1:24 AM CDT | EF1 | Leflore, MS | 3.2 | 100 | $50,000 | ||
| April 27 | 1:36 AM CDT | EF0 | LaSalle Parish, LA | 8.0 | 100 | $40,000 | ||
| April 27 | 1:40 AM CDT | EF2 | Holmes, MS | 12.3 | 1,760 | $100,000 | ||
| April 27 | 1:40 AM CDT | EF3 | Holmes, MS | 23.0 | 1,760 | $700,000 | ||
| April 27 | 1:51 AM CDT | EF2 | Attala, MS | 23.0 | 860 | $553,000 | ||
| April 27 | 1:51 AM CDT | EF0 | Holmes, MS | 1.7 | 50 | $25,000 | ||
| April 27 | 1:59 AM CDT | EF2 | Holmes, MS | 8.8 | 880 | $10,000 | ||
| April 27 | 2:06 AM CDT | EF1 | Grenada, MS | 1.9 | 150 | $60,000 | ||
| April 27 | 2:17 AM CDT | EF2 | Montgomery, MS | 11.7 | 1,760 | $425,000 | ||
| April 27 | 2:20 AM CDT | EF1 | Attala, MS | 0.5 | 50 | $25,000 | ||
| April 27 | 2:25 AM CDT | EF2 | Choctaw, MS | 6.8 | 1,750 | 2 | $350,000 | |
| April 27 | 2:29 AM CDT | EF1 | Winston, MS | 4.2 | 150 | $85,000 | ||
| April 27 | 2:29 AM CDT | EF3 | Choctaw, MS | 58.7 | 1,800 | 25 | $5.4 million | |
| April 27 | 2:37 AM CDT | EF2 | Webster, MS | 13.3 | 1,320 | 1 | 5 | $605,000 |
| April 27 | 2:47 AM CDT | EF1 | Winston, MS | 7.3 | 200 | $60,000 | ||
| April 27 | 3:20 AM CDT | EF1 | Noxubee, MS | 6.2 | 150 | $300,000 | ||
| April 27 | 3:43 AM CDT | EF2 | Tishomingo, MS | 9.3 | 150 | 1 | $500,000 | |
| April 27 | 4:01 AM CDT | EF1 | Lauderdale, AL to TN | 9.2 | 200 | $1,000 | ||
| April 27 | 4:03 AM CDT | EF2 | Kemper, MS to AL | 35.2 | 1,410 | $3.2 million | ||
| April 27 | 4:19 AM CDT | EF1 | Lauderdale, AL | 1.8 | 100 | 1 | ||
| April 27 | 4:27 AM CDT | EF2 | Pickens, AL | 14.4 | 1,232 | $1.8 million | ||
| April 27 | 4:41 AM CDT | EF3 | Pickens, AL | 22.5 | 704 | $741,000 | ||
| April 27 | 5:03 AM CDT | EF1 | Fayette, AL | 7.3 | 176 | 4 | $1.4 million | |
| April 27 | 5:17 AM CDT | EF3 | Tuscaloosa, AL | 20.3 | 200 | $9.3 million | ||
| April 27 | 5:18 AM CDT | EF3 | Walker, AL | 18.9 | 375 | 20 | $13 million | |
| April 27 | 5:38 AM CDT | EF2 | Lincoln, TN | 25.9 | 400 | |||
| April 27 | 5:40 AM CDT | EF1 | Marshall, TN | 2.9 | 100 | $75,000 | ||
| April 27 | 5:47 AM CDT | EF0 | Rutherford, TN | 2.1 | 50 | $8,000 | ||
| April 27 | 5:48 AM CDT | EF2 | Cullman, AL | 30.3 | 880 | 1 | ||
| April 27 | 5:50 AM CDT | EF1 | Shelby, AL | 3.4 | 100 | $3.7 million | ||
| April 27 | 5:50 AM CDT | EF1 | Lawrence, TN | 2.7 | 150 | 1 | $11,000 | |
| April 27 | 5:52 AM CDT | EF0 | Rutherford, TN | 1.6 | 75 | $50,000 | ||
| April 27 | 5:53 AM CDT | EF2 | Blount, AL | 3.2 | 200 | 3 | $9.3 million | |
| April 27 | 5:54 AM CDT | EF2 | Jefferson, AL | 7.8 | 200 | 20 | $18 million | |
| April 27 | 6:12 AM CDT | EF1 | Blount, AL | 14.8 | 200 | $42,000 | ||
| April 27 | 6:13 AM CDT | EF2 | Moore, TN | 2.0 | 75 | $25,000 | ||
| April 27 | 6:16 AM CDT | EF2 | St. Clair, AL | 3.8 | 200 | 5 | $865,000 | |
| April 27 | 6:20 AM CDT | EF1 | Marshall, AL | 11.0 | 75 | |||
| April 27 | 6:24 AM CDT | EF0 | Smith, TN | 3.4 | 50 | $5,000 | ||
| April 27 | 6:24 AM CDT | EF1 | Marshall, AL | 6.4 | 100 | |||
| April 27 | 6:30 AM CDT | EF2 | Marshall, AL | 20.0 | 880 | |||
| April 27 | 6:30 AM CDT | EF1 | Marshall, AL | 4.6 | 50 | |||
| April 27 | 6:30 AM CDT | EF1 | Marshall, AL | 3.4 | 100 | |||
| April 27 | 6:30 AM CDT | EF1 | Marshall, AL | 5.7 | 50 | |||
| April 27 | 6:32 AM CDT | EF1 | Green, KY | 3.1 | 150 | |||
| April 27 | 6:35 AM CDT | EF1 | Marshall, AL | 4.9 | 100 | |||
| April 27 | 6:35 AM CDT | EF1 | Marshall, AL | 0.3 | 50 | $10,000 | ||
| April 27 | 6:43 AM CDT | EF0 | Marshall, AL | 2.8 | 75 | |||
| April 27 | 6:45 AM CDT | EF1 | Marshall, AL | 4.8 | 200 | |||
| April 27 | 6:45 AM CDT | EF1 | Marshall, AL | 6.9 | 300 | |||
| April 27 | 6:47 AM CDT | EF1 | Jackson, TN | 3.3 | 100 | $10,000 | ||
| April 27 | 6:49 AM CDT | EF0 | Jackson, TN | 2.0 | 50 | $20,000 | ||
| April 27 | 6:49 AM CDT | EF1 | Marshall, AL | 1.6 | 100 | |||
| April 27 | 6:50 AM CDT | EF1 | Warren, TN | 13.2 | 100 | $100,000 | ||
| April 27 | 6:58 AM CDT | EF1 | DeKalb, AL | 27.9 | 300 | 1 | ||
| April 27 | 7:02 AM CDT | EF1 | Monroe, KY | 5.9 | 550 | |||
| April 27 | 7:10 AM CDT | EF2 | DeKalb, AL | 5.8 | 200 | $30,000 | ||
| April 27 | 7:18 AM CDT | EF1 | DeKalb, AL | 4.0 | 50 |
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.