Tornadoes · United States · Tennessee · 2014
EF1 tornado, Taylortown to Wilder Chapel, Tennessee, February 20, 2014
From Taylortown to Wilder Chapel, this EF1 tornado ran 1.1 miles across Franklin County on February 20, 2014, touching down at 10:08 PM CST and reaching 100 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.
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 20, 2014
- Touchdown
- 10:08 PM CST (04:08 UTC)
- Lifted
- 10:09 PM CST (04:09 UTC)
- On the ground
- 1 minutes
- Path length
- 1.1 miles (1.7 km)
- Path width
- 100 yards (91 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- County
- Franklin County
- Touchdown point
- 35.176, -86.205
- Lift-off point
- 35.175, -86.186
- Record number
- 1402202208-01
The damage survey
35 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS HUN, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 100 mph.
Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.
What the Weather Service recorded
A quasi-linear convective system rolled across the region during the evening and overnight hours of the 20th into the 21st producing eight tornadoes in north Alabama and southern middle Tennessee and numerous reports of wind damage.
An EF-1 tornado with wind speeds up to 95 mph tornado touched down in the Tim's Ford State Park area just west of Wiley Road. Several trees were snapped or uprooted in this area. In addition, a large outbuilding was destroyed and a home sustained roof damage. The tornado tracked generally east, pretty much paralleling Cole Lane. Numerous trees were uprooted and another farm building was damaged.||Along Owl Hollow Lane, a home sustained significant damaged when a farm building was completely destroyed and a portion of the roof was blown through the side of the house. About 1/3 of the south facing wall of the home was destroyed and a large chunk of the farm building ended up inside one of the second story bedrooms. Fortunately, the occupants stated they received the warning of the storm coming and took shelter minutes before the storm arrived. The tornado then continued its eastward trek before lifting somewhere west of Haddon Lane.
An EF-1 tornado with wind speeds up to 100 mph tornado touched down in the Estill Springs and Wilder Chapel communities of far northeast Franklin County late on the evening of February 20th. The tornado first snapped trees along and west of Oak Grove Road, north of the intersection with Dabbs Road. The tornado lifted northeast and crossed Wilder Chapel Road. Here, a large swath of hardwood trees were snapped and twisted near the base. A large outbuilding was also destroyed and a home had minor roof damage. Further down Oak Grove Road, additional hardwood trees were uprooted. The tornado weakened as it lifted northeast toward the county line with only minor damage noted along Baker Cemetery 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 Moderate Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 01:00 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 Huntsville, AL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Feb 20, 9:49 PM CST, 19 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 20, 9:49 PM CST, 19 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 949 PM CST THU FEB 20 2014 .UPDATE... UPDATE TO CANCEL TORNADO WATCH 16 FOR NORTHWEST ALABAMA. && .DISCUSSION... HAVE CLEARED LAUDERDALE...COLBERT...AND FRANKLIN COUNTIES IN ALABAMA FROM TORNADO WATCH. ADDITIONAL COUNTIES TO THE EAST WILL BE CLEARED THROUGH THE EVENING. HOWEVER...AS STRONGER MID-LEVEL FORCING CONTINUES TO LIFT NORTHEASTWARD AND AWAY FROM THE AREA...THE LINE IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY ORIENTED IN A SW-NE FASHION AND WATCH CLEARANCE MAY TAKE A BIT LONGER FOR REMAINDER OF COUNTIES. THIS CONFIGURATION OF THE CONVECTIVE LINE WILL ALSO PROMOTE A HIGHER THREAT FOR CELL TRAINING AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL/FLASH FLOODING. 70/DD && .AVIATION... /ISSUED 534 PM CST THU FEB 20 2014/ FOR 00Z TAFS... CONDS WILL DETERIORATE RAPIDLY AT BOTH TERMINALS AS A LINE OF STRONG/SEVERE STORMS APPROACHES KMSL/KHSV. GRADIENT WINDS OUT OF THE SOUTH WILL BE SUSTAINED 15-25KTS WITH GUSTS UP TO 35-40KTS POSSIBLE, ESPECIALLY RIGHT AHEAD OF THE LINE OF STORMS. VSBYS WILL BE REDUCED TO 2SM OR LESS AS THE LINE PUSHES ACROSS THE TERMINALS. CONDS WILL QUICKLY IMPROVE BETWEEN MIDNIGHT AND DAYBREAK WITH CLEARING SKIES EXPECTED FROM WEST TO EAST. WINDS WILL RELAX DURING THIS TIME AS WELL, WITH 5-10KT WNW WINDS EXPECTED BY THE END OF THE TAF PERIOD. 12 && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 707 PM CST THU FEB 20 2014/ A LINE OF STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IS FINALLY ON THE DOORSTEP OF NW AL AS OF THIS WRITING, WITH SEVERAL REPORTS OF HAIL/WIND DAMAGE ACROSS PORTIONS OF WRN TN/NRN MS. EXPECT THE LINE OF STORMS TO STRENGTHEN AS THEY MARCH ACROSS THE AREA, WITH THE ASSC SFC LOW DEEPENING TO 984MB OVER THE SRN GREAT LAKES. THE COLD FRONT IS JUST NOW APPROACHING THE MS RIVER WITH A STARK CLEARING LINE NOTED BEHIND THE LINE OF CONVECTION. THANKS TO SURROUNDING OFFICES FOR SPECIAL RELEASE SOUNDINGS THIS AFTN, AS WELL AS TO MS STATE AND UAH FOR THEIR SOUNDING INFORMATION AHEAD OF THE LINE OF STORMS. UPDATED PRODUCTS ALREADY SENT. 12 && .HUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AL...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT FOR ALZ001>010-016. TN...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT FOR TNZ076-096-097. && FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WEATHER.GOV/HUNTSVILLE.
Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 20, 8:08 PM CST, 2 hours before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 808 PM CST THU FEB 20 2014 ALZ001>010-016-TNZ076-096-097-211130- LAUDERDALE-COLBERT-FRANKLIN AL-LAWRENCE-LIMESTONE-MADISON-MORGAN- MARSHALL-JACKSON-DEKALB-CULLMAN-MOORE-LINCOLN-FRANKLIN TN- 808 PM CST THU FEB 20 2014 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH ALABAMA AND PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT... A WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH MIDNIGHT TONIGHT AS SOUTHERLY WINDS OF 20 TO 25 MPH...WITH GUSTS TO 40 MPH...OCCUR ACROSS THE AREA AS A STRONG COLD FRONT APPROACHES FROM THE WEST. A SQUALL LINE OF STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT WILL AFFECT NORTHWEST ALABAMA FROM 7 TO 10 PM...THE INTERSTATE 65 CORRIDOR BETWEEN 9 PM AND MIDNIGHT...AND NORTHEASTERN ALABAMA BETWEEN 11 PM AND 3 AM FRIDAY MORNING. DAMAGING WINDS WILL BE THE PRIMARY THREAT...WITH WINDS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH POSSIBLE. ALTHOUGH THE MOST SIGNIFICANT THREAT FROM THIS SQUALL LINE WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS...A FEW BRIEF TORNADOES WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE WITH CIRCULATIONS EMBEDDED IN THE SQUALL LINE. A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH 3 AM CST. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL ALSO BE A CONCERN...WITH ONE TO TWO INCHES POSSIBLE THROUGH SUNRISE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL IS LIKELY FROM THIS EVENING THROUGH EARLY FRIDAY MORNING. 12
In the hours before
Local storm report, Feb 20, 8:45 PM CST, 1 hour 23 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
845 PM CST THU FEB 20 2014
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0820 PM TSTM WND DMG 2 ENE CHEROKEE 34.76N 87.93W
02/20/2014 COLBERT AL EMERGENCY MNGR
TREES REPORTED DOWN ACROSS THE ROAD AT THE INTERSECTION
OF MOODY LANE AND 6TH STREET. TIME ESTIMATED BY RADAR.
&&
KWEBERLocal storm report, Feb 20, 8:57 PM CST, 1 hour 11 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
857 PM CST THU FEB 20 2014
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0838 PM TSTM WND GST 10 SW LEIGHTON 34.60N 87.65W
02/20/2014 M67.00 MPH COLBERT AL TRAINED SPOTTER
CWOP EQUIPMENT IN LEIGHTON MEASURED A 67 MPH GUST.
&&
KWEBERLocal storm report, Feb 20, 9:07 PM CST, 1 hour 1 minute before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
907 PM CST THU FEB 20 2014
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0850 PM TSTM WND DMG 5 SSW MUSCLE SHOALS 34.67N 87.71W
02/20/2014 COLBERT AL TRAINED SPOTTER
TREE DEBRIS ON MILK SPRINGS ROAD. POWER OUTAGES REPORTED
IN THE AREA AS WELL.
&&
KWEBERLocal storm report, Feb 20, 9:23 PM CST, 45 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
923 PM CST THU FEB 20 2014
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0855 PM TSTM WND DMG 4 NNE ROGERSVILLE 34.88N 87.26W
02/20/2014 LAUDERDALE AL EMERGENCY MNGR
ROOF BLOWN OFF A HOUSE. ONE INJURY REPORTED.
&&
KWEBERLocal storm report, Feb 20, 9:27 PM CST, 41 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
927 PM CST THU FEB 20 2014
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0845 PM HAIL 4 SSE LITTLEVILLE 34.54N 87.64W
02/20/2014 E0.50 INCH FRANKLIN AL TRAINED SPOTTER
DIME SIZE HAIL AND WIND AROUND 40 MPH WAS REPORTED.
&&
KWEBERLocal storm report, Feb 20, 9:47 PM CST, 21 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
947 PM CST THU FEB 20 2014
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0859 PM TSTM WND DMG 1 W CAIRO 34.87N 87.17W
02/20/2014 LIMESTONE AL TRAINED SPOTTER
REPORT OF AT LEAST 3 TO 4 TREES DOWN AND POWER OUT. TWO
OF THE TREES WERE AT LEAST 18 INCHES IN DIAMETER. ONE OF
THE TREES WAS SNAPPED OFF 10 FEET FROM ITS TRUNK.
&&
KWEBERThe 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
4.1 hours before the tornado, 112 km from the path. February 21, 2014.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 231 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -78 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 196 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1039 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 61 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 37 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 346 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 386 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.4
- Supercell composite
- 1.3
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 6.5 K/km
Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), 12:00Z
7.9 hours after it, 112 km from the path. February 21, 2014.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -87768 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1329 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 110 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 40 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -79 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- -138 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 5.7 K/km
The surface observations
Winchester (BGF), 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 Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 29 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 04:07 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 2014 tornado in TennesseeEvery tornado in Tennessee since 1950Warnings in force in Tennessee nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of February 20, 2014
33 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 20 | 2:25 PM CST | EF2 | Pike, IL | 12.1 | 80 | 1 | ||
| February 20 | 2:48 PM CST | EF0 | Morgan, IL | 0.3 | 25 | |||
| February 20 | 2:52 PM CST | EF0 | Morgan, IL | 8.2 | 50 | |||
| February 20 | 3:43 PM CST | EF0 | Sangamon, IL | 0.2 | 75 | $30,000 | ||
| February 20 | 3:57 PM CST | EF1 | Bond, IL | 12.3 | 50 | |||
| February 20 | 3:57 PM CST | EF1 | Sangamon, IL | 8.3 | 300 | $990,000 | ||
| February 20 | 4:09 PM CST | EF2 | Montgomery, IL | 22.4 | 200 | 1 | $600,000 | |
| February 20 | 4:36 PM CST | EF1 | Fayette, IL | 4.8 | 50 | |||
| February 20 | 4:39 PM CST | EF1 | Pemiscot, MO | 0.2 | 70 | 5 | $75,000 | |
| February 20 | 4:40 PM CST | EF1 | Jackson, IL | 0.4 | 50 | $10,000 | ||
| February 20 | 4:40 PM CST | EF0 | Shelby, IL | 0.3 | 50 | |||
| February 20 | 4:41 PM CST | EF1 | Pemiscot, MO | 0.0 | 25 | $10,000 | ||
| February 20 | 4:54 PM CST | EF1 | Effingham, IL | 1.5 | 100 | $80,000 | ||
| February 20 | 5:43 PM CST | EF0 | Edgar, IL | 3.0 | 75 | |||
| February 20 | 7:40 PM EST | EF0 | Montgomery, IN | 7.5 | 40 | $75,000 | ||
| February 20 | 6:42 PM CST | EF0 | Webster, KY | 6.2 | 125 | $30,000 | ||
| February 20 | 7:11 PM CST | EF0 | Walthall, MS | 0.5 | 40 | $5,000 | ||
| February 20 | 7:12 PM CST | EF0 | Caldwell, KY | 1.6 | 125 | $8,000 | ||
| February 20 | 7:48 PM CST | EF0 | Marion, MS | 0.5 | 50 | $15,000 | ||
| February 20 | 9:32 PM EST | EF0 | Rush, IN | 0.0 | 25 | $12,000 | ||
| February 20 | 8:33 PM CST | EF1 | Evangeline Parish, LA | 2.6 | 75 | $50,000 | ||
| February 20 | 8:45 PM CST | EF1 | Lawrence, AL | 10.7 | 450 | |||
| February 20 | 8:51 PM CST | EF1 | Lauderdale, AL | 1.8 | 400 | |||
| February 20 | 8:55 PM CST | EF1 | Lauderdale, AL | 2.7 | 500 | 1 | ||
| February 20 | 9:05 PM CST | EF1 | Limestone, AL | 2.7 | 500 | |||
| February 20 | 10:14 PM EST | EF1 | Ripley, IN | 0.8 | 50 | $100,000 | ||
| February 20 | 9:28 PM CST | EF1 | Jones, MS | 4.6 | 100 | $400,000 | ||
| February 20 | 9:50 PM CST | EF0 | Jones, MS | 0.6 | 50 | $10,000 | ||
| February 20 | 9:53 PM CST | EF1 | Moore, TN | 1.6 | 400 | |||
| February 20 | 10:53 PM EST | EF0 | Montgomery, OH | 2.0 | 80 | $150,000 | ||
| February 20 | 10:23 PM CST | EF1 | Franklin, TN | 2.0 | 400 | |||
| February 20 | 10:29 PM CST | EF1 | Coffee, TN | 1.2 | 250 | $200,000 | ||
| February 20 | 12:54 AM EST | EF0 | Delaware, OH | 0.1 | 80 | $100,000 |
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.