EF1 tornado, Loretto to Lawrenceburg Arpt, Tennessee, February 5, 2020

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 5, 2020

Touchdown

5:56 PM CST (23:56 UTC)

Lifted

6:07 PM CST (00:07 UTC)

On the ground

11 minutes

Path length

10.5 miles (16.9 km)

Path width

300 yards (274 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

1

Property damage

$100,000

County

Lawrence County

Touchdown point

35.223, -87.398

Lift-off point

35.262, -87.219

Record number

2002051756-01

51 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS OHX, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 105 mph.

• Numerous trees down all in straightline wind path facing NE
• Several trees uprooted. some roof damage
• Lots of trees down and roof peeled.
• Cinder block outfiled wall blown down northward

Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.

After an unusually wet January, another strong storm system brought more heavy rainfall, flooding, and severe storms to parts of Middle Tennessee on February 5th. A line of strong to severe thunderstorms known as a QLCS (Quasi-linear Convective System) developed in northern Mississippi and moved across southern and eastern Middle Tennessee during the afternoon and evening hours. These storms spawned 6 weak tornadoes and widespread straight-line wind damage. In addition, heavy rainfall affected much of Middle Tennessee throughout the day, causing significant flooding in many areas.

This EF-1 tornado touched down along Riddle Lane causing tree damage as well as damage to the outfield wall at the Loretto Sports Complex. The tornado traveled east-northeast taking down additional trees and power lines. On Highway 43, the First Farmers Bank sign was blown down as the tornado continued across the highway into an open field before intensifying and causing damage to several homes in a neighborhood. Numerous large trees were snapped/uprooted. At this point, the tornado was at its widest at around 300 yards. The tornado then weakened east of Methvin Road. However, the weakening was short-lived as the tornado caused complete destruction to a well-built detached garage on Jason's Way. Tree and outbuilding damage continued until the tornado lifted near John Chapel Road. Max winds were estimated at 105 mph.

This EF-1 tornado initially touched down along Glenn Springs Road downing several trees including a large tree falling on a house. The tornado then crossed Highway 64 continuing its destruction of mostly trees, power lines, and roofs as it moved through the city of Lawrenceburg. Several large trees were snapped or uprooted right in the heart of the city, especially around the public library where one tree fell onto the building and caused significant roof damage. The tornado then moved east-northeast into a more residential neighborhood where additional large trees were uprooted. The tornado weakened as it moved into rural eastern Lawrence County where mostly trees, outbuildings, and a barn were damaged. The tornado lifted just before reaching the Lawrence/Giles County line.

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.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 22:26 UTC and running to 00:46 UTC.

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 Slight Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 20:00 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.

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 Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 117 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 23:56 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.

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 2020 tornado in TennesseeEvery tornado in Tennessee since 1950Warnings in force in Tennessee nowThe forecast where you are

15 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.