Saturday, February 09, 2008

Record Tornado!

The NWS has confirmed that one of Tuesday' tornadoes was the longest tracking tornado in Arkansas since the data has been kept. The guys at the NWS have been working their tail off this week to survey and classify all of the damage across the state. Here's the statement that just came from the National Weather Service in Little Rock:

...RECORD LONG TORNADO TRACK CONFIRMED IN ARKANSAS...

DAMAGE THAT OCCURRED IN A LARGE SWATH FROM ATKINS... TO CLINTON... MOUNTAIN VIEW AND HIGHLAND ON FEBRUARY 5TH WAS THE RESULT OF ONE TORNADO. THE TORNADO TRACKED FROM 5 MILES EAST-SOUTHEAST OF CENTERVILLE IN YELL COUNTY TO 3.2 MILES NORTHEAST OF HIGHLAND IN SHARP COUNTY. THE TRACK LENGTH WAS 123 MILES...WHICH IS THE LONGEST TORNADO TRACK SINCE 1950. THE TORNADO HAS BEEN RATED EF4 ON THE EHANCED FUJITA SCALE... WITH WINDS BETWEEN 166 AND 200 MPH. THE DAMAGE PATH REACHED A HALF MILE TO A MILE WIDE AT TIMES....

THE TOP 5 TRACK LENGTHS SINCE 1950...

1. 02/05/2008 (123 MILES)
2. 02/20/1951 (112 MILES)
3. 04/30/1954 (92.4 MILES)
4. 03/20/1955 (89.4 MILES)
5. 12/24/1982 (63 MILES)

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Not to be selfish, but I honestly hope that no one else ever has to suffer this kind of record...just too sad.
You know Ryan, your passion for the weather really comes through when you are reporting and tracking these storms. It's a comforting feeling that we know that there is someone there at KAIT that genuinely takes our safety to heart and not just because it's his job. Thank you once more to the whole weather team!
Oh,PS-it's kind of neat seeing my comment on some of the weather commercials...my family gets a really big kick out of it...they are easily entertained...lol

Anonymous said...

To quote the old-school farmer-filmed tornado video from Lazbuddie, TX in the early '90s:

That cloud had some baaad stuff in it.

Jason H said...

Wonder what this ranks Nation wide? I bet it would be in the top 20.

Winter storm tomorrow just to our North....go figure.LOL

Ryan said...

I see the Winter Storm Watch to our north, but I'm not sold on seeing much in Region 8. If anything, maybe just some sleet at the start when the air is trying to saturate.

Andrew said...

Thats one Record that didn't need to be broken.

Anonymous said...

I JUST WANT TO KNOW WHY THE SIRENS IN PARAGOULD DID NOT SOUND ALTHOUGH THERE WAS A TORNADO WARNING? DOES THERE HAVE TO BE AN ACTUAL TORNADO ON THE GROUND OR SOMETHING? THANKS