NWS DAMAGE SURVEY FOR 02/18/13 TORNADO EVENT

EVENT DATE...FEB 18 2013
EVENT TIME...2:03 PM CST TO 2:06 PM CST
EVENT TYPE...EF-1 TORNADO
ESTIMATED PEAK WINDS (MPH)...95-105
INJURIES/FATALITIES...0/0
DAMAGE PATH LENGTH... 0.6 MILES
DAMAGE WIDTH... 30 YARDS




NWS SURVEY TEAM TOURED THE DAMAGE AREA WITH THE SAN JACINTO COUNTY FIRE MARSHALL. EF-1 TORNADO DAMAGE (ON THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE) WAS OBSERVED WITH A LARGE BARN DESTROYED AND PARTIAL ROOF LOSS TO A BRICK HOME. THERE WAS ALSO EXTENSIVE DAMAGE TO THE FRONT DOOR AND GARAGE PORTION OF THE STRUCTURE. ON EITHER END OF THE DAMAGE PATH, LARGE TREES WERE UPROOTED. A SECOND SMALL SHED WAS DESTROYED ON THE EASTERN END OF THE DAMAGE PATH. SOME DEBRIS WAS OBSERVED MOVED A LARGE DISTANCE...ABOUT ONE HALF MILE...INCLUDING SHINGLES, SHEET METAL AND BEER CANS. THERE WAS ONE WITNESS WHO SAW THE FUNNEL MOVE OVER THE MOST SEVERE DAMAGE AREA, AND THIS PERSON SAW A THIN LIGHT COLORED FUNNEL AND SWIRLING DEBRIS FROM A HUNDRED YARDS OR SO AWAY BEFORE TAKING SHELTER. THE RESIDENTS OF THE DAMAGED HOME WERE AWAY WHEN THE TORNADO STRUCK AND THE ANIMALS AT THE FARM WERE NOT IN THE DESTROYED BARN, SO THERE WERE NO INJURIES WITH THIS EVENT. SEVERAL PEOPLE COMMENTED ON RECEIVING THE WARNING. A NEARBY MARKET SAW A FUNNEL CLOUD AND LED ITS SHOPPERS TO THE REAR OF THE STORE IN A SMALL ROOM.

For more damage pictures visit: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/hgx/?n=severe_2013_02_18

KHGX Radar @ 200pm

KHGX Radar @ 205pm

TIAH Radar @ 205pm

Image Courtesy NWS KHGX

Dual-Pol Radar Sees Hattiesburg Tornado

EXCERPT FROM THE NWS JACKSON, MS STORM SURVEY:

Thanks to recent dual-pol upgrades at area Doppler radar sites, we could also confirm the presence of tornadic debris. Here is a screen capture from the Mobile, AL radar at 5:13 pm as the tornado was moving through the West Hattiesburg/Oak Grove area. The more traditional radar products shown at the top (base reflectivity, storm relative velocity) were showing a severe thunderstorm, with strong and tight rotation at just over 7,000 feet above the ground. It was the dual-pol products on the bottom of this image that provided additional confirmation that this rotation must have been extending to the ground. The correlation coefficient (CC) product in the bottom-right helps to provide an idea of the consistency of the shape of the targets being reflected back to the radar. Higher values shows greater consistency (for instance, all rain), while lower values show less consistency (a mixture of targets). In this image we see an area of lower CC, which is actually an indication of tornadic debris of various shapes and sizes. In addition, the differential reflectivity product indicated values close to 0, which would also be expected with tornadic debris. Dual-pol continues to prove to be a powerful tool in our arsenal of technology enabling us to track severe weather.