As mentioned before, the February 5th, 2008 deadly Super Tuesday tornado outbreak is the deadliest in over two and a half decades in the U.S. As of this writing, the total deaths so far are 56, and this may well increase. Numbers broken down by state as follows:
Arkansas: 13
Tennessee: 32
Alabama: 4
Kentucky: 7
So far 53 tornadoes have been confirmed from the outbreak, rating as high as EF4 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. President Bush has declared a Federal Disaster in 11 counties in 5 counties in Tennessee so far, and 16 other counties have requested Federal Aid. The Red Cross, United Way and Salvation Army have spread out across the region with volunteers to assist in cleanup and recovery efforts, meals and supplies.
Here is a list of the surveys that have been put online so far that I can find:
NWS Huntsville, AL
Lawrence/Morgan County, AL EF4 Tornado
Jackson County, AL EF4 Tornado
Marshall County, AL EF1 Tornado
Cullman County, AL EF0 Tornado
NWS Nashville, TN
Preliminary Reports and Tornado Tracks
NWS Memphis, TN
NWS Birmingham, AL
Lamar/Marion County, AL EF1 Tornado
Fayette/Tuscaloosa/Walker Counties, AL EF2 Tornado
Coosa/Talladega Counties, AL EF2 Tornado
NWS Paducah, KY
Muhlenburg County, KY EF3 Tornado
Christian County, KY EF2 Tornado
Calloway County, KY EF1 Tornado
Trigg County, KY EF1 Tornadoes (2)
Jefferson County, IL Straight Line Wind Damage
NWS Louisville, KY
Hardin County, KY EF2 Tornadoes (2)
Spencer County, KY EF0 Tornado
Washington County, KY EF1 and EF2 Tornadoes
Nelson County, KY EF1 and EF2 Tornadoes
Franklin County, KY EF1 Tornado
NWS Little Rock, AR
The fact that this occurred in the dead of winter really astounds me. Our climate is really changing a lot and the results are more storms than before. Tornado season seems to be starting earlier than ever.
Actually, winter time tornadic storms in the south in the winter are not uncommon at all. The magnitude of this event was more rare, but there are tornadic storms every year across the entire SE part of the country in the late winter/very early spring. There have been plenty of outbreak situations in the past as well as far back as we have been keeping records.
While one of the more rare events, it’s nothing “new”.