Severe Thunderstorms and Heavy Rain in the Southern Plains; Fire Weather Threat in the Southwest U.S.

Thunderstorms, some severe, may produce heavy to excessive rainfall and isolated flooding over portions of the Southern Plains today and Saturday. Dry conditions, combined with gusty winds and low relative humidities will continue to support an elevated to critical fire weather threat in the Desert Southwest into to early next week. Read More >

Overview

A supercell thunderstorm tracked across McCreary County during the late evening hours of March 12th. A National Weather Service Jackson survey team found intermittent damage along the entire path. There were three distinct areas of damage where the tornado touched down. On Chitwood Ridge Rd, several hardwood trees were snapped off. There was also a house with some roof damage.

The next area of tornado damage was on the northern side of Whitley City along north Highway 1651, where more hardwood trees were snapped off along with some damage to a few two-story buildings.

Finally, the third area of tornado damage was northeast of Whitley City on Stephens Farm Rd. A tree landed on a house, leading to major damage. There were also several more houses with roof damage and additional trees snapped off.

House Damaged from Tree Blown Down From Tornado.

Photo from NWS Storm Damage Survey.

Tornado
Radar
Environment

Tornado

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Tornado - Whitley City
McCreary County

Date	03/12/2020
Time (Local)	10:07 pm - 10:09 pm
EF Rating	EF-1
Est. Peak Winds	100 mph
Path Length	1.6 miles
Max Width	175 yards
Injuries/Deaths	0
Summary: A supercell thunderstorm tracked across McCreary County during the late evening hours of March 12th. The survey team found intermittent damage along the entire path. However, there were three distinct areas of damage where the tornado occurred.

Track Map

The Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale classifies tornadoes into the following categories:

EF0 Weak 65-85 mph	EF1 Moderate 86-110 mph	EF2 Significant 111-135 mph	EF3 Severe 136-165 mph	EF4 Extreme 166-200 mph	EF5 Catastrophic 200+ mph

Radar

March 12th, 2020 @ 8 pm through March 13th, 2020 @ 2 am.

Environment


Surface Analysis at 11:00 pm.	0-1 km SRH at 10:00 pm.

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Severe Thunderstorms and Heavy Rain in the Southern Plains; Fire Weather Threat in the Southwest U.S.

March 12th, 2020 Whitley City Tornado