Late-March 2007 Tornado Outbreak

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Late-March 2007 Tornado Outbreak

Date of tornado outbreak:

March 28-present, 2007

Duration¹:

Currently ongoing

Maximum rated tornado²:

EF2(So far reported) tornado

Tornadoes caused:

8 confirmed, 69 reported

Damages:

Not yet available

Fatalities:

Areas affected:

Central United States

¹Time from first tornado to last tornado
²Most severe tornado damage; see Enhanced Fujita Scale

The Late-March 2007 Tornado Outbreak is a tornado outbreak currently ongoing across the central United States. It developed in the High Plains from South Dakota to central Texas on March 28, 2007. It is the second major outbreak of 2007, four weeks after an outbreak farther east. There have been dozens of tornadoes reported, and at least four deaths and extensive damage so far.

As of 6:30 p.m. CDT (2330 UTC) March 29, at least 69 tornadoes have been reported although some are likely duplicate reports.^[1] In addition to the tornadoes, widespread hail as large as softballs and destructive straight-line winds as strong as 90 mph (145 km/h) have been reported.

According to a statement released by the National Weather Service, as of 1:38 p. m. CDT March 29, the following tornadoes have been reported, 2 tornadoes in Oklahoma, 4 in Colorado, 12 in Nebraska, 17 in Texas, 2 in Illinois, and 28 in Kansas.

The activity level was very uncertain for March 29, as it was conditional on the dry line refiring. Despite the squall line remaining intact, several more tornadoes developed.

1 Meteorological synopsis
2 Reported tornadoes
- 2.1 March 28 event
- 2.2 March 29 event
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Meteorological synopsis

A warm, unusually humid air mass was entrenched across much of the eastern and central United States in the fourth week of March. A low pressure system began to develop across the central Rocky Mountains on March 27 and tracked eastward on March 28 into the Dakotas. The high dewpoints to the east, combined with an unstable air mass, meant the potential for severe weather was there across the High Plains. A moderate risk of severe weather was issued by the Storm Prediction Center.^[2]

That afternoon, the first signs of severe weather developed, and tornado watches were issued from South Dakota south to Texas. The advancing dry line and the cold front moving eastward combined to produce explosive supercell development late in the afternoon. Early that evening, supercells with severe thunderstorms and tornadoes were occuring along a nearly continuous line from near Lubbock, Texas to Rapid City, South Dakota. Before the supercells reformed into a squall line late that evening, at least 63 tornadoes were reported, many of them were very large and potentially destructive.^[3] Fortunately, the area is sparsely populated, preventing widespread death and destruction. Still, at least 4 people were killed.^[4]

As of 5:45 pm CDT (2245 UTC) March 29, at least 69 tornadoes were reported; 6 in Oklahoma, 4 in Colorado, 12 in Nebraska, 17 in Texas and 30 in Kansas. It is likely many of those were duplicate reports.

A tornado was reported by the public south of Holly, Colo. at 7:57 p.m. MDT which caused one death and 11 injuries, of which 8 were hospitalized. 60 homes were damaged and 5 were destroyed. Another tornado near Elmwood, Oklahoma killed 2, making it the first fatalities in Oklahoma caused by a tornado, in well over 5 years. ^[5]

On March 29, the squall line that moved eastward prevented a major outbreak during the daytime hours. Only a slight risk of severe storms was issued. Nonetheless, several tornadoes were reported, with two striking in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area with next to no advance warning before they struck. Significant damage has been reported there with at least two people hospitalized when their RV was hit.

Another moderate risk was issued for March 30, this time in south-central Texas into the Mexican state of Coahuila.

[edit] Reported tornadoes

Confirmed Total	Confirmed EF0	Confirmed EF1	Confirmed EF2	Confirmed EF3	Confirmed EF4	Confirmed EF5
8	3	3	2	0	0	0

[edit] March 28 event

EF#	Location	County	Time (UTC)	Path length	Damage
Texas
EF?	SW of Silverton	Briscoe	2220		Reported by trained weather spotters.
EF?	S of Silverton	Briscoe	2243		Tornado reported on the ground by the general public.
EF?	NE of Silverton	Briscoe	2303		Large and dangerous tornado.
EF?	SE of South Plains	Floyd	2306		Tornado destroyed an abandoned home.
EF?	N of Quitaque	Briscoe	2335		Tornado reported on the ground near the Caprock Canyon Park.
EF?	SW of Brice	Briscoe	2343		Reported by storm chasers.
EF?	N of Turkey	Hall	2354		Reported on the ground by storm chasers.
EF?	E of Booker	Lipscomb	0023		Reported by the Booker Fire Department.
EF?	SW of Clarendon	Donley	0050
EF?	SW of Amarillo	Randall	0050
EF?	E of Jericho	Gray	0055		Tractor-trailers flipped on Interstate 40. Unknown injuries.
EF?	S of McLean	Gray	0124
EF?	Mobettie area	Wheeler	0210
Kansas
EF0	SE of Sharon Springs	Wallace	2352	unknown	Brief tornado touchdown.
EF?	NE of Sharon Springs	Wallace	0005
EF?	E of Dresden	Decatur	0021
EF?	E of Jennings	Decatur	0023
EF?	SE of Meade	Meade	0028		Brief tornado touchdown.
EF?	NE of Meade	Meade	0044		Tornado tracked by storm chasers. Debris reported on the ground up to Fowler.
EF?	N of Fowler	Ford, Gray	0100
EF?	E of Montezuma	Gray	0105		Tornado reported along U.S. Route 24.
EF0	W of Tribune	Greeley	0105	unknown
EF?	E of Goodland	Sherman	0108
EF?	N of Coolidge	Hamilton	0112
EF?	S of Tribune	Greeley	0112
EF?	N of Ensign	Gray	0125		Large and dangerous tornado reported on the ground.
EF2	Bird City area	Cheyenne	0130	unknown	Large wedge tornado. Widespread power flashes reported and extensive damage. Tornado missed the village but affected a number of houses.
EF?	NW of Tribune (1st tornado)	Greeley	0140		Tornado reported by law enforcement.
EF?	NW of Jetmore	Hodgeman	0217		Large and dangerous tornado reported on the ground.
EF1	NE of Bird City	Cheyenne, Dundy (NE)	0220	unknown	Several houses were affected and extensive tree damage at a golf course.
EF?	E of Edson	Sherman	0226		Tornado reported with transformer flashes.
EF?	SW of Ness City	Ness	0242		Large tornado reported moving north.
EF0	E of Towner	Greeley, Kiowa (CO)	0245	unknown	Tornado along the state boundary.
EF1	NW of Tribune (2nd tornado)	Greeley, Wallace	0250
EF?	NE of Bird City	Cheyenne	0332
Nebraska
EF?	S of Merriman	Cherry	0012
EF?	Grant area (1st tornado)	Perkins, Chase	0103		Multiple tornado touchdowns reported.
EF?	W of Imperial	Chase	0105		Brief tornado touchdown.
EF?	W of Arthur	Arthur	0105
EF2	Grant area (2nd tornado)	Perkins	0122	17 miles (27 km)	Tornado damaged outbuildings and destroyed one home, no injuries reported. Maximum path width was 1/2 mile (500 m).
EF?	SE of Brule	Keith	0144		Intermittent tornado touchdown. Numerous reports near Highway 61.
EF1	SW of Ogallala	Keith	0211	0.13 mile (200 m)	Tornado destroyed outbuildings, damaged cattle pens, and moved irrigation pipes at stockyards west of Ogallala.
Oklahoma
EF?	SE of Elmwood	Beaver	0037		2 deaths - Widespread debris and damage reported. One woman was killed in a solid house, and her husband died later due to critical injuries.^[6]
Colorado
EF?	Holly area	Prowers	0157		1 death - Large tornado in the area. Five houses were destroyed in town and at least 60 others were damaged. At least eleven people were injured.^[7]
EF?	SE of Arapahoe	Cheyenne	0310		Small rope tornado. Three barns and homes were moderately damaged. 2 people were slightly injured. Small tornado
Sources: SPC Storm Reports 03/28/07 NWS North Platte, NWS Goodland

[edit] March 29 event

EF#	Location	County	Time (UTC)	Damage
Oklahoma
EF?	Okeene area	Blaine	2004	Apparent tornado damage in the area. Barn had roof and outer walls ripped off along its path.
EF?	Piedmont area	Canadian, Oklahoma	2120	Widespread structural damage reported in the northwest metropolitan area of Oklahoma City. Numerous mobile homes were destroyed and at least 10 cars were flipped on the Kilpatrick Turnpike according to KOCO coverage and a landing Gulfstream jet forced off the runway at Wiley Post Airport according to KWTV coverage. Several people were injured, at least two critically.
EF?	W of Hillsdale	Garfield	2124	Damage reported to numerous power lines and poles and possibly some structures.
EF?	NE of Yukon	Canadian	2130	Oklahoma Highway Patrol Reports the Kilpatrick Turnpike southbound is closed at Morgan Road due to tornado damage.
Sources: SPC Storm Reports 03/29/07