Storm labeled as F1 tornado
The National Weather Service has released Doppler radar images showing what meteorologists saw as a tornado cut a path through Warren County last Friday, their warnings coming several minutes before the twister touched down hitting a densely populated subdivision.
The storm has officially been classified as an F1 tornado.
Doppler radar, which shows meteorologists an array of wind directions, is used to help predict the path of strong storms so warnings can be issued. In the case of last week’s tornado, warnings were issued for the county more than 15 minutes before the storm hit. McMinnville’s warning sirens were used to alert residents. The storm had been tracked by Doppler radar after it hit parts of Lawrence and Giles counties, with a tornado watch being turned into a warning based on the storm’s history and the Doppler data.
According to National Weather Service meteorologist Bobby Boyd, the Doppler images captured as the storm marched through Warren County is best translated by looking at their color.
‘The cool colors are winds coming toward the radar while the warm colors are winds going away. This is over a small area, so the green is inbound while the red is outbound,’ Boyd explained of the still images provided to the Southern Standard, noting the conflicting winds are what form tornadoes. ‘This would yield counterclockwise rotation in the storm as one would expect. This is what we as meteorologists key on when looking for tornadoes, along with several other things.’
Boyd revealed the tornado that struck Warren County touched down 11 miles west of McMinnville near Centertown at 1:42 p.m. The 250-yard-wide tornado then marched 15 miles northeastward across the county where it hit several homes, including the Candlewood subdivision centering on Beacon Drive.
The twister lifted near Faulkner Springs at 2:05 p.m. after spending 23 minutes on the ground, longer than any tornado in recorded county history. Winds were between 100 and 110 mph. While there were no injuries aside from some livestock, there were 60 houses damaged, with at least seven completely destroyed most in the Candlewood subdivision.