Florida-Deadly Tornado Outbreak Sumter,The Villages,N.Smyrna

[TampaFl]

Updated Preliminary Survey Report NWS Ruskin:

000
NOUS42 KTBW 032113 AAA
PNSTBW
FLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-041200-

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY RUSKIN FL
413 PM EST SAT FEB 3 2007

UPDATED FOR EVENT TIME AND TO ADD ESTIMATED PATH WIDTH

...TORNADO WITH 140 TO 150 MPH WINDS CONFIRMED IN NORTHEASTERN
SUMTER COUNTY...

A PRELIMINARY STORM SURVEY CONDUCTED BY STAFF FROM THE NWS OFFICE IN
RUSKIN HAS DETERMINED THAT A TORNADO...CONTAINING WINDS UP TO 150
MPH...CAUSED SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO STRUCTURES FROM NEAR WILDWOOD TO
THE VILLAGES IN NORTHEAST SUMTER COUNTY. THE TRACK BEGAN IN THE
NORTHEAST PORTION OF WILDWOOD AT THE INTERSECTION OF HIGHWAY 301 AND
COUNTY ROAD 462...THEN RACED NORTHEAST FOR 5 MILES BEFORE CONTINUING
INTO THE LAKE COUNTY PORTION OF THE VILLAGES...ONE AND ONE HALF
MILES SOUTH OF COUNTY ROAD 466. THOUGH THE FINAL COUNT OF DAMAGED OR
DESTROYED HOMES...AS WELL AS INSURED DAMAGE...WILL NOT BE KNOWN FOR
SEVERAL DAYS...THE FOLLOWING DETAILS HAVE BEEN OBTAINED FROM THE
TEAM THUS FAR:

INTENSITY...LOW END EF-3 (SCALE 139-167 MPH). TRADITIONAL F-SCALE:
STRONG F-2 (F-2 SCALE RANGES FROM 113 TO 157 MPH). ACTUAL TORNADO
WINDS ESTIMATED AROUND 140-150 MPH.

EVENT TIME...TOUCHDOWN NOW ESTIMATED TO BE AT 312 AM EST FRIDAY
FEBRUARY 2 AT RESIDENCES JUST NORTH OF WILDWOOD. THE TORNADO EXITED
SUMTER COUNTY AT 317 AM EST. DATA PROVIDED BY SECO ENERGY...FROM
WHICH EXACT TIMES OF POWER OUTAGES WERE OBTAINED AT LOCATIONS ALONG
OR VERY CLOSE TO THE TRACK.

PATH LENGTH...5 MILES THROUGH SUMTER COUNTY. HOWEVER...THE TORNADO
CONTINUED INTO NORTHERN LAKE COUNTY AND SURVEYS ON THAT AREA ARE
BEING CONDUCTED THIS SATURDAY AFTERNOON.
MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH...ESTIMATED TO BE 300 YARDS.

FATALITIES...NO FATALITIES REPORTED.

INJURIES...NO INJURIES REPORTED THUS FAR.

DAMAGES...HUNDREDS OF HOUSES EITHER SEVERELY DAMAGED OR DESTROYED.
FINAL COUNT LIKELY TO BE OVER 500 AFTER COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
PERSONNEL COMPLETE THEIR DAMAGE SURVEYS. DOLLAR DAMAGE ESTIMATES
WILL BE PROVIDED AFTER LOCAL...STATE...AND FEDERAL EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT STAFF COMPLETE THEIR ASSESSMENTS.

THIS STATEMENT WILL BE UPDATED AS ADDITIONAL INFORMATION IS MADE
AVAILABLE.

THE NEW EF-SCALE WAS DEVELOPED TO BETTER ASSESS WIND SPEEDS
ASSOCIATED WITH A WIDE VARIETY OF STRUCTURAL DAMAGE...FROM
SINGLE-WIDE MOBILE HOMES TO INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS TO FRAMED ONE OR
TWO FAMILY HOMES...AND MANY MORE. THIS SCALE IS CONSIDERED A DAMAGE
SCALE...WHEREAS THE TRADITIONAL FUJITA SCALE (F-SCALE) WAS MORE OF A
WIND SPEED SCALE.FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE NEW EF SCALE...PLEASE SEE THE FOLLOWING
WEBSITE:

HTTP://WWW.SPC.NOAA.GOV/EFSCALE

$$

REYNES/GOLDSMITH
NWS TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL

[TampaFl]

Update from NWS Melbourne:

000
FXUS62 KMLB 031915
AFDMLB

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
215 PM EST SAT FEB 3 2007

.DISCUSSION...
NOTE TO USERS: TWO STORM SURVEY TEAMS ARE CURRENTLY SURVEYING THE
TORNADO RAVAGED AREAS.

THEY HAVE REPORTED A HIGH END EF3 (~150-160 MPH) FROM LAKE MACK TO
THE LAKE/VOLUSIA COUNTY LINE AND A HIGH END EF2 IN THE DELAND AREA.
THE TEAMS ARE STILL CONDUCTING THEIR SURVEY OF THE LONG DAMAGE
TRACK...AND ONE WILL SOON BE SURVEYING THE HEAVILY DAMAGED AREAS
FROM PAISLEY TO LADY LAKE AND THE VILLAGES.

[TampaFl]

Updated Preliminary Tornado Survey Report NWS Melboroune:
000
NOUS42 KMLB 031951
PNSMLB

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
250 PM EST SAT FEB 3 2007

...THE LATEST FIELD REPORT FROM THE VOLUSIA COUNTY SURVEY TEAM
REGARDING YESTERDAYS TORNADO EVENT...

...WINDS ESTIMATED AS HIGH AS 154 MPH IN VICINITY OF HONTOON ISLAND
AT THE VOLUSIA/LAKE COUNTY LINE...
SO FAR...A PRELIMINARY STORM SURVEY HAS BEEN CONDUCTED IN WEST
CENTRAL VOLUSIA COUNTY BY A NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SURVEY TEAM
FROM THE MELBOURNE FORECAST OFFICE. THE TEAM HAS SURVEYED A SEGMENT
OF THE TORNADO DAMAGE PATH FROM HONTOON ISLAND...TO DELAND...EAST TO
NEAR INTERSTATE 4. NOTE...THIS IS ONLY A SMALL SECTION OF THE
OVERALL DAMAGE TRACK STRETCHING ACROSS NORTH LAKE AND CENTRAL
VOLUSIA COUNTIES.

INITIAL FIELD REPORTS ARE THAT A HIGH END EF-3 TORNADO MOVED EAST
FROM PAISLEY (LAKE COUNTY)CROSSING THE COUNTY LINE STRIKING THE
HONTOON ISLAND AREA WITH WINDS OF 150 TO 154 MPH. THIS CAUSED DAMAGE
TO STRUCTURES WHERE MOST WALLS COLLAPSED EXCEPT FOR THEIR INTERIOR
ROOMS...AS WELL AS LARGE TREES BECAME DEBARKED WITH ONLY THE STUBS
OF THE LARGEST BRANCHES REMAINING. THE TORNADO THEN MOVED THROUGH
THE DELAND AREA BECOMING A HIGH END EF-2 CAUSING COMPLETE
DESTRUCTION OF MOBILE HOMES AND TREES WERE SNAPPED OFF.

THE EF-3 TORNADO APPROACHED HONTOON ISLAND FROM THE WEST SOUTHWEST
HITTING THE AREA AT 355 AM AND THEN HITTING DELAND AT 402 AM. THE
TORNADO LIFTED IN VICINITY OF INTERSTATE 4.

THE TORNADO AT HONTOON ISLAND WAS ESTIMATED TO BE ONE-EIGHTH MILE
WIDE BEFORE LIFTING. THE DAMAGE ALONG THE SEGMENT WAS CONTINUOUS
FROM PAISLEY TO INTERSTATE 4. TOO...THERE IS AN INITIAL INDICATION
THAT EF-1 TORNADO DAMAGE OCCURRED IN NEW SMYRNA BEACH. THUS...THIS
WOULD BE THE RESULT OF A SECOND TORNADO.

THIS STATEMENT WILL BE UPDATED AS SOON AS ADDITIONAL INFORMATION IS
AVAILABLE.

A WORD ABOUT THE NEW TORNADO SCALE...THE EF-SCALE WAS DEVELOPED TO
BETTER ASSESS WIND SPEEDS ASSOCIATED WITH A WIDE VARIETY OF
STRUCTURAL DAMAGE...FROM SINGLE-WIDE MOBILE HOMES TO INDUSTRIAL
BUILDINGS TO FRAMED ONE OR TWO FAMILY HOMES...AND MANY MORE. THIS
SCALE IS CONSIDERED A DAMAGE SCALE...WHEREAS THE TRADITIONAL FUJITA
SCALE (F-SCALE) WAS MORE OF A WIND SPEED SCALE.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE NEW EF SCALE...PLEASE SEE THE FOLLOWING
WEBSITE:

HTTP://WWW.SPC.NOAA.GOV/FSCALE

$$

DWS/NWS MELBOURNE FL

[Josephine96]

The pics are still so heartbreaking to look at .. God Bless all those involved..

[Pileus]

TampaFL, in your post under NWS Survey Report, check out the couplet
images and origins of the images. It's from an AWIPS D-2D. Did a search
and found the User's Manual for the work station. Incredible tools at their
fingertips. My head is still spinning and I didn't get all the way through the manual. Imagine having this at home ? My tax $$$ well spent here.

[CajunMama]

They were playing some 911 calls from right after the tornadoes on the local news. Chilling, just chilling.

[artist]

The Villages Daily Sun - you will need adobe acrobat to read it as it is PDF.

http://www.thevillagesdailysun.com/torn ... 020207.pdf

[TampaFl]

3 Tornados Confirmed by NWS Melboroune:

000
NOUS42 KMLB 040142 CCA
PNSMLB

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
615 PM EST SAT FEB 3 2007

...THE LATEST FIELD REPORT FROM BOTH THE LAKE COUNTY AND VOLUSIA
COUNTY SURVEY TEAMS REGARDING YESTERDAYS KILLER TORNADO EVENT...

...DAMAGE SURVEYS NOW INDICATE THAT AT LEAST THREE TORNADOES ARE
RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEATH AND DESTRUCTION...
A PRELIMINARY STORM SURVEY CONTINUES IN BOTH LAKE AND VOLUSIA
COUNTIES WHERE EXPERT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SURVEY TEAMS ARE
ASSESSING THE DEVASTATION. THE LATEST REPORT FROM THE LAKE COUNTY
TEAM IS THAT THE TORNADO WHICH RIPPED THROUGH THE VILLAGES AND LADY
LAKE WAS HIGH END EF-3 WITH WINDS OF 155 TO 160 MPH. THE FIRST OF
THREE TORNADOES INITIALLY TOUCHED DOWN IN SUMTER COUNTY NEAR
WILDWOOD AND THE VILLAGES AND THEN CROSSED OVER INTO LAKE COUNTY TO
STRIKE LADY LAKE WHERE THE FIRST EVENT FATALITIES OCCURRED.
CURRENTLY...THERE ARE 7 KNOWN FATALITIES IN THE LADY LAKE AREA.

THE VILLAGES/LADY LAKE TORNADO...TORNADO NUMBER 1...HAS BEEN
CLASSIFIED AS AN EF-3 TORNADO WHICH CAUSED DAMAGE TO STRUCTURES
WHERE MOST WALLS COLLAPSED EXCEPT FOR THEIR INTERIOR ROOMS...AS WELL
AS LARGE TREES BECAME DEBARKED WITH ONLY THE STUBS OF THE LARGEST
BRANCHES REMAINING. MOBILE HOMES WERE COMPLETELY DESTROYED. THIS
TORNADO WAS ONE-QUARTER MILE WIDE DURING ITS MOST FIERCE MOMENTS.
THE TORNADO LIFTED EAST OF LADY LAKE WITH AN APPROXIMATE PATH LENGTH
OF ABOUT 15 MILES. THE TORNADO STRUCK LADY LAKE AT 320 AM.
AGAIN...7 KNOWN FATALITIES ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THIS TORNADO.

THE LAKE MACK/DELAND TORNADO...TORNADO NUMBER 2...WAS ALSO HIGH END
EF-3 WITH WINDS OF 160 TO 165 MPH. IT WAS ALSO ONE-QUARTER MILE
WIDE. IT RESULTED IN COMPLETE DESTRUCTION OF MOBILE HOMES...AND
CAUSED LARGE TREES TO BECOME DEBARKED. THE ESTIMATED TORNADO WINDS
NEAR LAKE MACK PEAKED AT 165 MPH WHICH RESULTED IN 10
FATALITIES...AND 150 TO 155 MPH WINDS AT FOREST DRIVE AND STATE ROAD
44 WHICH RESULTED IN 3 MORE FATALITIES. A TOTAL OF 13 KNOWN
FATALITIES OCCURRED WITH THIS DEADLY TORNADO. THE TORNADO CONTINUED
ACROSS THE COUNTY LINE NEAR HONTOON ISLAND...CROSSING INTO VOLUSIA
COUNTY...AND STRIKING DELAND AS A HIGH END EF-2 TORNADO WITH WINDS
OF 130 TO 135 MPH AS REPORTED BY THE VOLUSIA COUNTY TEAM. IT WAS
ONE-EIGHTH MILE WIDE AND LIFTED EAST OF INTERSTATE 4 NEAR THE
VOLUSIA COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS. THE PATH LENGTH WAS APPROXIMATELY 22
MILES. THE TORNADO STRUCK LAKE MACK AT 348 AM AND DELAND AT 402 AM.

THE NEW SMYRNA BEACH/PONCE INLET TORNADO...TORNADO NUMBER THREE...HAS BEEN INITIALLY RATED AS AN EF-1 TORNADO WITH WINDS OF 100 TO 105
MPH. THE TORNADO UPLIFTED ROOFS ON MANY STRUCTURES...CAUSING A
SIGNIFICANT LOSS OF ROOFING MATERIAL...THE COLLAPSE OF CHIMNEYS...
AND COLLAPSING GARAGE DOORS. ADDITIONAL DAMAGE OCCURRED TO PORCHES
AND CAR PORTS. THIS TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN JUST EAST OF INTERSTATE 95
NORTH OF HIGHWAY 44 IN NEW SMYRNA BEACH AND MOVED THROUGH PONCE
INLET. THE PATH LENGTH IS ABOUT 5 MILES. THE TORNADO STRUCK PONCE
INLET AT 427 AM.

THIS STATEMENT IS ONLY AN INITIAL REPORTING FROM THE SURVEY TEAMS.
IN THE COMING DAYS...CONSIDERABLE EFFORT WILL BE INVESTED TO ENSURE
THAT THIS HISTORICAL EVENT IS ACCURATELY DOCUMENTED.
A WORD ABOUT THE NEW ENHANCED FUJITA (EF) TORNADO SCALE...THE
EF-SCALE WAS DEVELOPED TO BETTER ASSESS WIND SPEEDS ASSOCIATED WITH
A WIDE VARIETY OF STRUCTURAL DAMAGE...FROM SINGLE-WIDE MOBILE HOMES
TO INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS TO FRAMED ONE OR TWO FAMILY HOMES...AND MANY
MORE. THIS SCALE IS CONSIDERED A DAMAGE SCALE...WHEREAS THE
TRADITIONAL FUJITA SCALE (F-SCALE) WAS MORE OF A WIND SPEED SCALE.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE NEW EF-SCALE...PLEASE SEE THE FOLLOWING
WEBSITE:

HTTP://WWW.SPC.NOAA.GOV/FSCALE

$$

DWS/NWS MELBOURNE FL

[tbstorm]

I knew it!!!
Sad to say my gut feeling was right........

jaxfladude.... you were on the money with your call as a repeat of El Nino 98. I think this one may be even more powerful than '98.

This is not a repeat of El Nino 98, which was the most powerful Nino ever recorded. (note that the measurement of a nino is by the SSTA's over the equatorial Pacific) In fact this nino is even weaker than the one in 03. The fact that tornado outbreaks occurred both 1998 and 2003 could've been fostered by upper atmospheric patterns that can be associated with El Nino, but by no means are they an indicator of the strength of it.

(BTW, the 98 outbreak in Florida was characterized by 7 strong, long track tornadoes spawned by 3 supercells that left 42 dead. This outbreak, although very intense, pales in comparison to that one.)

When I say "it may be more powerful than '98" I am referring to the tornadoes, not the El Nino surface temperatures.

Large and damaging tornadoes in 1998 with an El Nino, large and damaging tornadoes in 2007 (mind you, there was another, weaker, outbreak on 25 Dec 2006). Similar subtropical jet stream configurations in both 98 and 2007. So to me this is a repeat of conditions we (Florida) had 9 years ago.

[Extremeweatherguy]

in-depth '98 outbreak information: http://www.weather.gov/os/assessments/pdfs/cntrlfl.pdf

Though both outbreaks were similar, I think '98 was probably a bit worse.

[AJC3]

I'll be out on the road all day Tuesday surveying remote areas in our CWA where some of the other supercells (none were as intense as the one that produced the three tornadoes across Lake/Volusia) moved across.

I plan on investigating the following areas:

1) Northern Volusia County - trees were reported down near the Flagler County line

2) Seminole and northern Brevard Counties - a remote area where no TOR sighting or damage reports came in from

3) Southern Brevard/Northern Indian River Counties - was had three sightings looking toward the general direction of the border between the two counties: One from a woman in Osceola County driving on U.S 441 between Kenansville and Yeehaw Junction looking east, another from a man at a fishing camp on Blue Cypress Lake in NW Indian River, and a third from a man on U.S. 1 south of Grant in southern Brevard County. Given that three visuals came from such a remote area I suspect I WILL find at least some sort of damage to trees/vegetation/property in this area.

4) I may try to get all the way down to southern Indian River/Northern Saint Lucie as time permits, but given that the rotation within that storm was the weakest of any that I warned for, I don't think I'll find anything there.

[baygirl_1]

Opal storm - How's your sister's home? We've been out of town and I've been doing some catch-up reading on here this afternoon and I read your post from Fri. night about you sister. I couldn't find an update and was wondering how they are.
We spoke to cousins who live in central Florida. One lives in Silver Springs. He said the wind blew things around in their yard and he thought the roof was going to come off. But, they were about 25 miles from the Lady Lake tornado. Another cousin who lives closer to Disney World said it sounded like someone turned a fire hose on their windows between 2 and 3 Friday morning. Scared them half to death! Thank goodness they weren't in the path of the tornadoes. God bless those that were.

[TampaFl]

Along with all the devestation in Central Fl. some sad news about the loss of 18 Endangered Whooping Cranes, which comprised the Operation Migration ultralight-led 'Class of 2006' that arrived at the Chassahowitzka NWR in mid January.

http://www.operationmigration.org/Field_Journal.html

Some good news today from Operation Migration, Whooping Crane 615 survived and his signal was located and he was found along with two Sandhill Cranes. NBC News was there & it is to air @ 6:30PM Sunday evening. .

http://www.operationmigration.org/Field_Journal.html

[Scott_inVA]

Folks,

Didn't realize it at the time, but one of the Mid-Atlantic WX.com hurricane model map subscribers lives in Lady Lake, FL. I've received a couple reports from him regarding the tornado from Paisley Lake to Lady Lake. If interested, they are on my blog: http://www.midatlanticwx.com/blog.htm . Frustrating and fascinating at the same time.

Dang...it is cold up here in Virginia!

Scott
Mid-Atlantic WX.com,
Lexington, VA

[AJC3]

I'll be out on the road all day Tuesday surveying remote areas in our CWA where some of the other supercells (none were as intense as the one that produced the three tornadoes across Lake/Volusia) moved across.

I plan on investigating the following areas:

1) Northern Volusia County - trees were reported down near the Flagler County line

2) Seminole and northern Brevard Counties - a remote area where no TOR sighting or damage reports came in from

3) Southern Brevard/Northern Indian River Counties - was had three sightings looking toward the general direction of the border between the two counties: One from a woman in Osceola County driving on U.S 441 between Kenansville and Yeehaw Junction looking east, another from a man at a fishing camp on Blue Cypress Lake in NW Indian River, and a third from a man on U.S. 1 south of Grant in southern Brevard County. Given that three visuals came from such a remote area I suspect I WILL find at least some sort of damage to trees/vegetation/property in this area.

4) I may try to get all the way down to southern Indian River/Northern Saint Lucie as time permits, but given that the rotation within that storm was the weakest of any that I warned for, I don't think I'll find anything there.

Well, I checked out all three locations and came up with a bagel - 0 for 3.

I'm not terribly surprised given how remote those areas generally are. However, having taken a second look (just before I left this morning) at the meso/manually ID'd TVS with a GTG Vr of 55kt over northern Volusia and how heavy the forests are up there, I'd like to finaggle another chopper ride for an overflight of that area.

[TampaFl]

000
NOUS42 KMLB 062050 CCA
PNSMLB

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
300 PM EST TUE FEB 6 2007

...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DAMAGE SURVEYS WERE CONDUCTED ON
FEBRUARY 3 BY GROUND AND AIR AND RADAR DATA WERE REVIEWED FOR THE
TORNADO EVENT WHICH IMPACTED LAKE AND VOLUSIA COUNTIES EARLY ON
FEBRUARY 2 2007...

BELOW ARE PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENTS OF THE TORNADOES.

A SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORM MOVED EAST-NORTHEAST AT 50 TO 60 MPH ALONG
A 75+ MILE TRACK FROM SUMTER COUNTY TO OFFSHORE VOLUSIA COUNTY AND
PRODUCED THREE TORNADOES. THE FIRST TWO TORNADOES WERE VIOLENT AND
WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR A TOTAL OF 20 FATALITIES. THE THIRD TORNADO WAS
NOT AS STRONG...BUT STILL RESULTED IN SIGNIFICANT PROPERTY DAMAGE.

THE VILLAGES/LADY LAKE TORNADO...TORNADO NUMBER 1...WAS CLASSIFIED
AS A HIGH END EF-3 TORNADO WITH WINDS OF 155 TO 160 MPH. THIS
TORNADO INITIALLY TOUCHED DOWN AT 308 AM IN SUMTER COUNTY NEAR
WILDWOOD AND THE VILLAGES AND THEN CROSSED INTO LAKE COUNTY AND
STRUCK THE TOWN OF LADY LAKE AT 320 AM. THE TORNADO CAUSED DAMAGE TO
STRUCTURES WHERE MOST WALLS COLLAPSED EXCEPT FOR THEIR INTERIOR
ROOMS. LARGE TREES WERE DEBARKED...WITH ONLY THE STUBS OF THE
LARGEST BRANCHES REMAINING. MOBILE HOMES WERE COMPLETELY DESTROYED.
100 RESIDENCES WERE DAMAGED AND 36 WERE DESTROYED. THE TORNADO
LIFTED AT 325 AM EAST OF LADY LAKE...RESULTING IN A PATH LENGTH OF
16.5 MILES. THE TORNADO WAS ONE-QUARTER MILE WIDE DURING ITS MAXIMUM
EXTENT. SEVEN FATALITIES WERE ASSOCIATED WITH THIS TORNADO.

THE LAKE MACK/DELAND TORNADO...TORNADO NUMBER 2...WAS ALSO
CLASSIFIED AS A HIGH END EF-3 WITH WINDS OF 160 TO 165 MPH. THE
TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN AT 337 AM EAST OF HIGHWAY 439 AND WEST OF LAKE
NORRIS IN RURAL LAKE COUNTY AND REACHED LAKE MACK AT 348 AM WITH
PEAK WINDS NEAR 165 MPH...RESULTING IN 10 FATALITIES. COMPLETE
DESTRUCTION OF MOBILE HOMES OCCURRED AND LARGE TREES WERE DEBARKED.
73 RESIDENCES WERE DAMAGED AND 33 WERE DESTROYED. THE TORNADO THEN
REACHED FOREST DRIVE AND STATE ROAD 44 WITH WINDS OF 150 TO 155
MPH...RESULTING IN 3 ADDITIONAL FATALITIES. THE TORNADO CROSSED FROM
LAKE COUNTY TO VOLUSIA COUNTY NEAR HONTOON ISLAND...AND STRUCK
DELAND AT 402 AM AS A EF-3 TORNADO WITH WINDS NEAR 150 MPH. THE
TORNADO LIFTED AT 410 AM NEAR THE VOLUSIA COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS EAST OF
INTERSTATE 4. OVER 250 MOBILE HOMES AND 27 SINGLE FAMILY HOMES WERE
DESTROYED IN DELAND AND UNINCORPORATED WEST VOLUSIA COUNTY. THE PATH
LENGTH WAS 26 MILES. THE MAXIMUM TORNADO WIDTH WAS ONE-THIRD OF A
MILE. A TOTAL OF 13 FATALITIES OCCURRED WITH THIS DEADLY TORNADO.

THE NEW SMYRNA BEACH/PONCE INLET TORNADO...TORNADO NUMBER 3...WAS
CLASSIFIED AS AN EF-1 TORNADO WITH WINDS OF 100 TO 105 MPH. THE
TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN EAST OF INTERSTATE 95 AND NORTH OF HIGHWAY 44
IN NEW SMYRNA BEACH AT 422 AM AND LIFTED NEAR THE INTRACOASTAL
WATERWAY WEST OF PONCE INLET AT 425 AM. THE TORNADO UPLIFTED ROOFS
ON MANY STRUCTURES...CAUSING A SIGNIFICANT LOSS OF ROOFING
MATERIAL...COLLAPSE OF CHIMNEYS...AND COLLAPSE OF GARAGE DOORS.
ADDITIONAL DAMAGE OCCURRED TO PORCHES AND CARPORTS. 25 SINGLE FAMILY
HOMES WERE DESTROYED IN NEW SMYRNA BEACH AND UNINCORPORATED
SOUTHEAST VOLUSIA COUNTY. THE PATH LENGTH WAS ABOUT 3 MILES AND THE
MAXIMUM WIDTH WAS ONE EIGHTH OF A MILE.

NOTE: THE NEW ENHANCED FUJITA (EF) TORNADO SCALE REPLACED THE
PREVIOUS FUJITA (F) SCALE ON FEBRUARY 1 2007. THE EF SCALE WAS
DEVELOPED TO BETTER ASSESS WIND SPEEDS ASSOCIATED WITH A WIDE
VARIETY OF STRUCTURAL DAMAGE...FROM SINGLE-WIDE MOBILE HOMES TO
INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS TO FRAMED ONE OR TWO FAMILY HOMES...AND MANY
MORE. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE NEW EF-SCALE...PLEASE SEE THE
FOLLOWING WEBSITE: HTTP://WWW.SPC.NOAA.GOV/FSCALE

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS TORNADO EVENT IS AVAILABLE ON THE NWS
MELBOURNE WEBSITE AT:
HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/MLB/SURVEYS/020207/INDEX.HTML

$$

STAFF/NWS MELBOURNE FL

[Opal storm]

Opal storm - How's your sister's home? We've been out of town and I've been doing some catch-up reading on here this afternoon and I read your post from Fri. night about you sister. I couldn't find an update and was wondering how they are.
We spoke to cousins who live in central Florida. One lives in Silver Springs. He said the wind blew things around in their yard and he thought the roof was going to come off. But, they were about 25 miles from the Lady Lake tornado. Another cousin who lives closer to Disney World said it sounded like someone turned a fire hose on their windows between 2 and 3 Friday morning. Scared them half to death! Thank goodness they weren't in the path of the tornadoes. God bless those that were.

It turned out their home was just fine,the power and phone was out so that's why they couldn't call the house.They said it looked like there were some high winds because tree limbs and shingles were all over the yard,but the tornadoes missed them by about 6 miles.