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EF1 tornado in Lawrence County, Tennessee

Tornado February 5, 2020 · Lawrence County, Tennessee

EF1
Rating
10.5 mi
Path length
300 yd
Path width
1
Injury
$100K
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 300 yards (0.17 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF1 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF1 is moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 86–110 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

This EF-1 tornado initially touched down along Glenn Springs Road downing several trees including a large tree falling on a house. The tornado then crossed Highway 64 continuing its destruction of mostly trees, power lines, and roofs as it moved through the city of Lawrenceburg. Several large trees were snapped or uprooted right in the heart of the city, especially around the public library where one tree fell onto the building and caused significant roof damage. The tornado then moved east-northeast into a more residential neighborhood where additional large trees were uprooted. The tornado weakened as it moved into rural eastern Lawrence County where mostly trees, outbuildings, and a barn were damaged. The tornado lifted just before reaching the Lawrence/Giles County line.

The wider storm

After an unusually wet January, another strong storm system brought more heavy rainfall, flooding, and severe storms to parts of Middle Tennessee on February 5th. A line of strong to severe thunderstorms known as a QLCS (Quasi-linear Convective System) developed in northern Mississippi and moved across southern and eastern Middle Tennessee during the afternoon and evening hours. These storms spawned 6 weak tornadoes and widespread straight-line wind damage. In addition, heavy rainfall affected much of Middle Tennessee throughout the day, causing significant flooding in many areas.

Began near Gaitherville (35.2230, -87.3984).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

5 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 878857. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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