Tornado Outbreak vom 2./3. März 2012

The Early March 2012 tornado outbreak is a major tornado outbreak currently ongoing over a large section of the Southern United States into the Ohio Valley region. The storms have resulted in at least 38 fatalities. It is the fifth deadliest tornado outbreak in the US for the month of March since 1950, only behind the 1994 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak, 1984 Carolinas tornado outbreak, 1966 Candlestick Park tornado and the 1952 Arkansas-Tennesse tornado outbreak.

Meteorological synopsis

Storm reports on March 2

A major tornado outbreak struck the region less than 72 hours prior to this storm, killing 13 people, including 6 in Harrisburg, Illinois alone, the result of an EF4 Tornado. A moderate risk of severe weather was issued for March 2 a day in advance for a large area from near Tuscaloosa, Alabama to Dayton, Ohio as an intense storm system tracked across the region in a very high shear environment. Intense tornadoes were possible. On the morning of March 2, it was upgraded and a high risk of severe weather was issued for Middle Tennessee and central Kentucky, later extended into Central and Southern Indiana and southern Ohio. The Storm Prediction Center mentioned the potential for significant tornadoes. Multiple PDS tornado watches were issued shortly thereafter.

The outbreak began fairly early in the morning, with an initial round of storms and tornadoes associated with the incoming warm front attached to a rapidly deepening low pressure area over the central Great Lakes. The initial round of storms allowed for a strong warm air mass to enter the region, with temperatures rising to near record levels for early March and instability combining with extreme wind shear, resulting in a highly volatile air mass. As a result, a second, much larger broken line of discrete supercells developed and followed the Ohio River, with additional storms developing farther south. During the afternoon, those cells tracked eastward across the Ohio Valley, passing near Louisville, Kentucky and south of Cincinnati, Ohio with devastating results.

As isolated activity developed farther south, intense supercells also formed in central Kentucky in the late afternoon hours and tracked east into the Eastern Mountain Coal Fields region before weakening as they reached West Virginia later that evening. That area had the highest wind shear - with helicity values as high as 800 m2/s2 (despite lower instability) and that allowed the storms to spin violently, resulting in severe damage in several communities. Vorlage:Clear

Tornadoes

March 2 event

List of reported tornadoes - Friday, March 2, 2012
EF#	Location	County	Coord.	Time (UTC)	Path length	Comments/Damage
Alabama
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF3	SE of Athens	Limestone, Madison		1510	Vorlage:Convert	The tornado caused significant structural damage to houses and barns, including much roof damage, and some damage to outer walls. It also uprooted several trees. There were minor injuries reported. Hardest area affected was near Harvest which was previously hit on April 27, 2011 by EF4 strength winds. Tornado upgraded from EF2 to EF3 following additional surveys. Tornado may have continued farther northeast as surveys continue.
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF1	NE of Athens	Limestone			Vorlage:Convert	Several trees were uprooted and destroyed, as well as numerous shingle damage. Extension of the previous Athens tornado.
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF1	SE of Meridianville	Madison		1607	Vorlage:Convert	Buckhorn High School was damaged and numerous weaker houses were destroyed in the area. Extensive tree and power line damage reported. Injuries reported.
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF?	Opp (1st tornado)	Covington		2250	unknown	First of two tornadoes in town.
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF?	Opp (2nd tornado)	Covington		2251	unknown	Second of two tornadoes in town.
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF?	SSE of Bald Hill	Geneva		0018	unknown
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF2	Verbena area	Chilton		0403	unknown	Preliminary assessments revealed an EF2 tornado in Verbena. Several well-built houses were heavily damaged and hundreds of trees were snapped or uprooted. Survey is ongoing - may have been stronger as surrounding areas are surveyed.
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF?	Jackson's Gap area	Tallapoosa		0453	unknown	1 death - Possible tornado destroyed a mobile home. Tornado caused by the same supercell that caused the Verbena tornado and may be associated with that same tornado.
Illinois
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF?	S of Trenton	Clinton		1610	unknown	Minor damage reported including fences damaged.
Tennessee
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF1	Ooltewah	Hamilton, Bradley		1750	unknown	Tornado reported on Interstate 75 at Hunter Road. At least 20 houses ripped off of foundation, others with roof damage. At least 17 people have been injured. Possibly one or multiple tornadoes. Damage was also reported in the Cleveland area. Preliminary rating.
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF?	WSW of Etowah	McMinn		1830	unknown	Tornado reported by a storm spotter. Several houses were destroyed and people have been injured.
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF?	Tellico Plains	Monroe		1854	unknown	Numerous houses reported damaged or destroyed in the area.
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF0	Boonshill area	Lincoln		2045	Vorlage:Convert	A community center sustained damage and trees were uprooted.
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF?	Dickson area	Dickson		2125	unknown	Storm spotters and law enforcement reported a rain-wrapped tornado on the ground.
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF1	S of Kingston Springs	Cheatham		2148	Vorlage:Convert	A barn was destroyed, several houses sustained minor roof damage and trees were snapped.
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF?	Dayton	Rhea		2245	unknown	A double-wide trailer was rolled off its foundation.
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF?	W of Chattanooga	Hamilton		2330	unknown	Public report of a tornado on Interstate 24 just outside the city.
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF2	Rickman area	Jackson, Putnam, Overton		2326	Vorlage:Convert	Significant damage reported north of Cookeville. At least 40 houses were damaged or destroyed and hundreds of trees were uprooted or snapped by this large wedge tornado. Three people were injured.
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF2	Harrogate area	Claiborne		0129	unknown	Several houses sustained major roof damage.
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF0	S of Mascot	Knox		unknown	Vorlage:Convert	Tornado rolled a trailer and caused sporadic tree damage
Indiana
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF2	WSW of Wadesville	Posey		1837	Vorlage:Convert	One wood frame home was destroyed and several other structures were damaged to varying degrees.
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF4	New Pekin to Chelsea	Washington, Clark, Scott Jefferson		1954	unknown	12 deaths – Very large wedge tornado reported in the area. Tornado emergency was issued. Severe damage reported in the area with injuries. A large section of Henryville was also destroyed with significant damage reported in Marysville and near Chelsea. Henryville Jr/Sr High School was also heavily damaged. Possibly one or multiple tornadoes and the death toll is from the entire supercell and may not be fully accurate at this time. Preliminary rating subject to change.
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF3	Holton area	Ripley		2100	Vorlage:Convert	2 deaths – Extensive damage reported in the area. At least six others were injured. Surveys currently underway.
North Carolina
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF?	SW of Etowah	Transylvania		1840	unknown	A house was heavily damaged and trees and power lines were snapped.
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF2	Murphy	Cherokee		0103	unknown	Structural damage reported to a few businesses and several houses were also damaged.
Kentucky
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF?	Henderson	Henderson		1843	unknown	Tornado reported in the east side of the community. Power flashes were reported.
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF?	Clay	Webster		2010	unknown	Large tornado reported just outside town.
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF?	Owensboro	Daviess		2022	unknown	Tornado reported in the city.
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF?	Carrollton area	Trimble, Carroll		2040	unknown	Severe damage reported in Carrollton. One house was destroyed and many others damaged.
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF?	Bremen	Muhlenberg		2051	unknown	Multiple reports of tornadoes in the community.
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF?	Fort Knox	Meade		2108	unknown	Tornado reported on the base.
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF2	N of Owenton	Owen		2125	Vorlage:Convert	A house and numerous barns were heavily damaged or destroyed. Several other houses sustained minor damage. Three people were injured.
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF?	E of Fiskburg	Kenton		2136	unknown	3 deaths – A church was destroyed and a mobile home was damaged.
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF?	Berlin	Bracken		2202	unknown	At least 8 buildings were severely damaged. Extensive tree damage along the path.
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF3	Wellington/West Liberty areas	Menifee, Morgan		2223	unknown	6 deaths – Extensive damage in the two counties, including extreme damage in West Liberty. Many injuries and numerous fatalities reported (four in West Liberty and two near Frenchburg) - and houses and businesses destroyed and possibly flattened. At least 75 people were injured. Preliminary assessments from emergency officials and media indicated a path length of Vorlage:Convert, although that may be from multiple tornadoes. The tornado was the first F3/EF3 in Eastern Kentucky since 1988. Preliminary rating subject to change.
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF?	W of Edmonton	Metcalfe		2239	unknown
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF2	East Bearnstadt area	Laurel		0010	unknown	5 deaths – Extensive damage.
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF3	Salyersville	Magoffin		0010	unknown	Many businesses and homes destroyed, near catastrophic damage.
Ohio
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF?	Moscow area	Clermont		2155	unknown	1 death – Severe structural damage reported.
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF?	S of Bethel	Clermont, Brown		2155	unknown	2 deaths' – Tornado confirmed on the ground in the area.
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF?	Bentonville	Adams		2222	unknown	Severe damage to several houses. Several people were injured - one seriously.
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF1	N of Seaman	Adams		2225	Vorlage:Convert	Tornado damaged a barn and a home. Numerous trees were snapped or uprooted.
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF0	SW of West Union	Adams		2230	Vorlage:Convert	Brief tornado
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF2	NE of West Union	Adams		2233	Vorlage:Convert	Five mobile homes destroyed, three homes damaged. Dozens of cattle were killed and three people sustained injuries.
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF0	Otway area	Scioto		2246	Vorlage:Convert	Tornado damaged two homes and a fire station.
Mississippi
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF?	S of Egypt	Chickasaw		2345	unknown
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF1	Baxterville	Lamar		0012	Vorlage:Convert	The tornado caused numerous tree damage along its path. Mobile homes were flipped and various roofs were damaged. A storage shed sustained heavy damage as well.
Georgia
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF3	N of Buchanan	Haralson		0115	unknown	High-end EF3 tornado confirmed with a repair shop destroyed, mobile homes flipped, a church damaged and many trees knocked down. Surveys still ongoing - may have been stronger.
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF?	Yorkville	Paulding		0135	unknown	Report by amateur radar of a tornado with debris spotted. Damage at an elementary school in the community of Dallas as well as at least a dozen of homes.
Virginia
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF1	Ewing	Lee		0142	unknown	A house was heavily damaged and trees were uprooted.
Sources: SPC Storm Reports for 03/02/12, NWS Huntsville[1][2], NWS Wilmington, NWS Peachtree City, NWS Jackson

March 3 event

List of reported tornadoes - Saturday, March 3, 2012
EF#	Location	County	Coord.	Time (UTC)	Path length	Comments/Damage
North Carolina
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF2	Harrisburg/North Charlotte area	Mecklenburg, Cabarrus		0736	Vorlage:Convert	Several homes were damaged in an area in the northeast fringes of Charlotte. According to local media. Three people were injured.
South Carolina
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF0	NNW of Columbia	Richland		1036	unknown	Brief tornado knocked down branches and trees.
Georgia
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF?	Vada area	Decatur		1336	Unknown	Possible tornado destroyed a metal frame home, a camper and multiple sheds. Several vehicles and irrigation pivots were also overturned.
bgcolor=#Vorlage:Storm colour | EF?	N of Moody Air Force Base	Lowndes, Lanier		1800	Unknown	Possible tornado destroyed several homes, some of which were pushed off their foundation. Two mobile homes were flipped and numerous trees and power lines were downed.
Sources: SPC Storm Reports for 03/03/12, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg

See also

• 2012 Leap Day tornado outbreak - the previous outbreak on February 28 and 29
• Tornadoes of 2012

External links

• Time-lapse visualization of the March 2nd, 2012 tornado outbreak