Tornado outbreak sequence of May 7–11, 2008

May 2008 tornado outbreak sequence

Duration	ongoing
Tornadoes confirmed	65 confirmed, 108 reported
Max. rating1	EF4 tornado
Fatalities	23
Damage	unknown
Areas affected	Central and Southern United States
1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale

Scott likes it in the butt The May 2008 tornado outbreak sequence is an on-going series of tornado outbreaks that is affecting the Southern Plains, the southeastern and Middle Atlantic region of the United States. The storm has produced 35 confirmed tornadoes (from at least 108 tornado reports) since May 7. The outbreak sequence killed 23 people across several states. The event occurred less than a week after a deadly tornado outbreak that principally affected the state of Arkansas and killed 7 people.

Meteorological synopsis

The thunderstorms producing tornadoes over the north-central United States on May 10

The event started in Oklahoma on May 7 as an initial low pressure crossed the southern Plains and produced tornadoes across the Oklahoma City area producing scattered damage throughout the Metro Area including in Yukon, Bethany, Warr Acres and north Oklahoma City. KOCO-TV recorded a 124 miles per hour (200 km/h) wind gust while Chief Meteorologist Rick Mitchell was reporting on the storm. Widespread tree, fence, and minor property damage was reported throughout much of the area. Tree damage was also reported just outside the KFOR and KOCO stations. Similar conditions occurred south and east of Tulsa, Oklahoma as the line of thunderstorms raced across the state and caused similar damage although a portions of a storage structure was destroyed by the force of the winds. At least five tornadoes were confirmed throughout the state but all were rated either EF0 or EF1. There were no reports of injuries during the event.

Two significant tornado outbreaks affected the southeastern United States on May 8. During the morning hours, tornadoes touched down across northeastern Mississippi including one EF3 in the Tupelo, Mississippi area which heavily damaged several buildings near the Tupelo Airport. Tornadoes also touched down across northwestern Alabama north and west of Birmingham and Huntsville. One particular tornado was caught on tape by a security camera at a business near Leighton in Colbert County which overturned cars at a parking lot. Another tornado crossed very near the ABC 33-40 Sky Cam in Cullman but the tornado was not seen as very strong winds stopped the video data prior to its passage. Structural damage was also reported to homes across the area.

While weak tornadoes touched down north of Xenia, Ohio during the early evening hours, the second outbreak of the day produced several strong tornadoes across the western Carolinas and southwestern Virginia. One tornado hit the Clemmons, North Carolina area producing EF3 damage to several homes. The same area was hit an F3 tornado on the same date in 1998. Just after 11:00 pm, another tornado from the same supercell struck the western Greenboro region, killing one person inside a truck overturned by the tornado. The storm also damaged several buildings including homes, businesses and warehouses. Two Fed-Fex planes at the Piedmont Triad International Airport were pitched off the tarmac as the storm lifted near the area. Other tornadoes produced some significant damage north of the Piedmont Triad region across southern Virginia.

On May 10, a new wave of tornadoes from a second system affected portions of the southern Plains and the Lower-Mississippi Valley. Temperatures across the region reached the 80s across portions of the South with mostly upper 70s elsewhere. CAPE values were between 1000 and 2000 j/kg near the center of the low with reading over 2000 j/kg across Mississippi. Helicity levels were over 250. A moderate risk of severe storms was issued for a large portions of the Mississippi Valley as well as the Eastern Plains. Severe storms began to occur across northwestern Arkansas, southeastern Kansas and eastern Oklahoma during the late afternoon hours. Tornado watches extended from eastern Oklahoma to South Carolina and north to near Kansas City.

One tornado killed ten people in Missouri while seven more people were killed in northeastern Oklahoma, although all fatalities may have come from the same tornado. Moderate to major damage was reported across Ottawa County, Oklahoma and Newton County, Missouri as well as in Stuttgart, Arkansas and near McAlester, Oklahoma where a tornado was caught on tape by a television crew from a helicopter. Other tornadoes were reported across Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kansas. In the late evening, after crossing the Mississippi River, the supercells combined into a bow echo/derecho that tracked from the Memphis Metropolitan Area then across northern Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina, with widespread wind damage and embedded tornadoes. Two people were killed in Laurens County, Georgia and at least 85,000 customers were left without power in the Atlanta metropolitan area. Additional tornadoes touched down across the southeast and the eastern Ohio Valley. One tornado went through the city of Macon, Georgia, causing extensive damage to some buildings at Macon State College. This forced the closure of the Macon campus for repair.

Reported tornadoes

Confirmed tornadoes by Enhanced Fujita rating

EFU	EF0	EF1	EF2	EF3	EF4	EF5	Total
0	14	25	21	4	1	0	65

May 7 event

List of reported tornadoes - Wednesday, May 7, 2008
EF#	Location	County/Parish	Coord.	Time (UTC)	Path length	Damage
Texas
EF?	NW of Smyer	Hockley		1650
EF?	SE of Bremond	Robertson		0110		Trees and power lines down
EF?	NE of Franklin	Robertson		0139
Oklahoma
EF1	SE of Paoli	Garvin		2157	unknown	Damage was reported to a mobile home.
EF?	E of Yukon	Canadian		2200		Damage to one home
EF0	Warr Acres/The Village	Oklahoma		2211	unknown
EF0	Goldsby	McClain		2221	4.5 miles (7.2 km)	Intermittent tree damage was reported.
EF0	SW of Beggs	Okmulgee		2345	4 miles (6.4 km)	Damage to a mobile home and trees.
EF0	Broken Arrow	Tulsa		0015	0.3 mile (500 m)	Portions of a storage building at a college was blown off. Tornado lasted less than a minute.
Sources: Storms Reports for May 7, 2008 NWS Tulsa

May 8 event

List of reported tornadoes - Thursday, May 8, 2008
EF#	Location	County/Parish	Coord.	Time (UTC)	Path length	Damage
Mississippi
EF3	Tupelo area	Lee		1304	9 miles (15 km)	Extensive damage reported in the area. A furniture store was destroyed and several other commercial buildings were damaged. Cars were thrown off local roads as well.
EF2	SW of Marietta	Itawamba		1342	2 miles (3.2 km)	One house was heavily damaged and numerous other houses had minor damage. Many large trees were snapped.
EF0	Abbeville	Lafayette		1415	2.25 miles (3.6 km)	Minor damage was reported to nine houses and one mobile home.
Alabama
EF1	W of Oakland/Central Heights	Lauderdale		1658	5.6 miles (9 km)	Five homes were damaged and several trees were uprooted.
EF2	Leighton area	Colbert, Lauderdale, Lawrence		1753	9.6 miles (15.4 km)	Tornado caught by security cameras at a business overturning cars. Some homes were heavily damaged including one removed intact from its foundation.
EF1	Kansas area	Fayette, Walker		1902	10.6 miles (16.9 km)
EF1	Smith Lake area	Walker, Cullman		1912	3 miles (4.8 km)	Chicken houses and boat houses were damaged or destroyed.
EF0	SW of Trianna	Limestone, Madison		1938	2.4 miles (3.8 km)	Wheat and grass was flattened and one residence had minor roof damage.
EF1	W of Trimble	Cullman		unknown	7 miles (11.2 km)	Damage limited to trees.
EF1	E of Cullman	Cullman		unknown	5 miles (8 km)	Damage to trees and a chicken house. Passed very near the ABC 33-40 Skycam near Cullman - video was lost prior to the passage of the tornado.
Tennessee
EF1	NW of Loretto	Lawrence		1735	3 miles (4.8 km)	One house heavily damaged by a fallen tree. One barn was destroyed
Ohio
EF0	Port William	Clinton		2118	unknown	Brief tornado touchdown. Damage to a few homes and trailers including sidings
Virginia
EF1	Figsboro	Henry, Franklin		0005	1 mile (1.6 km)	Eight houses were damaged across the two counties. Tree damage also reported.
EF1	SE of Ajax	Pittsylvania		0106	1.5 miles (2.4 km)	Damage to several homes from fallen trees.
EF2	Berea	Stafford		0255	4 miles (6.4 km)	Several structures were damaged at a subdivision, including a barn that was destroyed.
EF1	W of Hixburg	Appomattox		0345	0.75 mile (1.2 km)	Two houses and two outbuildings were damaged. Tree damage also reported.
North Carolina
EF3	Clemmons area	Davie, Forsyth		0222	7 miles (11.2 km)	Three houses were destroyed and over 40 others were damaged. Two people sustained minor injuries. Widespread tree damage was reported. Aerial Video
EF2	Colfax/Greensboro	Guilford		0330	4 miles (6.4 km)	1 death - An office building was damaged and many warehouses were heavily damaged or destroyed. Many vehicles were flipped over on Interstate 40, where one person was killed and three others were injured. Damage Videos
EF2	Gastonia to Catawba Heights	Gaston		0610	6.25 miles (9.8 km)
Maryland
EF0	Camp Springs	Prince Georges		0502	unknown	Tree damage and minor roof damage to homes reported.
Sources: Storms Reports for May 8, 2008, NWS Memphis, NWS Wilmington, OH, NWS Birmingham, NWS Raleigh, NWS Huntsville, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, NWS Blacksburg, NWS Baltimore-Washington

May 9 event

List of reported tornadoes - Friday, May 9, 2008
EF#	Location	County/Parish	Coord.	Time (UTC)	Path length	Damage
North Carolina
EF?	NW of Colerain	Bertie		1229	unknown	Barns damaged or destroyed
EF?	SE of Harrellsville	Hertford		1244	unknown	Trees down
EF?	NW of Ryland	Chowan		1249	unknown	Roof blown off a storage building
Sources: Storms Reports for May 9, 2008

May 10 event

List of reported tornadoes - Saturday, May 10, 2008
EF#	Location	County	Coord.	Time (UTC)	Path length	Damage
Kansas
EF?	NW of Hallowell	Cherokee	37°20′N 95°02′W	2217		Brief touchdown of a large funnel cloud.
EF?	SW of Chetopa	Labette	37°01′N 95°11′W	2219
EF?	SW of Chetopa	Labette, Cherokee	37°03′N 95°05′W	2223
EF?	W of Baxter Springs	Cherokee	37°02′N 94°84′W	2232
EF?	S of Baxter Springs	Cherokee	37°01′N 94°74′W	2243		Large and dangerous tornado reported.
Oklahoma
EF2	McAlester area	Pittsburg	34°93′N 95°80′W	2222		KFOR reports numerous houses destroyed in the area. The tornado was caught on tape from the air by a Tulsa television station.
EF?	NE of Pryor	Mayes	36°35′N 95°27′W	2225
EF0	SE of Crowder	Pittsburg	35°09′N 95°63′W	2230	unknown	Tornado reported by a media chaser. No damage reported.
EF4	Picher/Neosho, MO areas	Ottawa, Newton (MO), Barry (MO)	36°91′N 94°58′W	2232	75 miles (120.7 km)	20 deaths - See section on this tornado
EF?	E of Daisy	Atoka	34°55′N 95°69′W	2303		Three houses were heavily damaged. One woman was trapped but not injured.
EF?	SW of Clayton	Pushmataha	34°45′N 93°53′W	2310
EF?	Yanush	Latimer	34°71′N 95°31′W	2315		One structure was destroyed.
EF2	N of Haywood	Pittsburg		unknown	10 miles (16 km)
Arkansas
EF?	Jonesboro area	Craighead	35°81′N 90°70′W	2253		Tornado reported in the southern part of the city according to the fire chief.
EF?	Bay	Craighead	35°74′N 90°56′W	2306		Tornado reported with a debris cloud spotted.
EF1	S of Bentonville	Benton		2335	1.5 miles (2.4 km)	Tornado spotted near a Wal-Mart according to 40/29 News coverage. Part of a roof was blown off a school.
EF?	Southside	Van Buren	35°42′N 92°40′W	2338		Possible tornado reported.
EF?	E of Lonoke	Lonoke	34°79′N 91°86′W	0020		Possible brief tornado touchdown along Interstate 40 at milepost 173.
EF?	El Paso	White	35°12′N 92°08′W	0025		Brief tornado touchdown.
EF?	N of Marianna	Lee	34°82′N 90°77′W	0048
EF1	Tipp area	Woodruff, Cross	35°15′N 91°17′W	0055	10.2 miles (16.5 km)	A carport and tractor shed were destroyed, and several farm buildings were heavily damaged. Some houses also lost shingles.
EF0	Watalula	Franklin	35°57′N 93°83′W	0100	unknown	Tornado sighted but no damage found.
EF3	Stuttgart area	Lonoke, Prairie, Arkansas	34°49′N 91°55′W	0106	21.5 miles (34 km)	Structural damage to many buildings reported in town, and trees were reported downed. 200 houses, 50 businesses, a nursing home, school buildings and several churches were damaged. Nine people were injured.
EF1	SE of Lawrenceville	Monroe		unknown	4.4 miles (7 km)	Damage mostly consisted of downed trees although, one house lost parts of its roof
Missouri
EF1	E of Carthage	Jasper	37°18′N 94°24′W	2320	3.25 miles (5.2 km)	1 death - One mobile home was destroyed by fallen trees (where the fatality took place). Several other houses were damaged and outbuildings were destroyed.
Mississippi
EF?	Enid	Tallahatchie	34°14′N 90°01′W	0318		Heavy damage reported in the area. 28 houses damaged, several seriously. Three mobile homes were destroyed. Two people were injured.
Alabama
EF1	S of Shotsville	Marion		0435	25 miles (40 km)	Tornado embedded in a derecho that moved across the area. Thousands of trees were snapped or uprooted. Several mobile homes were damaged and one carport was also damaged. Report courtesy of ABC 33-40.
EF1	E of Wright	Lauderdale		unknown	1.6 miles (2.6 km)	A barn and an outbuilding were destroyed, throwing roofing materials up to 1/2 mile (800 m) away.
EF2	Colony area	Cullman, Walker		unknown	13.3 miles (21 km)	Widespread tree damage across the area. Several chicken houses were destroyed.
EF1	Heflin area	Cleburne		0736	4.2 miles (6.7 km)	Six structures were destroyed and 35 homes were damaged. Hundreds of trees were snapped or uprooted
Sources: Storms Reports for May 10, 2008, NWS Springfield, NWS Little Rock, NWS Tulsa NWS Birmingham

May 11 event

List of reported tornadoes - Sunday, May 11, 2008
EF#	Location	County	Coord.	Time (UTC)	Path length	Damage
Georgia
EF?	NE of LaGrange	Troup	33°06′N 85°01′W	0805		At least two homes damaged.
EF2	ENE of LaGrange	Troup	33°09′N 84°91′W	0810	1 miles (1.6 km)	One home was destroyed and three others were damaged
EF2	Jonesville	Carroll		0810	100 yds (90 m)	Brief spin-up tornado embedded in a derecho which blew two roofs off houses. Some damage to dorms of University of West Georgia
EF2	Douglasville	Douglas		0815	100 yds (90 m)	One home was destroyed, and several others had major roof damage. Gas Station in Douglasville destroyed.
EF2	SE of Hogansville	Troup, Meriwether		0815	1.75 mile (2.2 km)	The roof of a brick home was removed and a cinder block outbuilding and a shed were destroyed. Two trucks were destroyed and another house was damaged. Numerous trees were snapped or uprooted
EF?	N of Fairburn	Fulton	33°62′N 84°58′W	0853		One home heavily damaged and roof damage to others. Many trees down.
EF2	NE of Morrow	Clayton, Henry, Rockdale, Newton	33°63′N 84°28′W	0910	13 miles (20.8 km)	One house heavily damaged just east of Interstate 675 with its second floor removed. Many other houses damaged.
EF2	Lizella/Macon	Bibb, Twiggs	32°84′N 83°66′W	0950	unknown	At least one house destroyed along Lake Tobesofkee. Extensive tree and power line damage. Two buildings destroyed at Macon State College. Many trees on the campus uprooted or snapped. Several other businesses and campus buildings damaged, including two commercial buildings that were destroyed along Eisenhower Parkway.
EF2	Dublin area	Laurens	32°61′N 83°01′W	1036	9 miles (15 km)	1 death - One mobile home was destroyed, killing one occupant and critically injuring three others. Tree damage was also reported.
EF1	N of Lowery	Laurens		1100	9 miles (15 km)	A mobile home was destroyed and trees were snapped and uprooted
EF3	N of Lowery	Truetlen, Montgomery		1116	7 miles (11.2 km)	Sheds and outbuildings were destroyed and one home lost its entire second story
EF2	Normantown	Toombs		1120	1 miles (1.6 km)	Confirmed but unrated tornado. Four mobile homes damaged, one home and one mobile home and one church were destroyed. Sheds and outbuildings were also destroyedThere were three injuries
EF1	NE of Lyons	Toombs		1130	2.5 miles (4 km)	Damage limited to uprooted or snapped trees
EF?	S of Millen	Jenkins	32°76′N 81°95′W	1135		Numerous trees and power lines down on Old West Savannah Road and Highway 25 South. Damage to several homes.
EF?	Cobbtown	Tattnall	32°28′N 82°14′W	1140		Homes damaged, trees and power lines down, convenience store destroyed near Highway 23 and Highway 25. Two people suffered minor injuries.
EF?	SE of Nevils	Bulloch	32°26′N 81°75′W	1210
EF?	NW of Darien (1st tornado)	McIntosh	31°41′N 81°58′W	1351		A building was destroyed, with part of the roof on Interstate 95 near milepost 50.
EF1	Sea Island	Glynn	31°18′N 81°38′W	1850	2 miles (3.2 km)	Tornado reported in the Sea Palms resort area. Many trees were snapped or uprooted, a few of which fell on buildings. No other building damage reported.
EF?	NW of Darien (2nd tornado)	McIntosh	31°40′N 81°45′W	1959		Second tornado in the area spotted in a shopping area. Tree damage reported.
South Carolina
EF0	SE of Johnston	Edgefield	33°83′N 81°81′W	0809	unknown	Tornado reported between Edgefield and Johnston. Damage limited to trees and power lines.
EF0	WNW of Wagener	Aiken	33°70′N 81°49′W	1007	unknown	Brief tornado damaged a few trees.
EF?	Almeda	Hampton	32°83′N 81°05′W	1230		Tornado confirmed by storm spotters, but no damage reported.
EF2	SW of Charleston	Charleston	32°72′N 80°23′W	2210	12 miles (20 km)	Large wedge tornado crossed Wadmalaw Island, Johns Island and James Island. The heaviest damage was on Wadmalaw Island, but damage was reported on all three islands.
Kentucky
EF1	Cumberland Falls State Park	McCreary, Whitley	36°84′N 84°34′W	1310	1.5 miles (2.4 km)	Many trees were knocked down in the park, one of which fell on a park ranger station.
EF1	E of Wooton	Leslie	37°18′N 83°29′W	1427	200 yds (180 m)	Heavy tree and power line damage as a result of a tornado in the area.
Ohio
EF0	NE of West Jefferson	Madison	40°01′N 83°28′W	1705	300 yds (270 m)	Tornado reported according to CNN coverage. Narrow line of damage along Highway 142 with damage mainly to trees.
North Carolina
EF?	Vale	Lincoln	35°54′N 81°40′W	2045		Tornado spotted on the ground in Cat Square.
EF1	N of Lewiston (1st tornado)	Bertie	36°14′N 77°19′W	2225	150 yds (135 m)	Brief tornado damaged several houses and destroyed some mobile homes.
EF2	N of Lewiston (2nd tornado)	Bertie	36°15′N 77°16′W	2230	1000 yds (900 m)	Tornado confirmed by law enforcement. Numerous trees were knocked down in the area, destroying a church and several mobile homes. Two people were injured.
EF1	SW of Powellsville	Bertie	36°19′N 76°99′W	2243	1.5 miles (2.4 km)	Extensive damage to a few mobile homes. Many trees uprooted or snapped
EF0	S of Powellsville	Bertie	36°21′N 76°93′W	2248	1.5 miles (2.4 km)	A porch attached to a mobile home was thrown off. Some tree damage reported.
EF2	Belgrade	Onslow	34°87′N 77°24′W	2245	6 miles (9.6 km)	9-1-1 dispatcher confirmed several reports of a tornado in the area. At least 25 buildings were damaged, injuring six people.
EF?	SE of Maysville	Jones	34°90′N 77°23′W	2257
EF?	Currituck	Currituck	36°45′N 76°01′W	2353		Tornado reported near the Currituck County Airport.
EF1	Morehead City	Carteret	34°74′N 76°73′W	0011	unknown	Brief tornado knocked down some trees and flipped a trampoline. Minor damage to businesses also reported.
Sources: Storms Reports for May 10, 2008, NWS Peachtree City, NWS Wilmington, OH, NWS Jackson, KY, NWS Jacksonville, NWS Columbia, NWS Wakefield, NWS Newport/Morehead City, NWS Charleston, SC

Picher/Neosho tornado

The deadliest tornadoes and most notable tornado of the outbreak took place from a single supercell that tracked through Ottawa County, Oklahoma, Newton County, Missouri and Barry County, Missouri in the late afternoon of May 10. At least 21 people were killed in the tornado - fatalities took place in Picher, Oklahoma (where are least 6 people were killed) and in a rural area west of Neosho, Missouri (where at least 13 people were killed). This the second deadliest tornado of the year behind the EF3 tornado that affected areas northeast of Nashville, Tennessee on February 5, 2008 and killed 22.

The tornado first touched down near the Kansas-Oklahoma border in Oklahoma southwest of Chetopa, Kansas and tracked eastward. It then slammed into Picher with devastating results. 20 blocks of the town suffered extensive damage with houses and businesses destroyed or flattened. The damage in Picher was rated at EF4. At least 150 others were injured in Picher alone. The tornado continued eastward, passing just north of Quapaw and Peoria before crossing Interstate 44 into Missouri. This was the deadliest tornado in Oklahoma since the South Oklahoma City F5 tornado on May 3, 1999 which killed 36.

Most of the fatalities in Missouri were reported near the Racine community at the intersection of Highway 43 and Iris Road, northwest of Neosho, where automobiles were thrown as far as 1/2 mile (800 m) away. Nearly 20 people were hospitalized in Newton County. It was the deadliest single tornado in Missouri since a tornado hit the St. Louis Metro area on February 10, 1959 killing 21 and the deadliest outbreak for that state since May 4, 2003 where 19 were killed.

Preliminary information from the National Weather Service office in Springfield, Missouri suggest the Newton County tornado was a violent tornado. The preliminary rating was EF3 but it was later upgraded to an EF4 according to a later survey. The tornado continued into Barry County, where one person was killed in Purdy. In Barry County, several buildings were damaged including numerous houses, a church, four mobile homes and many outbuildings. The tornado lifted just southeast of McDowell. Debris from the storm such as letters, bills and foam traveled as far east as the Springfield area about 80 miles (130 km) to the east of the hardest hit region in southwestern Missouri.

Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry sent National Guard Troops as well as emergency personnel to assist the hardest hit area in Picher where a 20-block area suffered major damage including several destroyed structures. Damage was reported in Peoria and Quapaw.

See also

• List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
• Tornadoes of 2008
• May 1-2, 2008 tornado outbreak

External links

• Slide show of storm damage across the Piedmont Triad Region on May 8 (Courtesy of WXII 12)