Astro's Blog

January Tornado Outbreak

Posted by: Astrometeor, 9:13 PM GMT on March 07, 2013

So, as I had already mentioned numerous times, I have been sick lately and so I am going back and finishing up a couple blogs that I worked on a while ago.

Overview
A powerful upper level trough moved across the United States from January 29, 2013 into January 30, 2013. This system contained unusually strong winds aloft, with wind speeds of 80 mph just 2,500 feet above the surface and up to 150 mph at 20,000 feet! A record warm airmass with temperatures in the 60s and 70s spread northward ahead of the system into the Tennessee and Ohio Valleys, bringing weak atmospheric instability into the region. As a powerful cold front moved eastward across the Mid State during the early morning hours of January 30, a line of showers and thunderstorms known as a Quasi-Linear Convective System (QLCS) developed and raced through the area, producing numerous tornadoes and widespread wind damage. This severe weather event resulted in 1 fatality and at least 3 injuries across the Mid State.
As of February 7, 2013, 21 tornado tracks have been confirmed by NWS Nashville personnel and Emergency Management Agencies. Another EF1 tornado was confirmed in Lincoln County by NWS Huntsville staff. This total of 22 tornadoes makes the January 30, 2013 event the largest January tornado outbreak in Middle Tennessee history, eclipsing the previous record of 12 tornadoes that occurred on January 24, 1997. It also makes January 30, 2013 the second biggest outbreak of tornadoes for any month in Middle Tennessee history. The largest tornado outbreak on record occurred on April 3, 1974 when 24 tornadoes struck the Mid State. Also of note - several of these tornadoes were the first January tornadoes ever recorded in many of the affected counties.

I had a couple of close calls with this particular outbreak, was under two tornado warnings I believe. Didn't realize how bad it actually was until the NWS got done with their storm report a week and a half later. Then I was like, "Wow, didn't think we had that many tornadoes, lol." One of the things that impresses me is that this outbreak has become the second largest outbreak for my area, second only to the Super Outbreak of '74.

Link to news article from NWS

^The above link has a chart with data on each and every tornado, click on one and you will be taken to a different weather page filled with all the tornadoes data and their track maps. Or just use this link if you want:

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1. wxchaser97 9:17 PM GMT on March 07, 2013
Hope you feel better Astro. Thanks for the blog. Just to get this out of the way, I did in fact purposely get you sick ;) Member Since: March 16, 2012 Posts: 87 Comments: 6802

2. trHUrrIXC5MMX 9:18 PM GMT on March 07, 2013
Quoting wxchaser97: Hope you feel better Astro. Thanks for the blog. Just to get this out of the way, I did in fact purposely get you sick ;) LOL Member Since: April 23, 2011 Posts: 33 Comments: 7901

3. Astrometeor 9:18 PM GMT on March 07, 2013
Quoting wxchaser97: Hope you feel better Astro. Thanks for the blog. Just to get this out of the way, I did in fact purposely get you sick ;) Thanks and you are welcome. Also, grrrrr. Member Since: July 2, 2012 Posts: 27 Comments: 1255

4. wxchaser97 9:19 PM GMT on March 07, 2013
Quoting Astrometeor: Thanks and you are welcome. Also, grrrrr. :) Member Since: March 16, 2012 Posts: 87 Comments: 6802

5. WunderGirl12 9:19 PM GMT on March 07, 2013
Thanks for the new blog post Astro!! Hope you feel better!! :-D Quoting wxchaser97: Hope you feel better Astro. Thanks for the blog. Just to get this out of the way, I did in fact purposely get you sick ;) Isaac, did you get me sick too??? Member Since: January 9, 2011 Posts: 17 Comments: 757

6. trHUrrIXC5MMX 9:20 PM GMT on March 07, 2013
Quoting WunderGirl12: Thanks for the new blog post Astro!! Hope you feel better!! :-D Isaac, did you get me sick too??? his disease is not just about spelling I see. cough cough Member Since:* April 23, 2011 Posts: 33 Comments: 7901

7. WunderGirl12 9:23 PM GMT on March 07, 2013
Quoting trHUrrIXC5MMX: his disease is not just about spelling I see. cough cough LOL!!! Hope you feel better Max!! :-P Member Since:* January 9, 2011 Posts: 17 Comments: 757

8. WunderAlertBot (Admin) 9:50 PM GMT on March 07, 2013
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About Astrometeor

almost 16 years old, b-day is aug. 27. Go to school at MLK High in Nashville,TN. Love football, soccer, frisbee, Boy Scouts, and Science Olympiad.

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