Areas of Extreme Heat and Fire Weather in the West; Refreshingly Cooler Further East

Extreme heat will continue across the Pacific Northwest into midweek before finally waning. Hot temperatures, low relative humidity, gusty winds, and isolated dry thunderstorms will bring critical fire weather into Tuesday. A refreshingly cool air mass has settled into much of the eastern two-thirds of the Rockies through the week. Read More >

Survey Summary

EF-Scale Rating	EF-4
Est. Peak Wind	180 MPH
Est. Path Length	10.9 miles
Maximum Path Width	3/8 mile

Representatives from the National Weather Service and the Jackson County Emergency Management Agency conducted an storm survey of damage that occurred in Jackson County, Alabama early in the morning of February 6, 2008.

The damage was determined to originate from a strong tornado, which at its peak had winds of at least 180 MPH, giving it a rating of EF-4 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. Storm surveys are still being conducted, but the most significant damage occurred at the corner of County Road 60 and 177, between the Rosalie and Pisgah communities in eastern Jackson County. This is also approximately the location where one fatality occurred. Trees along the tornado path were snapped and in some cases shredded, several houses were swept from their foundations, and a large section of a chicken house collapsed. Several large hay bales (weighing 2,500 pounds) were blown apart or tossed around.

Tornado watch #41 had been issued for all of north Alabama at 10 PM CST, and was in effect until 5 AM CST (it was later extended until 7 AM CST). A tornado warning for extreme northern DeKalb and southeastern Jackson Counties was issued at 5:04 AM CST, and a follow-up warning was issued for extreme northern DeKalb and eastern Jackson Counties at 5:26 AM.

Tornado Track Map and Radar Images

A map of the path of the Jackson County, Alabama EF-4 tornado, extending from the Pisgah community to just south of Flat Rock. Click on the image to view a larger version of the map.	The Hytop, AL radar (KHTX) shows the mesocyclone spawning an EF-4 tornado near Pisgah around 5:25 AM on February 6, 2008. Click on the image to observe a radar loop. The tornado is denoted by the small area of adjacent red/blue coloring that moves from Langston through Pisgah.