A Look Back at the 2008 Wayne County Tornado

A Look Back at the 2008 Wayne County Tornado

Official National Weather Service Assessment:

DAMAGE ASSESSMENT TEAM CONSISTING OF NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AND WAYNE COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL SURVEYED DAMAGE ACROSS WESTERN AND CENTRAL WAYNE COUNTY. IT WAS DETERMINED THAT A TORNADO WITH MAXIMUM INTENSITY OF EF-2 OCCURRED. PEAK WINDS WERE NEAR 130 MPH.

THE TORNADO ENTERED WAYNE COUNTY NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF MASSINGALE AND PLEASANT RIDGE ROADS...OR ABOUT 1 MILE NORTH OF HIGHWAY 90 AT THE CLINTON/WAYNE LINE. TORNADO DAMAGE EXTENDED CONTINUOUSLY FOR APPROXIMATELY 7 MILES TO THE EAST-NORTHEAST. THE TORNADO LIFTED NEAR THE END OF OLD SPORTSMAN CLUB ROAD WHERE A TOBACCO BARN WAS DESTROYED.

NEARLY 40 STRUCTURES WERE HEAVILY DAMAGED OR DESTROYED. 2 WELL TIED DOWN AND ANCHORED MOBILE HOMES WERE COMPLETELY DEMOLISHED WITH DEBRIS INCLUDING STEEL I-BEAMS SPREAD HUNDREDS OF YARDS AWAY IN ALL DIRECTIONS. MANY BARNS WERE FLATTENED INCLUDING 2 STEEL FRAME BUILDINGS. THERE WERE A COUPLE OF BRICK HOMES WHICH SUFFERED
SIGNIFICANT ROOF DAMAGE AND WINDOW BREAKAGE.

THERE WAS ALSO CONSIDERABLE STRAIGHT LINE WIND DAMAGE ADJACENT TO
THE TORNADO TRACK ON IT`S SOUTHERN FLANK. DAMAGE IN THE MONTICELLO CITY PARK CONSISTING OF A DOZEN OR SO TREES BLOWN OVER WAS MOST LIKELY DUE TO STRAIGHT LINE WINDS.

TORNADO RATING: EF-2
MAX WIND SPEED: NEAR 130 MPH
PATH LENGTH   : 7.2 MILES
PATH WIDTH    : MAX 400 YARDS
INJURIES      : 1 MINOR
FATALITIES    : NONE
TIME OF TOUCHDOWN: 150 PM EDT (ENTERED FROM CLINTON COUNTY)
TIME OF DISSIPATION: 201 PM EDT (ESTIMATED BY RADAR)
BEGIN LAT/LON: 36.77677N/85.01349W
END LAT/LON: 36.80784N/84.88715W