Heat Persists in the South Central U.S. and Southwest; Heavy rains in the Desert Southwest and Central Plains

Sweltering heat remains across the South-Central Plains, Lower/Middle Mississippi Valley, and the Southwest this week with limited nighttime relief. Thunderstorms will bring heavy rainfall leading to localized flash flooding in portions of the Desert Southwest and central Plains. Isolated strong to severe thunderstorms are possible across portions of the central Plains into the Northeast. Read More >

Overview

3 Tornadoes were confirmed in Washington County, IN from storms on 11/05/17. All storm surveys are complete.

A strong cold front moved through the area overnight from November 5-6. Ahead of this front strong storms moved into southern Indiana resulting in 3 tornadoes in Washington County, IN. In addition to the tornadoes, strong winds aloft were able to mix down to the surface across central Kentucky. A broad swath of 40-55 mph winds resulted in numerous power outages across the region.

Lightning captured on the Mammoth Cave National Park webcam.

Credit: Bobby Carson

Tornado
Wind
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Environment

Tornadoes:

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Tornado - 7 W Salem, IN
Washington County

Date	Nov. 5, 2017
Time (Local)	11:04 PM EST
EF Rating	EF-0
Est. Peak Winds	80 mph
Path Length	0.6 miles
Max Width	300-350 yards
Injuries/Deaths	0
Summary: This touchdown occurred approximately 5 miles west of Salem on SW Washington School Rd. The touchdown occurred along a forested area which threw branches and large portions of maple and cedar trees over the road approximately 300 yards. The most concentrated damage was at 1630 SW Washington School Rd. There was an uprooted tree, along with shingle, gutter, roof and barn damage. Several toys and pumpkins were turned and thrown cyclonically towards the west. A trampoline was thrown approximately a mile from the house along with lots of playground toys being thrown several hundred yards. There were some trees down further along the farmer`s field, but the tornado lifted after traveling approximately 0.6 miles where a few trees were topped where it lifted. The peak wind speed was 80 mph and most of the damage was at the tree top level.

Track Map


Radar at approximate time of touchdown.	Tree Damage	Tree Damage	Barn Damage

Tornado - Salem, IN
Washington County

Date	Nov. 5, 2017
Time (Local)	11:16 PM EST
EF Rating	EF-1
Est. Peak Winds	90-95
Path Length	0.25 miles
Max Width	30-40 yards
Injuries/Deaths	0
Summary: The tornado touched down in downtown Salem at the Salem Feed Mill on South Water Street. There was significant damage on the upper portion of the feed mill approximately 70 feet off the ground along with some power poles being severely bent. A multi-business building was hit by the tornado with a large portion of its roof lifted and dropped on the Dinner Bell restaurant. There was extensive damage from falling brick. The tornado then hit a house on the corner of Cherry and South High Street resulting in roof and siding damage along with several sections of Cleveland Pear trees snapped. The tornado lifted quickly at the intersection. The tornado had peak winds of approximately 90 to 95 mph with a width of approximately 30 to 40 yards.

Track Map


Radar at approximate time of touchdown.	Damage to Salem Feed Mill	Building Damage	Tree Damage

Tornado - 4 E Salem, IN
Washington County

Date	Nov 5, 2017
Time (Local)	11:20 PM EST
EF Rating	EF-1
Est. Peak Winds	90-95 mph
Path Length	0.5 miles
Max Width	50-70 yards
Injuries/Deaths	0
Summary: The tornado touched down near the intersection of Canton Road and Howell Road. Severe damage was sustained to several barns, street signs, bird houses, and metal poles that were bent or snapped. A 500 gallon propane tank moved to the south 3 feet and became lodged against a grain storage building. There was an excellent signature of mud and dirt spattering cyclonically on a grain silo. The tornado was extremely narrow and mostly at tree top level with several power poles snapped near the top. The tornado had peak winds of 90 to 95 mph and width of 50 to 70 yards.

Track Map


Radar at approximate time of touchdown.	Barn Damage	Barn Damage	Building Damage

The Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale classifies tornadoes into the following categories:

EF0 Weak 65-85 mph	EF1 Moderate 86-110 mph	EF2 Significant 111-135 mph	EF3 Severe 136-165 mph	EF4 Extreme 166-200 mph	EF5 Catastrophic 200+ mph

Wind

Stronger winds aloft were able to mix down to the surface outside of the thunderstorms across central Kentucky. A broad swath of 40-55 mph winds were recorded in this region. In addition, some scattered wind damage was noted in addition to the tornadoes in Washington county, IN.


Highest wind gusts overnight Nov. 5-6.	Tree damage approx. 2 mi. east of Salem.	Roof damage approx. 5 mi. east of Salem.

Radar:

Header


Tornado Debris Signature in Washington County, IN	Radar reflectivity animation	Storm relative velocity animation

Environment


Figure 1: MSLP at 11pm 11/5	Figure 2: Effective Bulk Shear at 11pm 11/5	Figure 3: Effective SRH at 11pm 11/5


Figure 4: MLCAPE at 11pm 11/5	Figure 5: SigTor at 11pm 11/5	Figure 6: Mid Level Lapse Rates at 11pm 11/5

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Heat Persists in the South Central U.S. and Southwest; Heavy rains in the Desert Southwest and Central Plains

Tornadoes and Strong Winds From November 5-6, 2017

3 Tornadoes were confirmed in Washington County, IN from storms on 11/05/17. All storm surveys are complete.