National Weather Service Forecast Office

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 520 PM CST WED MAR 23 2005 ...NWS STORM ASSESSMENT COMPLETE FOR THE SEVERE STORMS OF MARCH 22ND... DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING HOURS OF TUESDAY MARCH 22ND...SEVERAL SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AFFECTED THE MIDSOUTH. THERE WERE NUMEROUS REPORTS OF PENNY SIZE TO GOLF BALL SIZE HAIL ACROSS THE REGION...ALONG WITH A FEW TORNADO REPORTS. THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WENT OUT INTO THE FIELD TODAY TO DETERMINE IF ANY DAMAGE WAS RESULTED BY TORNADOES AND HOW STRONG THE TORNADOES WERE. AFTER A THOROUGH SURVEY...THREE TORNADOES HAVE BEEN CONFIRMED. TWO TOUCHED DOWN IN DESOTO COUNTY WHILE THE OTHER ONE AFFECTED MISSISSIPPI COUNTY. THE FOLLOWING IS A DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE TORNADOES. ...DESOTO COUNTY MISSISSIPPI TORNADOES... TWO TORNADO TRACKS HAVE BEEN CONFIRMED AFTER THE STORM ASSESSMENT. BOTH TORNADOES WERE PRODUCED BY THE SAME THUNDERSTORM AND OCCURRED BETWEEN 510 AND 515 PM CST. THE FIRST TORNADO INITIALLY TOUCHED DOWN ON MCNEIL ROAD ON THE SOUTHWEST EDGE OF THE CHEROKEE VALLEY GOLF COURSE IN OLIVE BRANCH. THE TORNADO PRODUCED A BROKEN TRACK OF F-0 DAMAGE WITH MAINLY SMALL TREES...LARGE LIMBS...AND SOME SHINGLE DAMAGE. THE TORNADO ALSO UPROOTED A FAIRLY LARGE SIZE OAK TREE ON THE CHEROKEE VALLEY GOLF COURSE. ADDITIONAL DAMAGE WAS FOUND TO BUSINESSES ALONG NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF HIGHWAY 78 AND GOODMAN ROAD. A CAR WASH AND A JIFFY LUBE RECEIVED DAMAGE AS THE TORNADO BLEW OUT THE GLASS IN EACH BUILDING. THE PATH WIDTH RANGED FROM 75 YARDS 100 YARDS AND THE PATH LENGTH WAS JUST UNDER ONE MILE. THE SECOND TORNADO CAUSED DAMAGE MAINLY IN THE ALEXANDRIA RIDGE SUBDIVISION...TO THE NORTHWEST OF THE FIRST TORNADO. ONE HOUSE SUFFERED EXTENSIVE DAMAGE TO ITS ROOF. THE MAJOR DAMAGE WAS ISOLATED TO ONLY THAT HOUSE...WITH OTHER HOUSES ONLY RECEIVING MINOR SHINGLE AND FENCE DAMAGE. BASED ON THE DAMAGE TO THE ONE HOUSE...THE TORNADO HAS BEEN RATED AN F-1. ANOTHER HOUSE NEARBY SUFFERED DAMAGE WHEN AN AIR CONDITIONER WENT THROUGH THE WINDOW OF THE HOUSE. A RESIDENT INSIDE THE HOUSE SUFFERED MINOR INJURIES TO HER ARM. THE PATH WIDTH WAS VERY NARROW...REACHING 50 YARDS AT ITS MAXIMUM. THE PATH LENGTH WAS 100 YARDS. THE FIRST TORNADO WARNING WAS ISSUED AT 414 PM FOR TUNICA AND DESOTO COUNTIES. THE TORNADO WARNING WAS REISSUED FOR DESOTO COUNTY AT 500 PM. THIS GAVE UP TO ONE HOUR LEAD TIME IN ADVANCE OF THE FIRST TORNADO TOUCHDOWN. THE ASSESSMENT TEAM WAS ABLE TO SPEAK WITH THE NEIGHBORS OF THE HOUSE THAT WAS SEVERELY DAMAGED IN ALEXANDRIA RIDGE. THEY TOLD THE TEAM THAT THEY RECEIVED THE WARNING ON NOAA WEATHER RADIO WELL IN ADVANCE OF THE TORNADO AND SOUGHT SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR CLOSET. ...MISSISSIPPI COUNTY ARKANSAS TORNADO... ONE TORNADO TRACK HAD BEEN CONFIRMED BY A NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ASSESSMENT TEAM NEAR THE TOWN OF MARIE. THE BEGINNING AND ENDING POINTS OF THIS PARTICULAR TORNADO ARE UNKNOWN SINCE IT IS BELIEVED THAT THE TORNADO HAD TRACKED ACROSS OPEN FARM FIELDS BEFORE CAUSING F-0 DAMAGE TO A COUPLE OF RESIDENCES ON HIGHWAY 119. THE PATH WIDTH WAS APPROXIMATELY 75 TO 100 YARDS BETWEEN 538 AND 545 PM CST...SEVERAL RESIDENTS OF MISSISSIPPI COUNTY HAD TAKEN PHOTOGRAPHS AND VIDEO OF A TORNADO TOUCHING DOWN NEAR HIGHWAY 61 AND HIGHWAY 198...JUST SOUTH OF OSCEOLA. THE TORNADO REMAINED OVER OPEN FIELD...SO NO PATH LENGTH CAN BE DETERMINED. HOWEVER IT IS POSSIBLE THAT IT MAY BE THE SAME TORNADO THAT STRUCK MARIE...ALTHOUGH IT CANNOT BE CONFIRMED. THE FIRST TORNADO WARNING FOR MISSISSIPPI COUNTY ARKANSAS WAS ISSUED AT 506 PM AND THE TORNADO WARNING WAS REISSUED AT 526 PM. THIS GAVE UP TO 32 MINUTES LEAD TIME IN ADVANCE OF THE FIRST TORNADO TOUCHDOWN. ...OTHER NOTES... NO TORNADO WAS CONFIRMED IN MARKED TREE ARKANSAS IN POINSETT COUNTY. NUMEROUS FUNNEL CLOUDS DID OCCUR WITHOUT ANY DAMAGE REPORTED. ...ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE SKYWARN SPOTTER NETWORK...LOCAL MEDIA...EMERGENCY MANAGERS...AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC FOR THEIR TIMELY REPORTS DURING THE SEVERE WEATHER EVENT. THESE REPORTS HELPED ALL OF US TO WORK TOGETHER TO SAVE LIVES. THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WOULD ALSO LIKE TO SEND A SPECIAL THANKS TO ADAM PAYNE...DIRECTOR OF GOLF AT CHEROKEE VALLEY GOLF COURSE....AND TO JERRY AND MARY FRANCES CULLEN FOR ALLOWING THE STORM TEAM TO ASSESS THE DAMAGE EXPERIENCED TO THEIR PROPERTY. THEIR COOPERATION ALLOWED THE TEAM TO COMPLETE A MORE THOROUGH REPORT. ...FUJITA SCALE TABLE... F0...40-72 MPH F1...73-112 MPH F2...113-157 MPH F3...158-206 MPH F4...207-260 MPH F5...261-318 MPH $$ CORDERO/BEAMAN