From August 4–8, 2023, an unusual late-season severe weather and tornado outbreak sequence impacted multiple regions of the United States. Throughout the five-day period, numerous tornadoes struck the Eastern United States, the Plains, the South and the Midwest.[4] Some of the tornadoes were strong and caused major damage. This included an EF3 tornado formed in Lewis County, New York, causing severe damage to homes, barns, forested areas, a ski resort, and a motel.[4] Another EF3 tornado touched down near Yuma, Colorado, causing significant damage to a home and several farm structures in Yuma County.[4][5][6] In Baring, Missouri, a strong nocturnal EF2 tornado caused extensive damage throughout the town, where the local post office was destroyed, homes and businesses were damaged, and two people were injured.[4] A long-tracked EF2 tornado moved through Sangamon and Christian counties in Illinois, destroying a house, damaging several other homes, and resulting in extensive tree damage along its path. The third EF2 tornado of the outbreak struck western portions of Knoxville, Tennessee, damaging multiple houses and an apartment complex. This severe weather outbreak sequence left approximately 1 million residents without power and led to over 1,000 preliminary wind reports.[7] Additionally, heavy rainfall prompted a rare flash flood emergency in Cambridge, Maryland. Two non-tornadic fatalities (one in South Carolina and the other in Alabama) occurred as well.[8][9]
Meteorological synopsis
A moist and unstable air mass and very strong winds aloft were present on August 7, with a shortwave trough progressing towards northern portions of Appalachia, and convective available potential energy in the 2500-3500 values yielded for severe thunderstorm development. Thermodynamic and kinematic energy in and east of central portions of the Appalachian Mountains also contributed to thunderstorm development.[10] A level 4/moderate risk for severe weather, along with a 10 percent tornado risk, a significant 45 percent wind risk, and a 15 percent hail risk was issued by the Storm Prediction Center on August 7,[10] including the Washington, D.C. metro area, the first moderate risk in decades for the DC area.[11] Several severe thunderstorms formed ahead of a cold front in eastern Ohio, eastern Kentucky and West Virginia and later congealed into a quasi-linear convective system while approaching Washington D.C., Philadelphia, and Charlotte, North Carolina, bringing widespread damaging winds.[10][12][13]
A weak tornado passed through Millville, causing roof damage to homes, including one that had its chimney knocked down. Outbuildings and trees were also damaged, and hay bales were tossed as well.[14]
This damaging tornado touched down southeast of Baring, quickly becoming strong and striking a farmstead as it moved along an unusual northwestward path. A house on the property had its roof and some exterior walls removed, a machine shed and a large outbuilding were completely destroyed, and grain bins were thrown up to a half-mile away. Trees and power poles were snapped nearby before the tornado moved directly through Baring, where significant damage occurred. The local post office was destroyed with only a few walls left standing, a mobile home was completely destroyed, and a few other mobile homes were heavily damaged. A restaurant was unroofed, vehicles were damaged, and shipping containers and anhydrous ammonia tanks were tossed around. A couple of one-story apartment buildings had partial to total roof loss, and frame homes in town sustained considerable roof, siding, and window damage. Sheds, garages, and outbuildings were damaged or destroyed, and many large trees were snapped or uprooted. A total of 7 businesses and 62 homes were damaged or destroyed in Baring before the tornado exited town and moved to the north-northwest. An outbuilding and some trees sustained minor damage before the tornado dissipated. Two people were injured.[4][16][17]
August 5 event
List of confirmed tornadoes – Saturday, August 5, 2023[note 1]
A low-end EF1 tornado inflicted heavy roof and siding damage to a home, while another house suffered a broken window. Multiple outbuildings were damaged or destroyed, crops and power poles were damaged, and many trees were snapped or uprooted.[18][4]
A well-documented tornado occurred in the Whitetail Basin area. No structural damage occurred and most areas were inaccessible for surveying. This was the first ever recorded tornado in Jefferson County.[29]
A strong, long-tracked tornado touched down in Sangamon County near Pawnee, downing some trees and inflicting minor roof damage to a home before it quickly crossed into Christian County, damaging a few farm buildings and grain bins near the county line. It then strengthened as it moved across Sangchris Lake and passed between Kincaid and Sharpsburg, snapping and uprooting numerous large trees and tearing roofing and siding from a few homes, one of which was shifted off its foundation and had an exterior wall pushed in. A couple of barns were damaged along this segment of the path as well. The tornado then passed north of Taylorville and reached peak intensity near Willeys, where about two-thirds of a one-story house was destroyed, two other homes had roof damage, and a metal outbuilding was heavily damaged. Father east, the tornado rolled and destroyed a camper, damaged the roof of another house, snapped additional trees, and flattened corn in farm fields before it dissipated. [31][32][4]
This long-tracked, high-end EF1 tornado first damaged or destroyed a few outbuildings and tore fencing apart before it moved directly through Haysville. A business, some outbuildings, and a couple of homes in and around town suffered roof and gutter damage, and a greenhouse was destroyed. The tornado continued to the east of Haysville, unroofing a one-story house, inflicting minor damage to another house, and damaging or destroying multiple barns. It then struck Kellerville, damaging trees and a trailer before it passed near Dubois Crossroads, where at least 10 large poultry barns were heavily damaged or destroyed, killing numerous turkeys. Moving eastward, the tornado impacted Crystal, where homes, grain bins, and outbuildings were damaged. It then passed near Hillham, tossing and destroying a camper, damaging or destroying outbuildings and garages, and damaging several homes, one of which sustained destruction of its attached garage. As the tornado tracked south of French Lick, it rolled multiple vehicles, trailers, and mobile homes. A house and a cabin in this area had roof and siding damage, a metal carport and an outbuilding were destroyed, and some power lines were downed. Farther along the path, a few homes had significant roof and exterior damage, barns and outbuildings were damaged or destroyed, and debris was scattered across fields before the tornado dissipated near Paoli. Countless trees were snapped or uprooted along the path.[33][34][4]
A brief high-end EF1 tornado moved through the south side of French Lick, snapping or uprooting numerous large trees. Several houses sustained considerable roof and siding damage, and a sand storage barn had its roof torn off.[35][4]
This tornado moved through the north side of Paoli, where multiple warehouses and commercial buildings had their roofs blown off, with sheet metal scattered up to 200 yd (180 m) away. Trees were snapped or uprooted, a few of which landed on homes. One house sustained collapse of its porch, and many power poles were downed as well. This was the first of three tornadoes that occurred simultaneously in or around Paoli.[36][4]
A brief high-end EF0 tornado crossed SR 37 just south of Paoli and moved through Pioneer Mothers Memorial Forest, snapping or uprooting many trees. This was the second of three tornadoes that occurred simultaneously in or around Paoli.[37]
This tornado first caused minor roof damage at the Crestwood Manufacturing facility on the west side of Paoli before it moved directly through the downtown area, where some businesses suffered roof damage or had their brick facades damaged or partially collapsed. A church sustained roof damage and broken windows, and the Orange County Courthouse had multiple large chimneys knocked over. Many trees, power poles, and signs were blown over as well, including a couple of trees that fell on houses. The tornado then exited Paoli and tracked eastward, downing more trees and power lines, peeling back the roof of an outbuilding, causing crop damage, and heavily damaging two large grain silos as it moved through areas in and around the rural communities of Stampers Creek and Mahan Crossing. A manufactured home, an outbuilding, and trees were damaged in Millersburg before the tornado dissipated. This was the third of three tornadoes that occurred simultaneously in or around Paoli.[38][4]
August 7 event
List of confirmed tornadoes – Monday, August 7, 2023[note 1]
This tornado impacted the west edge of Salem, where a few businesses sustained roof, siding, and gutter damage, with debris scattered up to 150 yd (140 m) away. A metal garage structure at the Salem Speedway was also damaged, and trees and power poles were snapped as well.[39]
A high-end EF2 tornado embedded within a larger area of straight-line damage moved through several subdivisions and an apartment complex in the western part of Knoxville. Multiple three-story apartment buildings were heavily damaged and sustained roof loss, a debris impact left a large hole in the side of the apartment complex office, and a large garage structure on the property was completely destroyed. Multiple homes had major roof damage, wooden boards were driven into the ground, and many large hardwood trees were snapped or uprooted as well.[40][4]
A rare high-altitude tornado moved through rugged mountainous terrain, uprooting multiple trees and snapping tree limbs. This was the first ever tornado recorded in Mitchell County and the third tornado ever recorded in Yancey County, being the first since June 6, 1977.[41]
In Kentucky, this tornado destroyed a small utility building, overturned a construction trailer and two semi-trailers, and snapped or uprooted many trees. Some of the trees fell on homes, one of which sustained extensive damage to its attached garage. The tornado crossed the Big Sandy River into West Virginia, where a house had siding torn off and additional trees were downed before the tornado dissipated.[42][43][4]
This weak but long-tracked tornado touched down near Claremont and moved southeastward, snapping many trees and tree branches. More trees were downed as the tornado crossed into Iredell County and struck the north side of Mooresville. The tornado crossed into Rowan County, where additional tree damage occurred and a mobile home had part of its roof torn off. It then moved through Landis, where buildings sustained minor damage and trees were toppled over onto homes. Some additional trees were uprooted to the east of China Grove before the tornado dissipated. [44][45][46][4]
Trees and tree limbs were snapped in Blackrock, and damage to homes occurred as well. The roof of an outbuilding collapsed and another outbuilding was completely destroyed.[47][4]
A weak tornado touched down just south of Lake Norman, uprooting some trees and inflicting minor exterior damage to a few homes as it moved through the western part of Huntersville.[48]
This low-end EF1 tornado unroofed and partially collapsed outbuildings, snapped or uprooted dozens of trees, knocked over fences and a playground, and threw a raft into a tree. Some power lines were downed as well.[49][50][4]
Multiple trees were snapped or uprooted in Pennsylvania before the tornado crossed into New York. There, a house had roof shingle damage and broken windows, a shed was moved about 100 ft (30 m), and a couple of small boats were lofted from a pond.[54][55]
A brief tornado touched down in the northeastern part of Allentown and impacted the Midway Manor neighborhood, where multiple homes sustained roof and siding damage, and one house had its porch awning ripped off and thrown 100 ft (30 m). A church also suffered roof damage, along with a nearby shed. Another shed was blown 50 ft (15 m) off its foundation elsewhere. A swing set and some fencing was knocked over, and patio furniture was tossed. The tornado entered the northwestern edge of Bethlehem and caused some additional tree damage before it dissipated [59][4]
Sentinel-2 satellite imagery located a path of tornado damage in a heavily wooded area. No ground survey was conducted because of limited access to the area.[60]
At the beginning of the damage path near West Leyden, this strong tornado ripped the roof off of a house and inflicted significant damage to its second-floor exterior walls. Two other homes in this area were also heavily damaged and had their roofs uplifted, and a large garage structure had exterior walls blown out. Numerous large trees were snapped, uprooted, and defoliated in wooded areas, a barn was completely destroyed, and another barn was significantly damaged. The tornado then weakened and tracked through remote swampy terrain with less continuous tree damage, although surveyors had difficulty reaching this area due to a lack of road access. Towards the end of its track in Turin, the tornado intensified again as it struck the Snow Ridge Ski Resort, where all of the chair lift cables failed, some large metal chair lift support structures were toppled over or damaged, and many more trees were snapped and defoliated. Major structural damage occurred at the West Wind Motel, where several buildings had their roofs ripped off or collapsed, and also had some interior walls knocked down. A multi-story building was also shifted off its foundation and was completely unroofed. The tornado then abruptly lifted and dissipated after striking the motel.[62][4]
August 8 event
List of confirmed tornadoes – Tuesday, August 8, 2023[note 1]
This strong stovepipe tornado looped over its path multiple times and was well-documented by multiple storm chasers. At the beginning of the path in Washington County, the tornado damaged a detached garage and shifted it off its foundation. A metal shack had tin roofing removed, a tin storage container was flipped, power poles and crops were damaged, and trees were snapped. After crossing into Yuma County and overturning some irrigation pivots, the tornado strengthened and significantly damaged a well-built home, which sustained total destruction of its three-car attached garage, suffered partial roof loss, had doors blown in, and also sustained broken windows. A barn was heavily damaged nearby, and multiple wooden power poles and trees were snapped. The tornado then struck a farm property, where a large and well-built anchored metal outbuilding was completely destroyed and swept off its foundation, leaving behind only a bare concrete slab and a pile of mangled metal beams. A 5,000-pound engine stored inside the building was thrown and never recovered, metal debris was strewn across a nearby field, and farm machinery was damaged. Two metal grain bins were completely swept away nearby, and were ripped away with such force that their round concrete foundation pads were cracked and rebar was bent. The tornado snapped several large power poles, including a very sturdy laminated power pole, before it dissipated just southwest of Yuma.[66][67] Coupled with the EF3 tornado that occurred in Prowers County on June 23, 2023, this event marked the first time that two F3/EF3+ tornadoes touched down in Colorado in the same year since 1993.[68]
A rare flash flood emergency was issued for Cambridge, Maryland, where flood damage and water rescues occurred as 4 inches (100 mm) of rain fell in two hours.[88][89] Power lines fell in Westminster, Maryland, including on MD 140, trapping more than forty people in their cars after live power lines fell behind and in front of vehicles.[90][91]Montgomery Parks closed Sligo Creek Parkway and a road because of the threat for flooding, and damaging winds, causing trees to fall. A U.S. District Court sentencing was postponed due to severe weather, and tolls on I-66 reached nearly thirty dollars.[12] Extra trains were operated by the Washington Metro to assist in people to get to their residences, and the Emergency Operations Center was activated.[12][92] Train stations also operated an extra hour because Beyoncé's tour paid $100,000 to do so for fans to arrive at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, and to help people get home.[93] FedexField was also under a "shelter in place" order due to the imminent severe weather threat, and it was lifted nearly two hours later.[94][95] Despite the severe weather, a Pink concert was allowed to proceed, but inclement weather forced fans at Nationals Park to remain at the concourse.[12]
On August 8, the storms in Colorado produced a 5.25 in (13.3 cm) hailstone in Kirk that became the largest hailstone in state history in terms of diameter.[107]
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