Enterprise Tornado On Radar

The base reflectivity and the base storm-relative velocity images of the Enterprise tornado (from the Fort Rucker NEXRAD radar) are below…. Here are some notes from the National Weather Service in Tallahassee, which covers Coffee County in their CWA:

“The deadliest tornado was also the first. A tornado warning was issued by this office at 1847 UTC (12:47 PM CST) for Coffee County including the City of Enterprise, AL. An NWS Storm Survey Team determined that a tornado rated EF3 on the new enhanced Fujita Scale touched down in Enterprise, AL, 18 minutes later at around 1905 UTC (1:05 PM CST). The tornado was first observed on the ground at the Enterprise Municipal Airport. About five minutes after that, it slammed into the Enterprise High School killing eight students and injuring at least 50. The fatalities occurred when a concrete wall collapsed onto a group of students huddled in the hallway in a crouched position. The football stadium was completely destroyed. There was some debate in the media as to whether the students should have been evacuated before the tornado hit. A look in the parking lot, where several cars had been tossed around, indicates that releasing the students could have been even more disastrous.”

Downtown Enterprise was also hit hard with damage to homes on several streets and many roads blocked by downed power lines. An additional fatality occurred. The tornado path was approximately 200 yards wide and 10 miles long. The images below show the base reflectivity and storm-relative velocity from the Fort Rucker Doppler radar (KEOX) at the time the twister reached the high school. In the reflectivity image, note the blob of high reflectivity just east of the “hook” likely caused by debris.”

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