Day 365: A Tragic End to 2010
Shortly after 5 AM CST this morning, I was awakened by the sound of text messages coming to my cell phone. These text messages were severe thunderstorms warnings for northeast Oklahoma, in the general vicinity of my previous stomping grounds: Northwest Arkansas. I began tracking the storms on my iPhone and began to get concerned that the storms were becoming better organized and that northwest Arkansas would be under the threat for tornadoes. (Yes, the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) had a Tornado Watch in effect.)
At 6 AM CST, the National Weather Service (NWS) Forecast Office in Tulsa Oklahoma issued a Tornado Warning for Adair County, OK and Washington County, AR. Five minutes later a tornado ripped through the border town of Westville, OK moving northeast at between 50 and 60 miles per hour. This tornado then crossed the Oklahoma, Arkansas border and destroyed the small town of Cincinnati, AR around 6:09 AM CST. The tornado continued on to the northeast before weakening just south of Bentonville, AR. After the tornado weakened, debris rained down on parts of northwest Arkansas, including the runways of XNA (Northwest Arkansas Airport). In fact, a sign from the Cincinnati, AR general store was found in the power lines of southwest Bentonville, AR! Preliminary information on this tornado can be found at the NWSFO Tulsa, OK’s information page. I will say that at the time of this writing, the tornado is estimated to have a path length of 21 miles and has been given a preliminary rating of EF-3.
When dawn broke, the full extent of the damage became known. Houses and buildings were destroyed and lives were forever changed; three Cincinnati, AR residents lost their lives.
The complex of thunderstorms responsible for the tornado continued on to the northeast throughout the morning and afternoon, impacting cities such as Fort Leonard Wood and Rolla Missouri. Ultimately, when all said and done, the storms took the lives of at least 3 Missouri residents. During the late afternoon and early evening, another round of thunderstorms developed across Louisiana and moved into central Mississippi which produced a series of tornadoes in and around the Jackson, MS metropolitan area.
What a way to end the year and end my 365 days of weather posts. My heart goes out to the victims and their families tonight.
About Patrick
Patrick Marsh is a Ph.D. student at the University of Oklahoma's School of Meteorology. He earned a Bachelors of Science in Mathematics and Physics (cum laude) from the University of Arkansas in 2005 and a Masters of Science in Meteorology in 2007. In addition to working on his doctorate, Patrick serves as the National Severe Storms Laboratory Liaison to the Hazardous Weather Testbed where his research interests lie in working with operational forecasters, data mining, data visualization, and all things high-impact weather. For more about Patrick's work, check out his complete CV!
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