3/1/07 DISC: GA/AL/MS/FL

[Justin E. Reed]

Prior to the tornado, we had been receiving data from the observers at Ft. Rucker. After 1300, no reports and I don't believe one hasn't been reported since, so either they have no power, or the ASOS isn't there anymore. The mlitary would be tight lipped at this time to release any major damage reports, plus FT. Rucker is a rather large base and most of it is nothing but woods and wiregrass prairie. So, I'm betting it did move upon the base grounds, but likely lifted at some point on base. Daebris was reported "raining" down in Ozark, at the other end of Ft. Rucker from Enterprise.

 

[Jordan Hartley]

Here's another reason why I think they would keep the lid on reporting if any damage did take place. Ft. Rucker is where they train all the helicopter pilots in the US Army. We are in fact in a time of war and if any damage was done to the base the lid would be closed shut on any reports of damage from the base. At 1300 Cnn was doing a live report from Ft. Rucker with the sirens going off in the distance right before Enterprise got hit.

 

[Brian Emfinger]

dont know if anyones linked this yet - from youtube claiming to be enterprise tornado:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVd0uOqd3F8

 

[Paul Knightley]

dont know if anyones linked this yet - from youtube claiming to be enterprise tornado:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVd0uOqd3F8

Could be - be warned though, some strong language.

 

[Mark Manchester]

I saw an interview with an administrator with the Enterprise School District on ABC last night and their thinking was it would be safer to keep the kids in school then have hundreds of kids out on busses and others just running loose. Not taking sides either way, but that was straight from the horses mouth.

 

[Mark Farnik]

Some sad news out of Enterprise... they found the bodies of three more teens in the rubble of Enterprise High School overnight, raising the death toll at the school to eight and the overall death toll in Enterprise to eleven.
Also nine people were killed by the tornadoes in Georgia overnight. The current overall death toll for the outbreak stands at 21, but I fear this number may continue to rise as search and rescue operations are still underway in Georgia, and many people were critically injured by these storms. The final death toll when all is said and done will likely be over two dozen.

 

[Kevin Bowman]

I saw an interview with an administrator with the Enterprise School District on ABC last night and their thinking was it would be safer to keep the kids in school then have hundreds of kids out on busses and others just running loose. Not taking sides either way, but that was straight from the horses mouth.

The Belvidere tornado is a perfect example of why they made the right choice

that tornado
F4
struck as kids were being let out of school
many were in school buses waiting to go home outside the high school
12 of 16 school buses were overturned or thrown
24 dead

 

[HAltschule]

Where did your F4 rating come from?

 

[Mike Davis]

Minor damage in Callahan, FL 6am

Minor damage to several mobile homes and one large building rolled at Ratliff Road/Thomas Creek in Callahan, FL. I am 8 miles from it, Vchased it, and received 7 photos laptopped from scene to study. With the NWS TOR Warn, and radar indicating a TVS with 41 k/s, the photos seem to confirm an F0.

 

[Morgan Palmer]

The following was sent to WSFA in Montogomery.

Subject: Enterprise tornado pictures
My wife and I were driving down the road in Enterprise today when the
tornado that hit Enterprise crossed the road in front of us. We later went
back and found out that the twister crossed 0.4 miles in front of us.

We had to stop in the road, do a U-turn and run for our lives. I hope you
like the pictures.

This thing was huge!!! Look at the diameter of the base!!!

Barry Mott
Dothan, Alabama

 

[Brett Adair]

I do believe that is Enterprise, Alabama. I have been there many times and it looks alot like the area.

 

[Kevin Bowman]

Where did your F4 rating come from?

Numerous sources have that tornado rated at a F4, this isint the tornado from yesterday

 

[Jeff Snyder]

Damage assessments from BMX NWSFO (summarized):
[FONT=lucida sans typewriter, lucida console, courier]DALLAS COUNTY (RATED AN EF1):
Width: 450 yards
Length: 12.1 miles
Max winds: 105 mph

JEFFERSON COUNTY (RATED AN EF1):
Width: 400 yards
Length: 1 mile
Max winds: 100 mph

TUSCALOOSA COUNTY (RATED AN EF0):
Width: 50 yards
Length: 0.25 miles
Max winds: 80 mph

TUSCALOOSA COUNTY (RATED AN EF1):
Width: 100 yards
Length: 1.5 miles
Max winds: 105 mph

FAYETTE COUNTY (RATED AN EF0):
Width: 50 yards
Length: 0.25 miles
Max winds: 65 mph

FAYETTE COUNTY (RATED AN EF1):
Width: 150 yards
Length: 1 mile
Max winds: 90 mph

WINSTON COUNTY (RATED AN EF1):
Width: 100 yards
Length: 1.5 miles
Max winds: 100 mph

--> http://kamala.cod.edu/offs/KBMX/0703022221.nous44.html

All winds are ESTIMATED, obviously.
[/FONT]

 

[Justin E. Reed]

They found my uncle Chip in Ozark, he's fine. His house suffered damage from the circulation apssing directly overhead. He found insulation, metal, and a cancelled check from Enterprise. It all traveled about 20 miles in the circulation, fairly good distance. His damage was probably from the RFD. I will go thru there on my way home at the end of March and try and post pictures on here at a later date.

 

[Justin E. Reed]

Looking at the radar loop closely, I see why Ozark was spared the worst. The wedge and hook occluded over Ft. Rucker, then rapidly redeveloped over north Ozark. Had this not occluded, I'm highly sure that Ozark would have seen as much, if not more damage because it probably would have gotten stronger. This is an excellent version of a Great Plains type storm in the south.