Summary

A major outbreak of severe weather and tornado occurre across the Tennessee and Ohio valley regions on the 10th -11th of November 2002. This resulted in damage to 13 states from the Gulf Coast to western Pennsylvania. A total of 75 tornados touched down on the 10th, resulting in at least 36 deaths. A tornado rated as an F-4 on the Fujita Scale, struck Van Wert county in Ohio. In Tennessee, the community of Mossy Grove was nearly destroyed by a mile-wide tornado that claimed 12 lives. This is the worst tornado outbreak in November in a decade, caused by an unseasonably strong upper troposheric jet stream. This resulted in cold air surging down from Canada, and the subsequent lifting of warm moist air from the Culf of Mexico adding extra energy to the system. This triggered a thousand mile front stretching from the Gulf Coast to Pennsylvania.

Objectives:

This case allows an in-depth study of dynamics of tornado formation in the Fall season.