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Super Tuesday Tornado Outbreak – 17 Years Later

Seventeen years ago today, on February 5th, 2008, the “Super Tuesday” Tornado Outbreak heavily impacted the midsouth. Eighty-seven tornadoes ripped across the south during the outbreak. After all was said and done, 57 people lost their lives.

Image Credit – Unknown

During the outbreak, a few notable tornadoes swept through our area and surrounding areas. One of these was a strong EF-3 that tore through parts of Jackson, TN, around 7 p.m. The storm cycled and produced a stronger tornado, a violent EF-4 rated tornado, as it moved from the west side of Jackson to the north towards Union University. The twister would heavily damage a large section of the college and injure 51 people.

Union University Damage (Jackson, TN) | Image Credit – NWS Memphis

Following the Jackson EF-4, another EF-4 tornado tracked through the northern part of Hardin County around 8 p.m., destroying Sharon Baptist Church, Savannah Christian Academy, and numerous homes in the Cravens and Cerro Gordo areas. This tornado killed 3 Hardin County residents, injured 5, and left hundreds without a home for months. The EF-4 would lift right as it exited Hardin County, and 2 EF-1s would form in Hardin/Wayne/Decatur/Perry counties, causing damage.

Hardin County Damage | Image Credit – NWS Memphis

One of the final tornadoes of the day was a violent EF-4 that plowed through Lawrence & Morgan County, AL, including the south side of Moulton. The monster stayed on the ground for over 16 miles, was just under 900 yards wide, and lifted a few miles away from Decatur. The tornado would kill 4 Alabamians and injure 23. Several homes in the path were nearly or entirely leveled down to a slab.

Moulton, AL Damage | Image Credit – NWS Huntsville

Here is a map of rotation tracks of the tornado-producing supercells that occurred in and around our area.

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Sam Camp
Student Meteorologist / Weather Content Manager