Storm Impacting the Northwest U.S.; Fire Weather Conditions in Southern California; Severe Weather in the South

A Pacific storm is bringing areas of low elevation rain, moderate to heavy mountain snow, and high winds to the Northwest. Strong Santa Ana winds and very dry conditions are producing elevated to critical fire weather conditions in southern California. Isolated strong to severe thunderstorms are possible through early Wednesday morning across parts of northeast Texas into western Tennessee. Read More >

Overview

On October 26th 2010, an unusually deep Low pressure system was working its way across the Upper Midwest, pushing a strong cold front across the Mississippi Valley and through the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys. A strong upper level Jet Stream was in place, along with a 50 to 60 mph Low Level Jet feeding Gulf moisture into the area ahead of the front, creating a dynamic environment suitable for a severe weather outbreak that ranged from the Lower Great Lakes region to the Southern Appalachians. During the afternoon, over a dozen Severe Thunderstorm Warnings were issued throughout Eastern Kentucky as a line of storms developed along the front and began racing across Kentucky.

October 26, 2010 weather summary map

Tornado
Radar

Tornado:

Shortly after 6 pm, a weakening thunderstorm over Bell County developed a tornado that touched down in Middlesboro, tracking about a quarter of a mile through the downtown area. Despite being rated as a weaker tornado than the one which struck Wayne County earlier in the year, the impact was actually greater because the event occurred in a more populated area. Although the tornado was short lived, accounts indicated that the twister was only on the ground for a couple of minutes, the damage along the path from 19^th street to 12^th street was extensive. Part of the roof on the mall was damaged, 2 cinder block buildings at a lumber yard were demolished, a roof was blown off of another building supplier, and 2 large steel doors were blown off of another business.

The National Weather Service in Jackson, KY conducted a damage survey and confirmed that an EF1 tornado touched down late in the afternoon on Tuesday October 26, 2010 in the city of Middlesboro, Bell County, Kentucky.

Time: Touchdown for approximately 1 to 2 minutes between 6:10 pm EDT and 6:15 pm EDT.
Location: From just West of State Hwy 2079 North of Fleetwood Road, East-Northeast to just West of Hwy 25E in Middlesboro.
EF-Scale: EF-1
Estimated Max Winds: 105 MPH
Path Width: 1/10th to 1/8th of a mile
Path Length: 7/10th of a mile
Injuries: None
Fatalities: None

Path of EF1 Tornado through Middlesboro on 10-26-10. Damage pictures are available at points marked with red asterisk.

The Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale classifies tornadoes into the following categories:

EF0 Weak 65-85 mph	EF1 Moderate 86-110 mph	EF2 Significant 111-135 mph	EF3 Severe 136-165 mph	EF4 Extreme 166-200 mph	EF5 Catastrophic 200+ mph