20080208

February 8, 2008
     A major tornado outbreak took place on Tuesday with 101 tornadoes reported, mainly in Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky. The storms have killed 55 people at last count, and injured close to 100. Hardest hit may have been Jackson, Tennessee, which was hit by its third violent tornado in the past 10 years. On Tuesday night, an EF4 tornado tracked through the Union University campus in Jackson, destroying 80% of the dormitories. The outbreak was the product of an extremely powerful low pressure system, which brought record warmth to many places across the eastern United States. A popular mnemonic to use when forecasting severe weather is MILE: Moisture, Instability, Lift, and Exhaust (Wind Shear). Those four things must be present for severe weather to occur. The strong low pressure finally brought all four together on Tuesday afternoon.
Sources: Tim Supinie, National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office in Little Rock, Arkansas (picture), CNN, and Storm Prediction Center