An unusually warm and humid December day
with strong atmospheric wind shear allowed for supercell
thunderstorms to develop over the mid-south during the late
afternoon hours. One supercell developed around 2300 UTC 10
December 2021 near Little Rock, AR. This supercell, which had
lasted for over 7 hours, crossed a distance of more than 463
km (250 nm) and spawned at least 6 tornadoes, two of which
were rated EF4.
One of the tornadoes, which produced damage rated EF4, cut a
311 km (168 nm) path through the state of Kentucky. Of this,
237 km (128 nm) were in the NWS Paducah County Warning Area
(CWA). The tornado was approximately 1 mile wide during the
entire path, so in essence produced 128 square miles of
damage. According to the Storm Prediction Center, it is the
9th longest tornado on record. Interestingly, the longest
tornado recorded was also in the current Paducah CWA: the
Tri-State Tornado of 1925.
This presentation will discuss the scientific challenges of
forecasting/surveying such an event along with a social
science viewpoint on messaging to the public/partners before,
during, and after the event.
About the Speakers:
Pat Spoden is the Science & Operations
Officer at the National Weather Service Office in Paducah, KY.
He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Meteorology from
Northern Illinois University. Pat began his career with a
private forecasting company near Chicago, providing forecasts
for everything from radio stations across the country to wave
and wind forecasts for ships on the Great Lakes. In 1987, he
joined the National Weather Service in Evansville, IN. Between
1991 and 1994, Pat was an instructor at the Operations
Training Branch in Norman, OK where he taught NWS employees
how to use the WSR-88D radar. He has been the Science &
Operations Officer in Paducah since 1994. Pat's main duties
are to ensure the staff understands the latest science and how
to use the various computer programs needed for operations.
Christine Wielgos is the Warning Coordination Meteorologist
with the National Weather Service in Paducah KY. She received
her Bachelor of Science degree in Meteorology from Northern
Illinois University and has worked with the National Weather
Service in Paducah KY for 22 years. As Warning Coordination
Meteorologist, Christine's responsibilities include ensuring
consistency and integrity of National Weather Service products
and services, conducting safety and preparedness programs
throughout the area, leading education and training courses
for partners and the public, as well as occasionally working
the forecast and warning operations desks.