PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL 615 PM EST SAT FEB 3 2007 ...THE LATEST FIELD REPORT FROM BOTH THE LAKE COUNTY AND VOLUSIA COUNTY SURVEY TEAMS REGARDING YESTERDAYS KILLER TORNADO EVENT... ...DAMAGE SURVEYS NOW INDICATE THAT AT LEAST THREE TORNADOES ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEATH AND DESTRUCTION... A PRELIMINARY STORM SURVEY CONTINUES IN BOTH LAKE AND VOLUSIA COUNTIES WHERE EXPERT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SURVEY TEAMS ARE ASSESSING THE DEVASTATION. THE LATEST REPORT FROM THE LAKE COUNTY TEAM IS THAT THE TORNADO WHICH RIPPED THROUGH THE VILLAGES AND LADY LAKE WAS HIGH END EF-3 WITH WINDS OF 155 TO 160 MPH. THE FIRST OF THREE TORNADOES INITIALLY TOUCHED DOWN IN SUMTER COUNTY NEAR WILDWOOD AND THE VILLAGES AND THEN CROSSED OVER INTO LAKE COUNTY TO STRIKE LADY LAKE WHERE THE FIRST EVENT FATALITIES OCCURRED. CURRENTLY...THERE ARE SIX KNOWN FATALITIES IN THE LADY LAKE AREA. THE VILLAGES/LADY LAKE TORNADO...TORNADO NUMBER 1...HAS BEEN CLASSIFIED AS AN EF-3 TORNADO WHICH CAUSED DAMAGE TO STRUCTURES WHERE MOST WALLS COLLAPSED EXCEPT FOR THEIR INTERIOR ROOMS...AS WELL AS LARGE TREES BECAME DEBARKED WITH ONLY THE STUBS OF THE LARGEST BRANCHES REMAINING. MOBILE HOMES WERE COMPLETELY DESTROYED. THIS TORNADO WAS ONE-QUARTER MILE WIDE DURING ITS MOST FIERCE MOMENTS. THE TORNADO LIFTED EAST OF LADY LAKE WITH AN APPROXIMATE PATH LENGTH OF ABOUT 15 MILES. THE TORNADO STRUCK LADY LAKE AT 320 AM. AGAIN...SIX KNOWN FATALITIES ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THIS TORNADO. THE LAKE MACK/DELAND TORNADO...TORNADO NUMBER 2...WAS ALSO HIGH END EF-3 WITH WINDS OF 160 TO 165 MPH. IT WAS ALSO ONE-QUARTER MILE WIDE. IT RESULTED IN COMPLETE DESTRUCTION OF MOBILE HOMES...AND CAUSED LARGE TREES TO BECOME DEBARKED. THE ESTIMATED TORNADO WINDS NEAR LAKE MACK PEAKED AT 165 MPH WHICH RESULTED IN 11 FATALITIES...AND 150 TO 155 MPH WINDS AT FOREST DRIVE AND STATE ROAD 44 WHICH RESULTED IN 3 MORE FATALITIES. A TOTAL OF 14 KNOWN FATALITIES OCCURRED WITH THIS DEADLY TORNADO. THE TORNADO CONTINUED ACROSS THE COUNTY LINE NEAR HONTOON ISLAND...CROSSING INTO VOLUSIA COUNTY...AND STRIKING DELAND AS A HIGH END EF-2 TORNADO WITH WINDS OF 130 TO 135 MPH AS REPORTED BY THE VOLUSIA COUNTY TEAM. IT WAS ONE-EIGHTH MILE WIDE AND LIFTED EAST OF INTERSTATE 4 NEAR THE VOLUSIA COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS. THE PATH LENGTH WAS APPROXIMATELY 22 MILES. THE TORNADO STRUCK LAKE MACK AT 348 AM AND DELAND AT 402 AM. THE NEW SMYRNA BEACH/PONCE INLET TORNADO...TORNADO NUMBER THREE... HAS BEEN INITIALLY RATED AS AN EF-1 TORNADO WITH WINDS OF 100 TO 105 MPH. THE TORNADO UPLIFTED ROOFS ON MANY STRUCTURES...CAUSING A SIGNIFICANT LOSS OF ROOFING MATERIAL...THE COLLAPSE OF CHIMNEYS... AND COLLAPSING GARAGE DOORS. ADDITIONAL DAMAGE OCCURRED TO PORCHES AND CAR PORTS. THIS TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN JUST EAST OF INTERSTATE 95 NORTH OF HIGHWAY 44 IN NEW SMYRNA BEACH AND MOVED THROUGH PONCE INLET. THE PATH LENGTH IS ABOUT 5 MILES. THE TORNADO STRUCK PONCE INLET AT 427 AM. THIS STATEMENT IS ONLY AN INITIAL REPORTING FROM THE SURVEY TEAMS. IN THE COMING DAYS...CONSIDERABLE EFFORT WILL BE INVESTED TO ENSURE THAT THIS HISTORICAL EVENT IS ACCURATELY DOCUMENTED. A WORD ABOUT THE NEW ENHANCED FUJITA (EF) TORNADO SCALE...THE EF-SCALE WAS DEVELOPED TO BETTER ASSESS WIND SPEEDS ASSOCIATED WITH A WIDE VARIETY OF STRUCTURAL DAMAGE...FROM SINGLE-WIDE MOBILE HOMES TO INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS TO FRAMED ONE OR TWO FAMILY HOMES...AND MANY MORE. THIS SCALE IS CONSIDERED A DAMAGE SCALE...WHEREAS THE TRADITIONAL FUJITA SCALE (F-SCALE) WAS MORE OF A WIND SPEED SCALE. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE NEW EF-SCALE...PLEASE SEE THE FOLLOWING WEBSITE: HTTP://WWW.SPC.NOAA.GOV/FSCALE $$ DWS/NWS MELBOURNE FL ===== PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY RUSKIN FL 413 PM EST SAT FEB 3 2007 UPDATED FOR EVENT TIME AND TO ADD ESTIMATED PATH WIDTH ...TORNADO WITH 140 TO 150 MPH WINDS CONFIRMED IN NORTHEASTERN SUMTER COUNTY... A PRELIMINARY STORM SURVEY CONDUCTED BY STAFF FROM THE NWS OFFICE IN RUSKIN HAS DETERMINED THAT A TORNADO...CONTAINING WINDS UP TO 150 MPH...CAUSED SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO STRUCTURES FROM NEAR WILDWOOD TO THE VILLAGES IN NORTHEAST SUMTER COUNTY. THE TRACK BEGAN IN THE NORTHEAST PORTION OF WILDWOOD AT THE INTERSECTION OF HIGHWAY 301 AND COUNTY ROAD 462...THEN RACED NORTHEAST FOR 5 MILES BEFORE CONTINUING INTO THE LAKE COUNTY PORTION OF THE VILLAGES...ONE AND ONE HALF MILES SOUTH OF COUNTY ROAD 466. THOUGH THE FINAL COUNT OF DAMAGED OR DESTROYED HOMES...AS WELL AS INSURED DAMAGE...WILL NOT BE KNOWN FOR SEVERAL DAYS...THE FOLLOWING DETAILS HAVE BEEN OBTAINED FROM THE TEAM THUS FAR: INTENSITY...LOW END EF-3 (SCALE 139-167 MPH). TRADITIONAL F-SCALE: STRONG F-2 (F-2 SCALE RANGES FROM 113 TO 157 MPH). ACTUAL TORNADO WINDS ESTIMATED AROUND 140-150 MPH. EVENT TIME...TOUCHDOWN NOW ESTIMATED TO BE AT 312 AM EST FRIDAY FEBRUARY 2 AT RESIDENCES JUST NORTH OF WILDWOOD. THE TORNADO EXITED SUMTER COUNTY AT 317 AM EST. DATA PROVIDED BY SECO ENERGY...FROM WHICH EXACT TIMES OF POWER OUTAGES WERE OBTAINED AT LOCATIONS ALONG OR VERY CLOSE TO THE TRACK. PATH LENGTH...5 MILES THROUGH SUMTER COUNTY. HOWEVER...THE TORNADO CONTINUED INTO NORTHERN LAKE COUNTY AND SURVEYS ON THAT AREA ARE BEING CONDUCTED THIS SATURDAY AFTERNOON. MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH...ESTIMATED TO BE 300 YARDS. FATALITIES...NO FATALITIES REPORTED. INJURIES...NO INJURIES REPORTED THUS FAR. DAMAGES...HUNDREDS OF HOUSES EITHER SEVERELY DAMAGED OR DESTROYED. FINAL COUNT LIKELY TO BE OVER 500 AFTER COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL COMPLETE THEIR DAMAGE SURVEYS. DOLLAR DAMAGE ESTIMATES WILL BE PROVIDED AFTER LOCAL...STATE...AND FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT STAFF COMPLETE THEIR ASSESSMENTS. THIS STATEMENT WILL BE UPDATED AS ADDITIONAL INFORMATION IS MADE AVAILABLE. THE NEW EF-SCALE WAS DEVELOPED TO BETTER ASSESS WIND SPEEDS ASSOCIATED WITH A WIDE VARIETY OF STRUCTURAL DAMAGE...FROM SINGLE-WIDE MOBILE HOMES TO INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS TO FRAMED ONE OR TWO FAMILY HOMES...AND MANY MORE. THIS SCALE IS CONSIDERED A DAMAGE SCALE...WHEREAS THE TRADITIONAL FUJITA SCALE (F-SCALE) WAS MORE OF A WIND SPEED SCALE. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE NEW EF SCALE...PLEASE SEE THE FOLLOWING WEBSITE: HTTP://WWW.SPC.NOAA.GOV/EFSCALE $$ REYNES/GOLDSMITH