2007 — Feb 2, Tornadoes, Lady Lake and Lake Mack in Lake County, Central FL — 21

— 21  NCDC, NOAA. Storm Events Database. Event Record Deaths, Tornadoes, 02 Feb 2007.

— 21  Orlando Sentinel. “Lady Lake Church Destroyed by Tornadoes Reopens,” Feb 2, 2009.

— 20  St. Petersburg Times, FL “02.02.2007: Tornadoes Ravage Central Florida.” 2-2-2007.

 

— 13  Lake Mack, Lake County FL. NCDC. Storm Events Database. EF3 Tornado, Lake Co., FL

–Male, 7, mobile home.

–Male, 15, mobile home.

–Male, 37, mobile home.

–Male, 46, mobile home.

–Male, 49, mobile home.

–Male, 54, mobile home.

–Male, 55, mobile home.

–Female, 9, mobile home.

–Female, 35, mobile home.

–Female, 35, mobile home.

–Female, 49, mobile home.

–Female, 58, mobile home.

–Female, 66, mobile home.

 

—   8  Lady Lake, Lake County, FL  NCDC[1] and Orlando Sentinel. Feb 2, 2009.

–Male, 20, mobile home. (NCDC)

–Male, 88, mobile home.       “

–Male, 92, mobile home.       “

–Female, 17, mobile home.    “

–Female, 66, mobile home.    “

–Female, 77, mobile home.    “

–Female, 81, mobile home.    “

–Female, 88, mobile home.    “

 

Narrative Information

 

NCDC (Lady Lake): “A series of powerful tornadoes swept across Sumter, Lake and Volusia counties during the early morning hours of February 2, 2007. A discontinuous swath of tornado damage was observed from near Wildwood in Sumter County to the town of Lady Lake (Lake County) to New Smyrna Beach (Volusia County). This was a distance of over 70 miles. A total of 21 fatalities occurred within Lake County. Central Florida was located in the warm sector ahead of an advancing cold front. Large scale lift was supported by a very strong jet aloft, with strong vertical shear. Instability increased overnight with temperatures and dew points increasing through the pre-dawn hours. A single long-tracked supercell thunderstorm traveled from Sumter County to the coastal waters of Volusia County during the early morning hours of February 2, 2007. Three tornadoes touched down along this track.

 

“The tornado that moved out of Sumter County, crossed into Lake County just west of Lady Lake. The one quarter mile wide, F3 tornado moved across the Lady Lake area killing 8 people and injuring 10. The tornado damaged 180 residences and destroyed 101. All of the fatalities were in mobile homes. Moving east northeast at 50 MPH, the tornado lifted near Emerald Marsh Lake.” (NCDC, NOAA. Storm Events Database. Tornado, EF3, Florida, Lake County (Lady Lake), Feb 2, 2007.)

 

NCDC: “The mesocyclone that produced the Lady Lake tornado reintensified and produced a second F3 tornado in a rural area west southwest of Paisley. The tornado move east northeast at over 50 MPH toward the Lake Mack area just west of the St. Johns river. The tornado produced a quarter mile wide track across the Lake Mack area destroying 86 residences and damaging 144. Many mobile homes were completely destroyed. Thirteen people died in mobile homes. A series of powerful tornadoes swept across Sumter, Lake and Volusia counties during the early morning hours of February 2, 2007. A discontinuous swath of tornado damage was observed from near Wildwood in Sumter County to the town of Lady Lake (Lake County) to New Smyrna Beach (Volusia County). This was a distance of over 70 miles. A total of 21 fatalities occurred within Lake County. Central Florida was located in the warm sector ahead of an advancing cold front. Large scale lift was supported by a very strong jet aloft, with strong vertical shear. Instability increased overnight with temperatures and dew points increasing through the pre-dawn hours. A single long-tracked supercell thunderstorm traveled from Sumter County to the coastal waters of Volusia County during the early morning hours of February 2, 2007. Three tornadoes touched down along this track.”  (NCDC/NOAA.  Event Record Deaths, Tornado, 02 Feb 2007.)

 

Newspapers:

 

St. Petersburg Times: “Winds clocked up to 160 m.p.h. as a deadly tornado tore it way across central Florida in the wee hours of Friday morning, Feb. 2. More than a thousand homes were damaged or destroyed across Lake and Volusia counties. Twenty people were killed. An unknown number were injured.” (St. Petersburg Times. “Tornadoes Ravage Central Florida.”)

 

St. Petersburg Times: “Powerful storms blew through Central Florida early Friday, spawning tornadoes that killed at least 19 people, damaged hundreds of homes, snarled traffic on Interstate 4 and knocked out power to about 40,000 households and businesses. Six people were reported dead in Lady Lake and 13 were reported dead in Paisley as of Friday night. Search teams with dogs were still hunting for victims. Officials did not know how many people might be injured or missing….

 

“The storms moved across Sumter and Lake counties about 3:15 a.m., then moved east to Volusia County. Emergency officials estimated that 500 homes were damaged or destroyed in Lake County and 100 were damaged in Sumter County. The storms demolished the Lady Lake Church of God, toppled an Orlando radio station’s 1,500-foot tower and sank a 90-foot paddle-wheel tour boat, the Lady Beresford….

 

“Why were these storms particularly deadly?  Because it hit before dawn, when most people are asleep. Forecasters issued a tornado watch about midnight and a tornado warning 8 to 15 minutes before the first one touched down, but warnings do little good at that hour. “The most dangerous tornado scenario is a threat for killer tornadoes at night, and that was the case,” said Dave Sharp, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Melbourne.” (St. Petersburg Times. “Storm Q&A.”  February 2, 2007.)

Sources

 

Orlando Sentinel. “Lady Lake Church Destroyed by Tornadoes Reopens.” 2-1-2009. At: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/lake/orl-ltornado0109feb01,0,1343077.story

 

National Climatic Data Center, NOAA. Storm Events Database. Tornado, Florida, 02 Feb 2007.. Accessed 2-302009 at: http://www4.ncdc.noaa.gov/cgi-win/wwcgi.dll?wwevent~ShowEvent~650107

 

National Climatic Data Center, NOAA. Storm Events Database. Tornado, EF3, Florida, Lake County (Lady Lake), Feb 2, 2007. Accessed 8-22-2015: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=18948

 

National Climatic Data Center, NOAA. Storm Events Database. Tornado, EF3, Florida, Lake County (Lake Mack), Feb 2, 2007. Accessed 8-22-2015: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=18950

 

St. Petersburg Times, FL. “Storm Q&A.”  2-2-2007. Accessed at:  http://www.sptimes.com/2007/02/02/State/Storm_QA.shtml

 

St. Petersburg Times, FL. “02.02.2007: Tornadoes Ravage Central Florida.” Accessed at:  http://www.sptimes.com/2007/webspecials07/special_reports/superstorm/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] NCDC, NOAA. Storm Events Database. Tornado, EF3, Florida, Lake County (Lady Lake), Feb 2, 2007.