Villages 2007 Groundhog Day Tornado

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A talk about the "Villages 2007 Groundhog Day Tornado" will be presented this Friday (Groundhog Day, Feb 2) at 4 PM at the First Responders Recreation Center. Find out why February is the worst month for Florida tornadoes and why we are in a Doppler Radar dead zone.

[rustyp]

A talk about the "Villages 2007 Groundhog Day Tornado" will be presented this Friday (Groundhog Day, Feb 2) at 4 PM at the First Responders Recreation Center. Find out why February is the worst month for Florida tornadoes and why we are in a Doppler Radar dead zone.

Is it ground hog day again ? I'll bet TV has a tornado in the early morning hours.

[thelegges]

Will be in Disney safe and sound:clap2:

[Normal]

Florida pulled together for this one. Recreation centers opened up with insurance help, the Red Cross and Sheriffs. Governor Crist was quick on the move.

[sounding]

Will be in Disney safe and sound:clap2:

Be careful. Florida's worst tornado event was in the Disney area on Feb 22/23, 1998 -- with 42 deaths. This is included in the Feb 2 Tornado talk ... among others.

[thelegges]

Be careful. Florida's worst tornado event was in the Disney area on Feb 22/23, 1998 -- with 42 deaths. This is included in the Feb 2 Tornado talk ... among others.

Key words Disney Area.. Not Disney.....which is Cat 4-5 rated. So yep very safe. Its why Disney closes parks but does not evacuate guests or staff. Staff families and Florida residents have been known to purposely go Disney

[Taltarzac725]

We toured the damage. House on one side of street gone down to foundation and on other looked untouched.

My Dad had seen far worse as a Catastrophe Manager for a major insurance company. He handled Hurricane Andrew, Hurricane Inniki, fires in the Oakland Hills, etc. Oakland firestorm of 1991 - Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland_firestorm_of_1991)

Earlier in his career he took me along to view the effects of the bombing at Harvey's Wagon Wheel. Harvey's Resort Hotel bombing - Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey%27s_Resort_Hotel_bombing)

[Quietman]

Personal experience after tornado. Gary Morse was walking around surveying damage at around 4:00 A.M. (tornado at 3:10) and I talked to him. His first request was whether there were any casualties that I knew of. This was on a Friday. That same day, by some means, contractors workers (house builders) were given off to help people clean out their homes and place debris at the curbs. Then on Saturday trucks appeared with other equipment with cherry pickers picking up all the trash and hauling it away. No one would accept anything from anyone except thanks.
The next week those homeowners with severe damages were given the option of rebuilding their homes or they could turn them over for a full refund of purchase price.
There were many people who helped in many capacities.
That's what cemented my view that this was the place to live.

[Taltarzac725]

Personal experience after tornado. Gary Morse was walking around surveying damage at around 4:00 A.M. (tornado at 3:10) and I talked to him. His first request was whether there were any casualties that I knew of. This was on a Friday. That same day, by some means, contractors workers (house builders) were given off to help people clean out their homes and place debris at the curbs. Then on Saturday trucks appeared with other equipment with cherry pickers picking up all the trash and hauling it away. No one would accept anything from anyone except thanks.
The next week those homeowners with severe damages were given the option of rebuilding their homes or they could turn them over for a full refund of purchase price.
There were many people who helped in many capacities.
That's what cemented my view that this was the place to live.

Nice to hear about that.

A niece or something like that of a man I know died when a tree hit her trailer in Lady Lake that day.

[sounding]

Personal experience after tornado. Gary Morse was walking around surveying damage at around 4:00 A.M. (tornado at 3:10) and I talked to him. His first request was whether there were any casualties that I knew of. This was on a Friday. That same day, by some means, contractors workers (house builders) were given off to help people clean out their homes and place debris at the curbs. Then on Saturday trucks appeared with other equipment with cherry pickers picking up all the trash and hauling it away. No one would accept anything from anyone except thanks.
The next week those homeowners with severe damages were given the option of rebuilding their homes or they could turn them over for a full refund of purchase price.
There were many people who helped in many capacities.
That's what cemented my view that this was the place to live.

Thanks for the extra information, which confirms what I heard. This talk will also highlight the book "Ten Seconds Inside A Tornado" -- as it describes personal experiences of residents from that 2007 tornado -- which only took 10 seconds to pas overhead due to its speed ... Amazon.com (https://www.amazon.com/Ten-Seconds-Inside-a-Tornado/dp/0615272665/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2TIZTTUG4EXN9&keywords=ten+seconds+inside+a+tornado&qid=1706647959&s=books&sprefix=ten+seconds+inside+a+tornado%2Cstripbooks% 2C171&sr=1-1)

[thelegges]

My aunts and cousins lived here during the tornado. Not only was debris picked up every house damaged by daybreak was being tarp windows boarded and homes secured.
New home building stopped, and every worker was brought to help secure homes, and begin repairs.

Yes Morse was very hands on making sure TV was made right for all residents

[sounding]

My aunts and cousins lived here during the tornado. Not only was debris picked up every house damaged by daybreak was being tarp windows boarded and homes secured.
New home building stopped, and every worker was brought to help secure homes, and begin repairs.

Yes Morse was very hands on making sure TV was made right for all residents

One of the Villages' CERT team members on the scene, told me that when Red Cross finally arrived, they said they never saw a community response like that anywhere else before -- and since there was nothing for them to do -- they packed up and left. Here are some photos ... https://www.**************.com/2019/08/31/villages-101-deadly-2007-groundhog-day-tornado-cut-devastating-path-through-the-villages-and-lady-lake/

[lwmilo]

Personal experience after tornado. Gary Morse was walking around surveying damage at around 4:00 A.M. (tornado at 3:10) and I talked to him. His first request was whether there were any casualties that I knew of. This was on a Friday. That same day, by some means, contractors workers (house builders) were given off to help people clean out their homes and place debris at the curbs. Then on Saturday trucks appeared with other equipment with cherry pickers picking up all the trash and hauling it away. No one would accept anything from anyone except thanks.
The next week those homeowners with severe damages were given the option of rebuilding their homes or they could turn them over for a full refund of purchase price.
There were many people who helped in many capacities.
That's what cemented my view that this was the place to live.
If disaster struck today, good chance the support and kindness wouldn’t happen today. Mr Morse’s family is not cut from the same stock as Mr Morse, Just my opinion.

[RPDaly]

///

[RedChariot]

Personal experience after tornado. Gary Morse was walking around surveying damage at around 4:00 A.M. (tornado at 3:10) and I talked to him. His first request was whether there were any casualties that I knew of. This was on a Friday. That same day, by some means, contractors workers (house builders) were given off to help people clean out their homes and place debris at the curbs. Then on Saturday trucks appeared with other equipment with cherry pickers picking up all the trash and hauling it away. No one would accept anything from anyone except thanks.
The next week those homeowners with severe damages were given the option of rebuilding their homes or they could turn them over for a full refund of purchase price.
There were many people who helped in many capacities.
That's what cemented my view that this was the place to live.


Does anyone think that caring gesture would happen today? The Morse family today are not anything like Gary Morse.

[Escape Artist]

One of the Villages' CERT team members on the scene, told me that when Red Cross finally arrived, they said they never saw a community response like that anywhere else before -- and since there was nothing for them to do -- they packed up and left. Here are some photos ... https://www.**************.com/2019/08/31/villages-101-deadly-2007-groundhog-day-tornado-cut-devastating-path-through-the-villages-and-lady-lake/

I couldn’t open your link.

[sounding]

I couldn’t open your link.

Looks like "talk of the villages" doesn't like the competition being advertised. Just go to the Villages DASH News DOT Com website and search for "2007 villages tornado". Or better yet, see the best pictures, and much more, on Feb 2 at 4 PM at the First Responders Recreation Center.

[kcrazorbackfan]

If disaster struck today, good chance the support and kindness wouldn’t happen today. Mr Morse’s family is not cut from the same stock as Mr Morse, Just my opinion.

Wow, it only took 13 posts before someone started damning The Developer.

[barbara828]

I saw that too when looking. That quick action and no "evacuation route" signs did it. This is where they evacuate to. Bad sentence structure.

[twoplanekid]

More information about tornadoes in Florida

Tornadoes - Florida Climate Center (https://climatecenter.fsu.edu/topics/tornadoes)

And the following is from a Wind Science and Engineering Research Center Texas Tech University study of The Villages tornado that has since been moved so I can't located the complete text.

NWI Research | National Wind Institute | TTU (https://www.depts.ttu.edu/nwi/research/)

part of the conclusion in the study and what they suggested might need to be addressed.

1. The first tornado was classified as an EF-3 with wind speeds of 136-165 mph. The primary Damage Indicator (DI) was One Family Residences (FR12) with an observed Degree of Damage (DOD) for a majority of the structures in the range of 3-8, with a single DOD 10 demolished structure. The homes in The Villages were site-built and were less than five years old. Their construction type varied from total wood frame; CMU with wood frame roofs; to a hybrid of wood frame and light gage metal construction. Most of the homes investigated were constructed utilizing current hurricane mitigation methods and products. These included steel straps, roof clips, hurricane glazing, and hurricane-rated overhead doors. Those homes not directly under the storm vortex suffered small amounts of roofing, decking and cladding damage. In addition to these damages, those homes near or under the vortex further suffered loss of roof structure, garage doors and walls. Two mechanisms of failure were noted relating to the severely damaged homes: (a) These homes subjected to the higher speed winds, lost glazing and garage doors, became internally pressurized which produced subsequent failure of large portions of the building structure and walls; (b) Most homes observed were not constructed with traditional frame wall ―T�s‖ (I posted this in 2015 and thus not sure of this T...) and building corners which contributed to extensive loss of whole wall sections.

[sounding]

More information about tornadoes in Florida

Tornadoes - Florida Climate Center (https://climatecenter.fsu.edu/topics/tornadoes)

And the following is from a Wind Science and Engineering Research Center Texas Tech University study of The Villages tornado that has since been moved so I can't located the complete text.

NWI Research | National Wind Institute | TTU (https://www.depts.ttu.edu/nwi/research/)

part of the conclusion in the study and what they suggested might need to be addressed.

1. The first tornado was classified as an EF-3 with wind speeds of 136-165 mph. The primary Damage Indicator (DI) was One Family Residences (FR12) with an observed Degree of Damage (DOD) for a majority of the structures in the range of 3-8, with a single DOD 10 demolished structure. The homes in The Villages were site-built and were less than five years old. Their construction type varied from total wood frame; CMU with wood frame roofs; to a hybrid of wood frame and light gage metal construction. Most of the homes investigated were constructed utilizing current hurricane mitigation methods and products. These included steel straps, roof clips, hurricane glazing, and hurricane-rated overhead doors. Those homes not directly under the storm vortex suffered small amounts of roofing, decking and cladding damage. In addition to these damages, those homes near or under the vortex further suffered loss of roof structure, garage doors and walls. Two mechanisms of failure were noted relating to the severely damaged homes: (a) These homes subjected to the higher speed winds, lost glazing and garage doors, became internally pressurized which produced subsequent failure of large portions of the building structure and walls; (b) Most homes observed were not constructed with traditional frame wall ―T�s‖ (I posted this in 2015 and thus not sure of this T...) and building corners which contributed to extensive loss of whole wall sections.

Some of the data is discussed in the Feb 2 Tornado talk.

[mrf0151]

We were awakened by a sonic boom sound at 3am. Along the 466 area we had no damage but just south of us about 2-3 miles it was a mess.
The Groundhog Day tornado outbreak of 2007 was a devastating event that hit The Villages, Florida. The outbreak produced three tornadoes, with the first tornado grazing Wildwood on its East-Northeast path toward The Villages. At 3:10 a.m. it touched down onto Bailey Trail as an EF-3 tornado, traveling at nearly 60 mph while producing 160 mph winds. The tornado traveled across the entire mid-section of The Villages as it raced East-Northeastward and then exited five minutes later at 3:15 a.m. In those brief yet terrifying five minutes, the tornado damaged approximately 1,300 Villages homes. Some homes only experienced light damage while others suffered massive destruction. Even though most residents were sound asleep when the tornado hit, there were amazingly no fatalities, but there were many injuries.

[Bogie Shooter]

If disaster struck today, good chance the support and kindness wouldn’t happen today. Mr Morse’s family is not cut from the same stock as Mr Morse, Just my opinion.

And your opinion is wrong. Just my opinion.

[MidWestIA]

we had one - Feb 2, 2007 — Mallory Hill Country Club suffered severe damage from the early morning tornado

Did taxes for a lady who's house was next door didn't touch her house BUT they create a vacuum so her windows IMPLODED inside the house! Now you know why you NEVER shelter in a room with windows