page_title: 2007 Groundhog Day tornado outbreak
section_title: Aftermath
hierarchical_section_title: 2007 Groundhog Day tornado outbreak / Aftermath
caption_attribution_description: Tornado damage in Deland, Florida.
context_page_description: The 2007 Groundhog Day tornado outbreak was a localized but devastating tornado event that took place in central Florida early on February 2, 2007. Early morning temperatures had risen well above average for the season; combined with increased moisture and a powerful jet stream, this created enough instability and wind shear for thunderstorms to rotate and spawn tornadoes. Due to the conditions, a long-tracked supercell formed and produced three tornadoes over one hour and seventeen minutes. The supercell resulted in a 70-mile trail of damage.
  Twenty-one people were killed and 76 others were injured in the outbreak. The first tornado damaged 1,145 homes and destroyed 200 others in Sumter County before hitting the Lady Lake area where it killed eight people. A total of 180 homes were damaged and 101 homes were destroyed in Lake County. The second tornado killed 13 people in the Lake Mack area and damaged or destroyed over 500 homes and other structures during its existence, including the 1500-foot tall transmission tower of WCFB FM. The final tornado damaged roofs, car ports and garage doors along its path through New Smyrna Beach.
context_section_description: The outbreak was the second-deadliest on record for Florida, behind one that killed 42 people in February 1998. Damages from the tornado outbreak totaled $218 million (2007 US$). Christopher Patton, spokesman for the Lake County emergency operations center, described the damage as "unlike even perhaps the hurricanes of 2004 when we had minor roof damage, screen damage, pool damage. This is way far more devastating." The tornadoes were the first to be rated on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, which replaced the original Fujita Scale.
  U.S. President George W. Bush signed a declaration to designate Sumter, Lake, Volusia and Seminole counties as disaster areas. A state of emergency was declared by Governor Charlie Crist for the same counties. More than 400 American Red Cross volunteers from across several states went to help in central Florida. The Tampa Bay chapter of the American Red Cross sent six volunteers with emergency response vehicles to the main area of damage. The Walt Disney Company donated $50,000 to the American Red Cross to help aid victims and Feed The Children sent two truckloads of relief supplies to the central Florida area. The Salvation Army brought several mobile kitchens to offer relief to victims and Verizon Wireless helped by offering citizens the use of a wireless emergency communication center, in addition to cleaning and repairing cellular phones damaged by the storms. Katie Couric anchored the CBS Evening News from Lady Lake on February 2nd. The broadcast was slated to be from Miami, where Super Bowl XLI was held two days later as the game was to air on CBS. A moment of silence was held before Super Bowl XLI in Miami to honor the victims of the tornadoes.
caption: A severely damaged home in DeLand, Florida
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