page_title: 2008 Super Tuesday tornado outbreak
section_title: Castalian Springs–Lafayette, Tennessee/Tompkinsville, Kentucky
hierarchical_section_title: 2008 Super Tuesday tornado outbreak / Confirmed tornadoes / Castalian Springs–Lafayette, Tennessee/Tompkinsville, Kentucky
caption_attribution_description: English: EF3 damage to a block foundation home that was leveled in Castalian Springs, Tennessee.
context_page_description: The 2008 Super Tuesday tornado outbreak was a deadly tornado outbreak which affected the Southern United States and the lower Ohio Valley on February 5 and 6, 2008. The event began on Super Tuesday, while 24 states in the United States were holding primary elections and caucuses to select the presidential candidates for the upcoming presidential election. Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas, Alabama, and Tennessee were among the affected regions in which primaries were being held. Some voting locations were forced to close early due to the approaching severe weather.
  The outbreak generated 87 tornadoes over 15 hours from the afternoon of February 5 until the early morning of February 6. The storm system produced several destructive tornadoes in heavily populated areas, most notably in the Memphis metropolitan area, in Jackson, Tennessee, and the northeastern end of the Nashville metropolitan area.
  A total of 57 people were killed across four states and 18 counties, with hundreds of others injured. The outbreak, at the time, was the deadliest in the era of modern NEXRAD doppler radar, which was fully implemented in 1997.
context_section_description: Just after 9:00 p.m. CST (0300 UTC), a supercell that had spawned tornadoes over northern Mississippi as well as a deadly EF4 in Hardin County, Tennessee, moved to the northeast over Nashville. Fortunately, no tornadoes were reported there and no significant damage was reported in Nashville or Davidson County, though funnel clouds were sighted during the storm's passage. At the time the supercell moved over Nashville, a National Hockey League game between the Nashville Predators and the Carolina Hurricanes, which was nationally televised on Versus, was being played at the Sommet Center. With just over nine minutes left in the third period, Predators head coach Barry Trotz was told that the game may have to be stopped. Although the game continued to completion, at the game's end fans were not allowed to leave the arena until the storm had passed. National Weather Service Meteorologist Bobby Boyd theorized that cold air downbursts impinged on the development of a strong, low-level circulation as the storm moved through the Nashville area, forcing the area of rotation to remain aloft as it crossed over Davidson County and downtown Nashville.
  After the supercell moved through Nashville and the environment became favorable again, a tornado touched down to the southwest of Castalian Springs in Sumner County, Tennessee, just after 10:00 p.m. CST (0400 UTC). This was the beginning of a devastating, long-track EF3 tornado that would go on to kill 22 people and become the deadliest of the outbreak. At the beginning of the path, damage was relatively minor and limited to snapped trees and damaged roofs. However, the tornado rapidly intensified to EF3 strength as it tore directly through Castalian Springs, destroying numerous homes and businesses. The town's post office was completely leveled, mobile homes were obliterated, and several block-foundation homes were leveled or swept away. The 19th century Wynnewood Inn, a national historical landmark and stagecoach stop, suffered major damage to its second floor and grounds during the storm. 11-month old Castalian Springs resident Kyson Stowell survived being thrown from his family's home and carried through the air by the tornado as the structure was completely destroyed. Kyson was found unharmed in an open field, nearly 500 feet away from where he originated. Kyson's mother, Kerri Stowell, was killed in the tornado. A total of 85 homes were destroyed along this portion of the tornado's path. Seven fatalities were confirmed in Castalian Springs, and 14 other people were injured.
  The tornado then tracked into Trousdale County and passed through rural areas to the northwest of Hartsville, weakening slightly to high-end EF2 strength. Frame homes were damaged or destroyed, vehicles were tossed and damaged, numerous trees were snapped and denuded, and mobile homes were obliterated with debris and insulation strewn long distances downwind. Ten homes were destroyed, and 23 homes had major damage along this segment of the path. As a result of the tornado, a major fire occurred as a natural gas plant was ripped apart by the tornado in the southwestern portion of the county. The area was evacuated and no one was injured at the plant. Two people were killed at a home along U.S. Route 231, and five other people were injured in the county. Crossing into Macon County, the tornado regained EF3 intensity as it struck the western and northern sections of Lafayette, resulting in widespread, major destruction in the area. Numerous homes and several churches were destroyed in Lafayette, with several leveled to the ground. An auto sales business in town sustained heavy damage as well. Surveyors observed major damage to a large, expensive brick home that was built unanchored on a very weak, unreinforced cinder block foundation. The house shifted off the foundation during the tornado, causing walls to buckle and collapse. 170 homes were destroyed, and 9 homes had major damage in the Lafayette area. 13 people were killed in and around town, and 44 others were injured. President George W. Bush toured the Maco
caption: EF3 damage to a block foundation home that was leveled in Castalian Springs, Tennessee
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