Late-October 1996 tornado outbreak

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October 26, 1996 Tornado Outbreak
F2 Tornado damage near Albany, Minnesota
F2 Tornado damage near Albany, Minnesota
Date of tornado outbreak: October 26, 1996
Duration1: ~12 hours
Maximum rated tornado2: F2 tornado
Tornadoes caused: 26 confirmed (Largest October tornado outbreak in Minnesota history)
Damages: $1.4 million (1996 dollars)
Fatalities: 0
Areas affected: West North Central States

1Time from first tornado to last tornado
2Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita Scale

The Late-October 1996 tornado outbreak was an unusual tornadic event that affected Nebraska, South Dakota and Minnesota on October 26, 1996. Twenty-six tornadoes touched down on what turned out to be a record breaking late-season tornado outbreak.

Contents

[edit] Outbreak description

The outbreak started in Nebraska as three tornadoes touched down from 7:23 AM - 9:00 AM. The favorable dynamics then shifted northward to South Dakota where nine tornadoes touched down from 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM. Finally, fourteen more tornadoes touched down in Minnesota during the middle and late afternoon hours. Of the twenty-six tornadoes that touched down that day, five of them were rated as F2, with the rest being F0 and F1. Because these tornadoes formed from low-topped supercells, the tornadoes that formed were relatively weak.[1] There were no fatalities, fifteen were injured and there was 1.4 million dollars in damage; most of which occurred in rural areas of west-central Minnesota[2]

What makes this outbreak notable is the time of year that it took place. Typically fall is a very quiet time of the year for tornadoes in the United States, and the ones that do form usually touch down in the Southern United States. In Minnesota, prior to this outbreak there had been only ten tornadoes ever recorded during the month of October, so the fourteen tornadoes on this day easily eclipsed most late season outbreak records.[3]

[edit] Tornadoes

Confirmed
Total		 Confirmed
F0		 Confirmed
F1		 Confirmed
F2		 Confirmed
F3		 Confirmed
F4		 Confirmed
F5
26 8 13 5 0 0 0

[edit] Confirmed tornadoes

F# Location County Time (UTC) Path length Damage
Nebraska
F1 SE of Bassett Holt 1323 0.8 miles
(1.3 km)
F1 N of Midway Holt 1350 1 miles
(1.6 km)
F0 SE of Verdigre Knox 1500 0.2 miles
(0.32 km)
South Dakota
F1 E of Castlewood Hamlin 1830 1 miles
(1.6 km)
F0 E of Dempster Deuel 1835 1 miles
(1.6 km)
F1 NE of Altamont Deuel 1845 1 miles
(1.6 km)
F1 N of Altamont Deuel 1850 0.5 miles
(0.8 km)
F1 E of La Bolt Grant 1905 1 miles
(1.6 km)
F0 SE of Milbank Grant 1920 0.5 miles
(0.8 km)
F0 NE of Milbank Grant 1924 0.5 miles
(0.8 km)
F0 NW of Milbank Grant 1924 0.5 miles
(0.8 km)
F0 E of Wilmot Roberts 1934 0.5 miles
(0.8 km)
Minnesota
F0 NW of Barry Big Stone 2001 1 miles
(1.6 km)
F1 S of Wheaton Traverse 2023 1 miles
(1.6 km)
F1 SW of Benson Swift 2059 4 miles
(6.4 km)
F1 SE of Cyrus Pope 2115 2 miles
(3.2 km)
F1 NE of Sunburg Kandiyohi 2115 7 miles
(11.2 km)
F2 S of Garfield Douglas 2115 9 miles
(14.4 km)
F1 NE of Garfield Douglas 2125 8 miles
(12.8 km)
F2 NE of Henning Otter Tail 2210 17 miles
(27.2 km)
F1 NW of Clearwater Stearns 2214 1 miles
(1.6 km)
F2 SW of Albany Stearns 2217 5 miles
(8 km)
F2 SW of Sebeka Wadena 2230 4 miles
(6.4 km)
F1 Stanchfield area Isanti 2312 12 miles
(18.4 km)
F0 N of Dorset Hubbard 2314 0.5 miles
(0.8 km)
F2 NE of Wolford Crow Wing 0000 0.7 miles
(1.1 km)
Source: Tornado History Project - October 26, 1996 Storm Data

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ 26 October 1996 Minnesota Low-Topped Supercells. National Severe Storms Lab. Retrieved on 2007-03-12.
  2. ^ Storm Events. National Climatic Data Center. Retrieved on 2007-03-12.
  3. ^ The October 26, 1996 Minnesota Tornado Outbreak. National Weather Service (2006-10-25). Retrieved on 2007-03-12.