Mid-November 2005 Tornado Outbreak

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Mid-November 2005 Tornado Outbreak
F4 tornado behind James Madison Middle School in Madisonville, KY on November 15, 2005 by Leonard Costanzo.
F4 tornado behind James Madison Middle School in Madisonville, KY on November 15, 2005 by Leonard Costanzo.
Date of tornado outbreak: November 15, 2005
Duration1: 6 hours, 5 minutes
Maximum rated tornado2: F4 tornado
Tornadoes caused: 50 confirmed
Damages: $68 million[1]
Fatalities: 1
Areas affected: Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama

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


The Mid-November 2005 outbreak was an unseasonably strong tornado outbreak on November 15, 2005 in the central United States. It occurred along a cold front separating warm, humid air from the southeast from cold Arctic air to the north and northwest. At least 50 confirmed tornadoes have been reported in the central United States in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee over that afternoon and evening. Strong winds and large hail caused additional damage throughout the region. The National Weather Service has reported at least 50 tornado touchdowns, although it is possible that a few have been multiple reports of the same tornado in different areas and several were not confirmed.[2]

The strongest tornado was an F4 tornado on the Fujita scale; it occurred in the vicinity of Madisonville, Kentucky and Earlington, Kentucky. It was also the strongest tornado recorded in the United States in 2005.

Contents

[edit] Meteorological synopsis

The Storm Prediction Center of the National Weather Service in Norman, Oklahoma had issued an alert signifying that there was a "high risk" of severe weather over an area from northern Mississippi to central Indiana. Such a declaration is unusual (particularly for November) and means that there is a significant threat for severe thunderstorms with widespread tornadic activity. When the first tornado watches of the afternoon were issued, the SPC had declared a particularly dangerous situation (PDS) for destructive tornadoes in several of the tornado watches, a highly unusual alert which notifies that frequent and dangerous tornadoes are possible, and by late that evening, no less than 50 tornadoes (including nine strong tornadoes and one violent tornado) were confirmed and several more unconfirmed tornadoes were reported (and later confirmed as microbursts). Fortunately, the tornadoes were centered over more rural areas and damage was scattered but severe over many communities. There were numerous injuries, but remarkably, only one person was killed. The low casualty toll is likely due to the fact the outbreak was well-predicted and primarily occurred in the afternoon when people are most aware of the situation.

This was the third major tornado outbreak of November 2005, the other two being in Evansville, Indiana on November 6 (killing 25) and in much of Iowa on November 12 (killing one). There was another major outbreak in the same area on November 27 and 28.

Confirmed
Total		 Confirmed
F0		 Confirmed
F1		 Confirmed
F2		 Confirmed
F3		 Confirmed
F4		 Confirmed
F5
50 26 14 6 3 1 0

[edit] Confirmed tornadoes

List of confirmed tornadoes - Tuesday, November 15, 2005
F#
Location
County
Time (UTC)
Path length
Damage
Missouri
F0 SW of East Prairie New Madrid 1837 unknown The first tornado of the outbreak was confirmed to be on the ground by the local sheriff and lasted at least 10 minutes. No damage was reported.
F0 NW of East Prairie Mississippi 1844 unknown Tornado sighted directly on Route 102 and reported by a local radio station. No damage was reported.
F0 SW of Lilbourn New Madrid 2044 unknown Damage was relatively minor; it was limited to a farm shed and several power poles.
F1 Lilbourn New Madrid 2055 unknown Several mobile homes were damaged, along with several farm buildings and outbuildings. Two people suffered minor injuries.
Illinois
F0 Norris City White 1910 unknown
F0 W of Metropolis Massac 1934 unknown Tornado partially a waterspout on the Ohio River.
F1 N of Omega Marion 2035 4.5 miles
(7 km)		 Significant damage to several homes. Much of the path was through Stephan A. Forbes State Park.
F1 Newton Jasper 2115 10 miles
(16 km)		 Minor structural damage to three houses, and several small buildings were destroyed, along with numerous trees and power lines.
F0 SW of Galatia Saline 2132 unknown No damage was reported.
Tennessee
F1 Friendship area Crockett, Gibson 1920 15 miles
(24 km)		 Also affected Center and Dyer in addition to Friendship. Damage was moderate; only one house and several mobile homes suffered structural damage although numerous others suffered damage to shingles along its 300 yard (270 m) path.
F1 Greenfield area Crockett, Gibson 1955 unknown At least seven houses were damaged, one of them significantly. No injuries were reported from this tornado.
F2 Paris area Henry, Weakley 2035 20 miles
(32 km)		 Severe damage to many houses, at least 30 of which were completely destroyed, were reported along its path. Several manufacturing facilities were also demolished. The Henry County emergency management center took a direct hit from one of the tornadoes and was forced to relocate. 13 people were injured. The tornado briefly produced a twin vortex.
F0 S of Camden Benton 2135 unknown No damage was reported. One of three related tornadoes.
F1 N of Camden Benton 2136 unknown Minor damage, primarily blown over farm vehicles. One of three related tornadoes.
F2 N of Camden Benton 2138 unknown Heavy damage to several homes, including total structural failure. One of three related tornadoes.
F2 SW of Erin Houston 2204 1/2 mile
(800 m)
F1 Erin Houston 2210 1/10 mile
(200 m)		 No damage to buildings, however trees were snapped.
F0 SW of Erin Houston 2211 1/10 mile
(200 m)
F1 S of Clarksville Montgomery 2235 3 miles
(5 km)		 One of two separate tornadoes near the above Clarksville tornado along the Highway 13 corridor. This one heavily damaged a mobile home.
F0 S of Clarksville Montgomery 2236 1/5 mile
(300 m)		 The other of two separate tornadoes near the above Clarksville tornado along the Highway 13 corridor.
F0 Cunningham Montgomery 2237 1/5 mile
(300 m)
F2 S of Clarksville Houston, Montgomery 2244 20 miles
(32 km)		 Many houses were hit, a tractor trailer was overturned and severe damage to many buildings, including several being completely destroyed, was reported along a section of Highway 13 and several local streets in the area about 6 miles (10 km) south of Clarksville. Several people were injured and reported missing initially but they were all accounted for.[3]
F0 NE of Holladay Humphreys 2250 1/5 mile
(300 m)
F0 NE of Holladay Humphreys 2250 1/5 mile
(300 m)
F1 New Johnsonville Humphreys 2255 unknown Two houses sustained some degree of roof damage.
F2 N of Dickson Dickson 2333 1 mile
(1.6 km)		 Several homes and barns damaged in the area, including roofs being removed from at least one home. Several minor injuries have been reported and a gas leak erupted from a damaged building.[4]
F0 N of Charlotte Dickson 2340 1/5 mile
(300 m)
F2 Collinwood Wayne 0002 6 miles
(10 km)		 Numerous homes were damaged, along with a funeral home, several barns and a church along Highway 13. One minor injury was reported.
F0 SW of Coopertown Robertson 0006 1/10 mile
(200 m)		 Damaged noticed from Interstate 24 at the Highway 49 interchange.
F0 NW part of Nashville Davidson 0015 unknown Power lines were snapped along a short section of Whites Creek Pike. Damage report was from Nashville Electric.
F0 N of Columbia Maury 0025 unknown Reported by a trained spotter.
F0 SW of Franklin Williamson 0032 unknown Reported by an NWS co-op spotter.
F0 E of Hendersonville Sumner 0042 unknown
Kentucky
F0 Rossington McCracken 1930 unknown
F3 Benton area Graves, Calloway, Marshall, Lyon 1945 44.1 miles
(70 km)		 1 death - Local authorities confirmed that there have been at least two buildings damaged in the town of Benton. In addition, a mobile home park on Kentucky Lake was severely damaged as well and many were destroyed, killing one person in the park. 10 others were injured. The tornado remained on the ground for nearly an hour, damaging 120 structures and destroying at least 19.
F0 S of Princeton Caldwell 2101 unknown
F4 Madisonville area Hopkins 2135 15 miles
(24 km)		 The strongest tornado of the outbreak. At least 150 buildings were destroyed and over 360 others were damaged to varying degrees. 37 people were injured, including two critically. Multiple vortexes in the tornado were reported near Earlington along its path which was up to 1/2 mile (800 m) wide. It was the strongest tornado recorded in 2005 in the United States.
F1 NE of Calhoun McLean 2204 unknown Reported over the intersection of Highway 1046 and Highway 136. No damage was reported.
F0 Utica Daviess 2215 unknown No damage was reported, but it was confirmed by photographs and Daviess County Emergency Management.
F1 Adairville area Logan, Simpson 2315 10 miles
(16 km)		 A mobile home was thrown onto Highway 100 and a barn was destroyed.
F2 Stowers Simpson 2345 3 miles
(5 km)		 Significant damage to trees and power lines were reported in the area. Initially thought to have been straight-line winds but later confirmed as a tornado.
F1 Woodburn area Warren 2350 2.5 miles
(4 km)		 Damage primarily to farms, including several buildings destroyed. Initially thought to have been straight-line winds.
Arkansas
F0 SW of Pine Bluff Jefferson 2032 7/10 mile
(1.1 km)		 No structural damage was reported, but several trees were down in the area and one chimney was damaged.
F1 DeLuce area Arkansas unknown 16.5 miles
(27 km)		 One outbuilding and one barn was destroyed, plus major damage to several others of each. Minor damage to several homes, plus many trees were uprooted or snapped.
F1 S of DeWitt Arkansas unknown 3.5 miles
(5.5 km)		 Damage was reported to tin barn roofs. Numerous trees fell.
Indiana
F3 Washington area Daviess, Martin 2040 12 miles
(20 km)		 Destroyed at least 64 homes and damaged at least 70 more along the US 150 corridor in Washington, Cannelburg and Loogootee. Up to 200 employees were trapped at K&K Industries in Montgomery, but they were all accounted for.
F3 Geneva (Shelby County) area Bartholomew, Shelby, Decatur 2230 14 miles
(23 km)		 First touched down just outside of Hope then basically followed Highway 9. Damage was extensive along its path; a hog farm was destroyed and a farmhouse was pushed off its foundation near Geneva. The tornado was about 300 yards (270 m) wide. One person was injured by this tornado.
F1 SW of Van Buren Grant unknown 3 miles
(5 km)		 Minor damage to a roof on one home and damage to several grain elevators. Some trees and power lines were also snapped, and a truck was blown off of Interstate 69.
Alabama
F0 Vernon Lamar 0030 unknown Brief tornado touchdown. Minor damage to several buildings.
F0 Crane Hill Cullman 0230 unknown Damage was reported to several houses and businesses, along with many trees and power lines.
Sources: NOAA storm data, Paducah office, Memphis office, Little Rock office, Lincoln office, Louisville office, St. Louis office, Nashville office, Northern Indiana office, WCDQ Radio news, WSMB

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ NCDC Storm Events-Select State
  2. ^ http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051116/ap_on_re_us/severe_weather
  3. ^ The Leaf Chronicle - www.theleafchronicle.com - Clarksville, TN
  4. ^ WKRN | Our Apologies

[edit] External links