1984 Barneveld, Wisconsin tornado outbreak

1984 Barneveld, Wisconsin tornado outbreak

F5 tornado damage in Barneveld, Wisconsin (Courtesy of NWS Milwaukee)
Date(s)	June 7–8, 1984
Duration	12 hours
Confirmed tornadoes	46
Maximum rated tornado	F5 (Fujita scale)
Damages	$40 million in Wisconsin alone(1984 USD)[1]
Casualties	13

The 1984 Barneveld, Wisconsin tornado outbreak is a significant severe weather and tornado event that took place across the central United States from North Dakota to Kansas on June 7–8, 1984. The tornado outbreak produced several significant tornadoes including an F5 tornado which traveled through Barneveld, Wisconsin in the early hours of June 8, 1984. The entire outbreak killed at least 13 people across three states including 9 in Barneveld alone.

Meteorological synopsis

A low pressure system entered the Midwestern United States on June 7, 1984 and intensified while bringing a surge of moist and humid air coming from the Gulf of Mexico. After most of the affected areas were hit by a Mesoscale Convective Complex earlier during the morning of June 7, the unstable atmosphere, as well as wind shear and high CAPE values produced a favorable environment for the development of extensive severe weather with possible tornadoes.^[2] Starting at around mid-afternoon, it started to produce several tornadoes across southern Minnesota and northwestern and southern Iowa including three F3s and a long-track F4 which traveled over 130 miles from extreme northern Missouri to southwest of Iowa City. That tornado killed 3 people including one in Missouri's Harrison County. Another person was killed in Ringgold County in Iowa by an F2 tornado at around 9:00 PM CDT. Activity continued through the overnight hours as a new cluster of storms developed across Wisconsin near the Iowa and Illinois borders and produced strong tornadoes including the Barneveld tornado up until the early morning hours of June 8, 1984 before dissipating.

Straight-line winds in excess of 100 mph and very large hail were also reported in eastern Iowa from the storm that went on to drop the tornado in Barneveld, Wisconsin.

Tornadoes confirmed

The Barneveld Tornado

As the tornado activity calmed down across Iowa and Minnesota in which numerous strong to severe tornadoes struck those areas from mid-afternoon to mid-evening, the severe weather shifted east towards Wisconsin after dark where a tornado watch was issued at about 11:00 PM CDT. A supercell thunderstorm, which affected portions of southeastern Iowa with a few tornadoes at around 9:00 PM CDT before weakening and intensifying shortly after, entered the state from the Iowa/Illinois border at around midnight near Dubuque. Shortly after 12:30 AM CDT, it produced its first tornado near Belmont in Lafayette County and lifted near Mineral Point in Iowa County about 15 miles southwest of Barneveld.

A few minutes later, a much stronger tornado developed northeast of Mineral Point and traveled through Barneveld and up north into Columbia County before lifting shortly after 1:30 AM after traveling 36 miles (62 kilometers). A loud rumble of thunder, which cut electricity off just a few minutes before the tornado struck Barneveld, awakened residents of the town. The loss of power prevented the tornado sirens from being activated prior to its arrival. At its peak, the tornado was nearly a quarter-mile wide. Other tornadoes rated from F1 to F3 touched down from Columbia County to Dodge County until after 3:00 AM CDT when activity finally weakened.

Tornado track of the Barneveld tornado (Courtesy of NWS Milwaukee)

The tornado was responsible for 9 deaths and nearly 200 injuries in Barneveld while causing about $25 million in damage. In total, 3 churches and 93 homes were destroyed as well as 17 businesses out of the town's 18, including the library, municipal building, fire station, bank and post office. The village's water tower, though damaged, was not toppled by the winds. In addition, 64 other homes were badly damaged. The F5 damage occurred at a cul-de-sac on the northeast side of town. A cluster of several newly built homes were completely swept away at this location. Trees were debarked and vehicles were thrown and mangled. A nearby church was completely leveled as well.^[3] Some of the debris including paper work were later found about 135 miles away from the village. 8 homes were also destroyed in Black Earth, and 24 additional homes were destroyed between Barneveld and Black Earth. Other tornadoes in Wisconsin caused two additional injuries and about $15 million worth of damage but no additional fatalities.^[4][5]

The Barneveld tornado was more particular as it is was one of the rare tornadoes to occur during the overnight hours well after sunset although EF5/F5 tornadoes have occurred elsewhere during night, including more recently in Greensburg, Kansas on May 4, 2007 as well as in Birmingham, Alabama in April 1998, downtown Lubbock, Texas in 1970, Tanner, Alabama and Guin, Alabama in 1974 and Udall, Kansas in 1955, the last being the deadliest Kansas tornado ever with over 80 deaths.

The Barneveld tornado was the first F5 in Wisconsin since the 1958 Colfax Tornado, which killed 21. It was the first F5 in the US since 2 April 1982 when one touched down near Broken Bow, Oklahoma; the next one occurred on 31 May 1985 in Wheatland, Pennsylvania during the 1985 United States-Canadian tornado outbreak. The Oakfield Tornado of 18 July 1996, the most recent F5 in Wisconsin, did not cause any fatalities.

The National Weather Service in Madison reported the next day that the frequency of lightning flashes in the storm visible from Madison exceeded 200 per minute, the flashes running together into a strobe-like effect, as mentioned in media reports and books about the disaster.^[6]

See also

• Barneveld, Wisconsin
• List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
• List of F5 and EF5 tornadoes

References

External links

• Summary of the Barneveld tornado and supercell (NWS Milwaukee)
• Analysis of the Barneveld Tornado (by Alex Harrington)