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.

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:

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 unusually strong (for the season) 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.

1 Meteorological synopsis
2 Confirmed Tornadoes
3 Trivia
4 References
5 External links

[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 has 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 were 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

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 Highway 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 a 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] Trivia

When a "high risk" for severe weather was declared on November 15, it was tied for the third latest in the year that such a declaration was made by the Storm Prediction Center. The only other declarations of this magnitued that late in the year were issued were:
- Tied with the Huntsville, Alabama Tornado on November 15, 1989 [1].
- During the November 1994 Tornado Outbreak on November 27, 1994 when there were several deadly tornadoes in the south-central states.
- On December 23, 2002 when there was widespread severe weather but no notable tornado outbreak.