1Most severe tornado damage; see Enhanced Fujita scale 2Time from first tornado to last tornado
A massive blizzard and tornado outbreak that affected the Northwest, Rockies, and much of the Midwest in early-October 2013. A total of 22 tornadoes were confirmed as the system moved eastward across the eastern half of the United States, including two that were rated EF4. The storm was unofficially named Winter Storm Atlas by The Weather Channel.[5]
On October 3, 2013, the National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning for Rapid City and the Black Hills in advance of the storm urging people to delay or cancel travel plans.[6]
Heavy snowfall trapped over six dozen people inside of their automobiles and tornadoes injured 17 people in Iowa and Nebraska.[7][8]Rapid City, the second largest city in South Dakota, was engulfed in close to two feet of snow, which exceeds the amount of snow that the city has ever recorded during any whole month of October.[9] Furthermore, on October 4, 2013, the city received over 19 inches (48cm) of snow, which exceeded the previous one day record in October by more than 6 inches (15cm).[10] Over 20,000 people lost electricity in Black Hills, where more than a meter of watered down, dense snow had fallen. The storm system also included thunderstorms that brought iced precipitation, significant rain and over half a dozen tornadoes to Nebraska and Iowa.[8][11] Two of these tornadoes were violent enough to be rated EF4 on the Enhanced Fujita scale. Over 200 miles (320km) of Interstate 90 was shut down from South Dakota to Wyoming.[12]
The storm affected about 5,000 ranches in western South Dakota producing snow totals as high as 5 feet (1.5m) and 70mph (110km/h) winds that scattered herds for miles and resulted in the deaths of many cattle due to exhaustion and hypothermia.[13] In a storm South Dakotans called the Cattleman's Blizzard, at least 14,000 cattle, 1300 sheep, 300 horses, and 40 bison were killed with South Dakota ranchers reporting losses of 20 to 50 percent of their herds.[14][15][16] Thousands of people were without power.[17] Three people died in a motor vehicle accident on US 20.[18]
Two homes lost large portions of their roofs, and others sustained lesser damage. Trees were downed, and three storage buildings were destroyed. Outbuildings were destroyed and vehicles were moved as well.[19]
A strong tornado touched down south-southeast of Royal and ended just to the east-northeast of town. Several farmsteads were damaged (with outbuildings being the primary structures impacted) and numerous trees and power lines were downed.[22]
See article on this tornado – A large multiple-vortex tornado, the first EF4 tornado in Nebraska since May 22, 2004, caused substantial damage along its path. Two farmsteads were struck southwest of Wayne, and many sheds and barns were either damaged or destroyed. Two homes in this area sustained EF3-strength damage as well. The tornado moved into the east side of Wayne, causing severe damage to a softball complex, damaging farm equipment at a dealership, and either damaging or completely destroying many large industrial metal buildings at an industrial park, some of which were either badly mangled or completely reduced to rubble. At this point, the tornado had reached its peak intensity, with widespread EF3 damage, and a few pockets of low-end EF4-strength damage were noted. It then directly hit the Wayne Municipal Airport, where two hangars were flattened, leading to the destruction of 15 planes, and the AWOS was shredded and scattered over unknown distances. The tornado then caused EF2 damage to another farmstead before crossing into Dixon County, where it narrowed, weakened, and eventually dissipated after causing roof, window, and siding damage to a few more houses, overturning a camper, and either heavily damaging or destroying a grain bin and numerous farm buildings, as well as farm equipment. Many trees were downed, and crops were flattened along the path. Fifteen people were injured by the tornado including John Dunning, Chief Information Officer of Wayne State College, who was critically injured, but has since recovered. He would have likely died had he stayed in his truck. This tornado caused $50.5 million, mainly in Wayne.[23][24][25] This became the first F4/EF4 tornado in October in the US since the Windsor Locks, Connecticut tornado of 1979, and the first tornado in Nebraska in October since 2001.[26]
This intense tornado touched down just inside Antelope County (to the south-southeast of Creighton) before moving north and into Knox County, where it dissipated 4 miles (6.4km) north of Creighton. It was initially weak with damage confined to irrigation systems, siding, and shingles. The tornado then strengthened and completely destroyed a building that housed antique Trackers (scattering rubble for the equivalent of three city blocks) before hitting the Creighton Municipal Airport, where several buildings were either heavily damaged or destroyed, including three hangars receiving roof, garage, and siding damage and a storage building losing its roof. The airport beacon was blown away as well. The tornado then took a track to the northwest, where a 10,000-bushel grain bin was completely destroyed, and five more irrigation systems where destroyed. Many trees were downed, and power poles snapped at their base as well.[27]
This long-tracked, strong tornado began southwest of Macy before moving through the town. Six homes in the town were either heavily damaged or destroyed, while twelve more homes and one business sustained minor damage. Numerous vehicles, a center pivot irrigation system, and several buildings at farmsteads were damaged as well. The tornado crossed the Missouri River into Iowa west-northwest of Whiting and continued north-northeastward to the west of Sloan, where it spawned the EF1 satellite tornado listed below. Two buildings were destroyed southeast of Salix and open-air buildings were severely damaged at a dairy farm east of Salix. Other homes and buildings were either severely damaged or destroyed between Salix and Bronson before the tornado lifted just east of Bronson. Many trees and four power poles were downed, and corn crops were flattened along the path. Two people were injured, both in Thurston County.[28]
A tornado touched down in Dakota County, causing no damage before crossing the Missouri River into South Dakota. It then damaged homes, overturned an irrigation system, and downed many trees in a subdivision west of McCook Lake before dissipating. One of the homes had a collapsed chimney, carport, porch roof, and walls of a garage, and at least four other houses had roof, siding, and/or gutter damage.[31]
This tornado touched down south of Jefferson just after the previous tornado lifted, damaging a feedlot before crossing I-29. The roof and gutters of a house and the walls and roof of at least two storage equipment buildings were severely damaged, a road sign was damaged, several grain bins were either blown over or crushed, trees and power poles were downed, and corn crops were flattened. One of the grain bins was wrapped around a house, causing damage to the roof, siding, and gutters of the house. The tornado tracked in total for 3 miles (4.8km) in South Dakota before crossing the Big Sioux River into Plymouth County, Iowa and lifting 5 miles (8.0km) northeast of Jefferson after causing no damage.[32]
This very large, violent tornado tracked northeast through rural Woodbury and Cherokee counties, moving west and north of Climbing Hill, southeast of Moville and Pierson, and northwest of Correctionville before dissipating west of Washta. Numerous houses were either heavily damaged or destroyed, with some losing their entire roofs, having collapse of walls, and being shifted off of their foundations. Many sheds, outbuildings, barns, silos, pieces of farm equipment, and garages were destroyed, and a car was thrown 30 feet (9.1m). Farm equipment was tossed about 400 yards (370m) at a farmstead south of Pierson, including a large grain cart that put gouges in a road and had its axle and wheels broken off, and many trees and power lines were downed along the path.[33]
This tornado touched down 5 miles (8.0km) south-southwest of Alta and ended just outside the south side of town. A few farmsteads were damaged, with a drive-thru garage and several outbuildings suffering significant damage at one farmstead, farm equipment being damaged, a school suffering roof and air conditioning damage, and a baseball complex sustaining considerable damage, including to bleachers.[39]
Numerous trees were snapped along this tornado's path, including one the fell on and destroyed a vehicle and damaged the roof of a house. Other homes had shingle damage, and a section of metal was peeled off of the roof of a farmhouse. Corn crops were downed, a farm building was damaged, and a boat was moved as well.[41]
The 2009 North American Christmas blizzard was a powerful winter storm and severe weather event that affected the Midwestern United States, Great Plains, Southeastern United States, the Eastern Seaboard, and parts of Ontario. The storm began to develop on December 22 before intensifying to produce extreme winds and precipitation by the morning of December 24. The storm's rapid development made it difficult for forecasters to predict. The blizzard was reported to have claimed at least 21 lives, and disrupted air travel during the Christmas travel season. In the Southeastern and Central United States, an outbreak of 28 tornadoes occurred between December 23–24. The storm, a Category 5 "Extreme" one on the Regional Snowfall Index scale, was the first winter weather event to rank as such since the North American blizzard of 1996.
One of several tornado outbreaks in the United States to take place during the record month of April 2011, 49 tornadoes were produced across the Midwest and Southeast from April 9–11. Widespread damage took place; however, no fatalities resulted from the event due to timely warnings. In Wisconsin, 16 tornadoes touched down, ranking this outbreak as the state's largest April event on record as well as one of the largest single-day events during the course of any year. The strongest tornado of the outbreak was an EF4 tornado that touched down west of Pocahontas, Iowa on April 9, a short-lived satellite to a long-track EF3 tornado. Between 0256 and 0258 UTC that day, five tornadoes were on the ground simultaneously in Pocahontas County, Iowa, all of which were from one supercell thunderstorm. Other tornadoes impacted parts of eastern Kentucky and Tennessee on April 9, hours before the event in Iowa.
An extended period of significant tornado activity affected the Midwest and Southern United States from April 19 to April 24, 2011, with 134 tornadoes being spawned across six days. The outbreak sequence produced an EF4 tornado that tore through the St. Louis metropolitan area on April 22, while other tornadoes caused damage in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Texas, Oklahoma, and other parts of Missouri during the period. No fatalities were reported in this outbreak sequence. This event was directly followed by the largest tornado outbreak in the history of the United States.
Near the end of 2012, a massive storm complex developed that produced both a tornado outbreak and a blizzard across the southern and eastern United States. On Christmas Day 2012, a tornado outbreak occurred across the Southern United States. This severe weather/tornado event affected the United States Gulf Coast and southern East Coast over a two-day span. It occurred in conjunction with a much larger winter storm event that brought blizzard conditions to much of the interior United States. In total, 31 tornadoes were confirmed by the National Weather Service in five states from Texas to North Carolina. All but one of the tornadoes that occurred during the outbreak touched down on December 25, with the other occurring the following day in North Carolina. Two of the tornadoes were destructive enough to be rated EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. At least 16 people died as a result of the related blizzard, and thousands were without power.
From August 18–27, 2008, Tropical Storm Fay produced 50 tornadoes as it meandered across the Southeastern United States.
This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 2014. Strong and destructive tornadoes form most frequently in the United States, Bangladesh, Brazil, and Eastern India, but they can occur almost anywhere under the right conditions. Tornadoes also appear regularly in neighboring southern Canada during the Northern Hemisphere's summer season, and somewhat regularly in Europe, Asia, and Australia.
The tornado outbreak of June 16–18, 2014, was a tornado outbreak concentrated in the Great Plains and the Midwestern United States. Two tornadoes also occurred in Ontario. The severe weather event most significantly affected the state of Nebraska, where twin EF4 tornadoes killed two and critically injured twenty others in and around the town of Pilger on the evening of June 16. The two Pilger tornadoes were part of a violent tornado family that produced four EF4 tornadoes and was broadcast live on television. The outbreak went on to produce multiple other strong tornadoes across the northern Great Plains states throughout the next two days.
The tornado outbreak sequence of May 5–10, 2015 was a six-day outbreak of tornado activity that affected the Great Plains of the United States in early May 2015. On May 6, strong tornadoes impacted the Oklahoma City area, along with rural parts of Kansas, Texas, Arkansas, South Dakota, and Nebraska. The outbreak coincided with major flooding, with large amounts of rain falling in parts of Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. The National Weather Service forecast office in Norman, Oklahoma issued a "flash flood emergency" for Oklahoma City following record-breaking rainfall that occurred in the area that evening. The outbreak sequence resulted in five tornado-related deaths, along with two flood-related deaths. A total of 127 tornadoes were confirmed and rated as a result of this outbreak sequence. Damage from the outbreak was estimated at $1.5 billion.
The Tornado outbreak of November 16–18, 2015 was a highly unusual nocturnal late-season tornado outbreak that significantly impacted the lower Great Plains on November 16 before producing additional weaker tornadoes across parts of the Southern United States the following two days. The first day of the outbreak spawned multiple strong, long-track tornadoes, including two consecutive EF3 tornadoes that caused major damage near Pampa, Texas. Overall, the outbreak produced 61 tornadoes in all, and was described as by the National Weather Service office in Dodge City, Kansas as being "unprecedented in recorded history for southwest Kansas" given the magnitude and the late season. In addition, the tornado outbreak brought the first November tornadoes into northwest Kansas, and the first strong tornadoes in the Texas Panhandle in November, as well as the further west any F3/EF3 tornadoes touched down this late in the calendar year. Despite spawning multiple strong tornadoes after dark, no fatalities and only one minor injury occurred as a result of the outbreak.
On December 15, a rapidly-deepening low-pressure area contributed to a historic expanse of inclement weather across the Great Plains and Midwestern United States, resulting in an unprecedented December derecho and tornado outbreak across portions of the Northern United States, a region normally affected by snow and cold weather during this time of year. Non-thunderstorm winds spurred the formation of rapidly-moving fires across Colorado and western Kansas, with attendant dust and debris spreading eastward. From central Kansas northeastward into eastern Wisconsin, the powerful derecho led to hundreds of damaging wind reports. At least 57 hurricane-force wind reports were received by the National Weather Service, signaling the most prolific wind event in the United States dating back to at least 2004. Numerous embedded circulations within this rapidly-progressing derecho produced dozens of tornadoes, including 33 that were rated EF2. The culmination of non-thunderstorm, thunderstorm, and tornadic winds caused widespread damage to structures, trees, power lines, and vehicles across the Plains and Midwest. At least 600,000 people lost power on December 15, and temperatures dropped significantly across the affected region following the event, causing accumulating snow, which hindered cleanup and recovery efforts. The storm killed at least 5 people directly, as well as 2 people indirectly through wildfires partly spawned by the storm, and caused at least $1.8 billion in damages. The number of tornadoes in this event broke a record for largest outbreak in the month of December that had been set less than a week prior. The event also became one of the largest single-day outbreaks in recorded history, with 120 tornadoes occurring over an eight-hour period.
↑ Nebraska Event Report: EF2 Tornado. National Climatic Data Center (Report). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2014. Nebraska Event Report: EF2 Tornado. National Climatic Data Center (Report). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
↑ Nebraska Event Report: EF0 Tornado. National Climatic Data Center (Report). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
↑ Nebraska Event Report: EF0 Tornado. National Climatic Data Center (Report). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
↑ Nebraska Event Report: EF2 Tornado. National Climatic Data Center (Report). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
↑ Nebraska Event Report: EF4 Tornado. National Climatic Data Center (Report). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
↑ Nebraska Event Report: EF2 Tornado. National Climatic Data Center (Report). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
↑ Nebraska Event Report: EF3 Tornado. National Climatic Data Center (Report). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
↑ Nebraska Event Report: EF2 Tornado. National Climatic Data Center (Report). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2014. Iowa Event Report: EF2 Tornado. National Climatic Data Center (Report). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2014. Iowa Event Report: EF2 Tornado. National Climatic Data Center (Report). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
↑ Nebraska Event Report: EF0 Tornado. National Climatic Data Center (Report). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
↑ Iowa Event Report: EF1 Tornado. National Climatic Data Center (Report). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
↑ Nebraska Event Report: EF0 Tornado. National Climatic Data Center (Report). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2014. South Dakota Event Report: EF1 Tornado. National Climatic Data Center (Report). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
↑ South Dakota Event Report: EF1 Tornado. National Climatic Data Center (Report). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2014. Iowa Event Report: EF0 Tornado. National Climatic Data Center (Report). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
↑ Iowa Event Report: EF4 Tornado. National Climatic Data Center (Report). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2014. Iowa Event Report: EF1 Tornado. National Climatic Data Center (Report). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
↑ Iowa Event Report: EF1 Tornado. National Climatic Data Center (Report). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
↑ Iowa Event Report: EF0 Tornado. National Climatic Data Center (Report). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
↑ Iowa Event Report: EF0 Tornado. National Climatic Data Center (Report). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
↑ Iowa Event Report: EF0 Tornado. National Climatic Data Center (Report). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
↑ Iowa Event Report: EF0 Tornado. National Climatic Data Center (Report). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
↑ Iowa Event Report: EF1 Tornado. National Climatic Data Center (Report). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
↑ Iowa Event Report: EF0 Tornado. National Climatic Data Center (Report). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
↑ Wisconsin Event Report: EF0 Tornado. National Climatic Data Center (Report). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
↑ Tennessee Event Report: EF0 Tornado. National Climatic Data Center (Report). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
↑ New Jersey Event Report: EF1 Tornado. National Climatic Data Center (Report). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
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