Tornadoes of 2006 - Synopsis

Synopsis

November 2005 was very active for tornadoes across the United States, with three large outbreaks and one additional significant tornado (see the List of tornadoes and tornado outbreaks). For much of December 2005; a cold, stable Arctic air mass prevailed over much of the United States east of the Rockies. However, by the start of the new year the pattern began to reverse itself, and moist, unstable air once again flowed northward from the Gulf of Mexico (a pattern normally reserved for spring) and combined with a series of strong low pressure systems tracking across the country, conditions were present for tornado formation.

The formation had led to an enormous upswing in tornado activity in the early spring, and the tornado reports were at record pace, with nearly continuous activity for an eight-week period throughout March and April, similar to the pace of tropical activity in the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season.

Activity slowed down in May with fewer tornadoes overall spread out over a much larger area due to less favorable conditions. The air became somewhat more stable and wind shear decreased, despite the large number of storms that tracked across the US. Since then, activity has been generally fairly low, with no major outbreaks anywhere in the summer of 2006, although the actual number of tornadoes has been moderate. However, in Canada a series of strong low pressure systems, combined with high heat and humidity had led to numerous severe weather events across the country with several tornadoes occurring in the Prairies, in Ontario and Quebec.

The fall severe weather season began unusually early, with a moderate event in mid-September followed by a significant outbreak in the latter part of the month. After that, activity slowed down with few significant tornadoes in October and early November. However, several significant events took place in the second half of November into December, to end 2006.

The most severe tornadoes reported were two F4 tornadoes. They took place on March 12 in Monroe City, Missouri and on September 22 in Crosstown, Missouri. The deadliest single tornado was on April 2 in Newbern, Tennessee where 16 people were killed (out of 29 in the outbreak). The most destructive tornado outside the US was on November 7 in Saroma, Hokkaido, Japan, where nine people died.