Mid-November 2006 Tornado Outbreak

Mid-November 2006 Tornado Outbreak

From November 14 to 16,2006, a major tornado outbreak across the Southern United States and into the Mid-Atlantic States on November 15 and 16, 2006. It took place along a sharp cold front that tracked across the entire region from west to east. At least nine people were killed by the many tornadoes that damaged many communities. The bulk of the tornadoes took place on November 15, but the deadliest tornado took place on the morning of the November 16 in southern North Carolina.

A moderate risk of severe weather was issued by the Storm Prediction Center for a large section of the Southeast for the night of the November 14 into November 15. The activity started in the overnight hours in Louisiana and Arkansas and tracked eastward, producing scattered tornadoes across the entire Gulf Coast and into the Carolinas over the next 36 hours. The most severe tornadoes took place in St. Helena Parish, Louisiana where one person was killed in a mobile home, Sumrall, Mississippi where an F3 tornado led to severe damage and numerous injuries, and in Montgomery, Alabama where an indoor roller skating park was destroyed with 30 children inside (but no serious injuries).

When the line crossed into Georgia and northern Florida, it formed into a squall line. However, breaks in the squall line allowed supercells to form in the overnight hours, and early on the 16th, the deadly tornado in southern North Carolina formed at the end of the outbreak.

Three other deaths occurred that were not related to tornadoes; one was a utility worker that was electrocuted checking downed power lines in South Carolina and two were in car crashes in North Carolina related to severe thunderstorms. In total, 28 tornadoes were confirmed.