Tornadoes of 2006.html



Tornadoes of 2006

Le Sueur F3 Tornado of Dakota-Minnesota Tornado Outbreak of August 2006
tornado outbreak year:	January-December 2006
Maximum rated tornado:	F4 tornado, Monroe City, Missouri and Crosstown, Missouri, March 12 and September 22
Tornadoes caused (US):	1,106
Damages (US):	$758.96 million (2006 USD) $811.65 million (2008 USD)
Fatalities (US):	671
Fatalities (World):	84
Tornado Years 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008

This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 2006. Since the greatest coverage is in the United States, most of these events listed were primarily in the US. However, there were many other notable tornado events elsewhere in the world.

In 2006, there were 1,333 reported tornadoes in the US (of which 1,114 tornadoes were confirmed), with 69 reported fatalities (about half of those recorded in Tennessee).² In addition, four other tornado-related deaths were reported in Europe - all of them in Germany where 108 tornadoes were confirmed,³ 12 deaths in Japan and one tornado fatality has been reported in Canada, in the province of Manitoba for a worldwide total of 86.

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.

Events

January

There were 43 tornadoes reported in the US in January. All 43 were confirmed as well as an additional 4 findings.

January 1-2

On January 2, the Storm Prediction Center forecast a moderate risk of severe thunderstorms for much of the southeastern United States from the Ohio Valley to the Gulf Coast. Two major clusters of tornadic supercell thunderstorms developed, one in central Kentucky and one in western Georgia. This outbreak produced several strong (F2-F3) tornadoes, which hit Elizabethtown, Kentucky and Fayette/Pike Counties, Georgia. Fortunately there were only a few minor injuries.

Damages from the tornadoes totaled to $7.452 million.

January 11

In the final review of 2007, an two isolated tornadoes were confirmed to have touched down in Virginia. Both were rated as F1's. Two people were injured in James City.

Damages from the tornadoes totaled to $40,000.

January 12-14

Late in the evening of January 12, a squall line began to organize over eastern parts of Oklahoma and Texas. A rotating supercell embedded within the squall line produced an F2 tornado in Yell County, Arkansas. The next day several tornadoes developed from supercells that evolved from the remnants of that squall line all across the southeastern states, with the first tornado-inflicted death of 2006 in an F1 tornado near Belleville, Alabama as well as about a dozen students injured at a damaged school in Baker, Florida.

Damages from the tornadoes totaled to $8.395 million.

January 14 (California)

In the final review of 2006, an F0 tornado was confirmed to have briefly touched down in Mariposa County, California. There was no damage associated with the tornado.

January 17

In the final review of 2006, an F0 tornado was confirmed to have briefly touched down in Laurens County, South Carolina. Damage from the tornado totaled to $1000.

January 28

In the final review of 2006, four F0 tornadoes were confirmed to have touched down. Three of which were in Kansas and the fourth in Washington state.

Damages from the tornadoes totaled to $110,000.

February

There were 15 tornadoes reported in the US in February, of which 12 were confirmed.

February 2

On February 2, several tornadoes tore through Greater New Orleans which had already been devastated by catastrophic Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. The western suburbs, particularly Kenner, took most of the hits. Several homes were heavily damaged, most of them already damaged by Katrina but suffering additional damage. Louis Armstrong International Airport took a direct hit from one of the tornadoes, which caused more damage than was done by the hurricane several months earlier. Electricity was also cut to the airport. The tornado was rated as an F1.⁴

Damages from the tornadoes totaled to $1.785 million.

February 4

In the final review of 2006, two F0 and one F1 tornadoes were confirmed to have touched down.

Damages from the tornadoes totaled to $92,000.

March

There were 143 confirmed tornadoes in the US in March.

March 9-13

Main article: March 2006 Tornado Outbreak Sequence

An enormous multi-day tornado outbreak occurred starting on March 9 and continuing until March 13. Over those five days, there were 105 tornadoes confirmed out of as many as 160 tornadoes reported. 29 of them were considered "strong" (F2-F3) and one was considered "violent" (F4-F5) The majority (62) of the tornadoes occurred on March 12, particularly in Missouri and Illinois. At least 13 deaths were blamed on the severe weather,^{citation needed} 10 as a result of tornadoes.¹

Most of the activity on March 9 took the form of a serial derecho, although eight tornadoes were reported. At least two people were killed that day in storms, but not in tornadoes.^{citation needed} There was little activity on March 10, but it picked up again on March 11 with 18 tornadoes in the mid-Mississippi Valley. Two people were killed near Saint Mary, Missouri when their truck was thrown into a propane tank.¹

The main outbreak took place on March 12, with at least 62 tornadoes, including most of the strong tornadoes and the only violent one, and nine fatalities.¹ Activity continued farther south over Alabama and Mississippi on March 13 with 15 weak (F0-F1) tornadoes before the outbreak finally ended.

March 19-20

A small tornado event took place in the South Central United States on March 19 and March 20, with one tornado in Texas and several in Mississippi and Oklahoma.

The strongest tornado (and first of the event) took place in Uvalde, Texas late on March 19, where an F2 tornado touched down. Severe damage was reported in the community, and several homes were destroyed, including mobile homes. Remarkably, no injuries were reported. The tornado damage was difficult to distinguish from the damage reported as a result of microbursts in the area which had winds as strong as 90 mph (145 km/h). It was the strongest tornado in the region since October 2001.

A total of six tornadoes were reported on March 20. Two took place in Oklahoma and four in Mississippi. All were rated F0 or F1 and damage was generally minor.

• Uvalde tornado information from San Antonio NWS office
• Sam's Weather site - complete tornado list for 2006

March 23

An extremely rare tornado touched down in Hawaii late on March 23, on the island of Lanai. It occurred at about 9:35 p.m. HST (0735 UTC), and little damage was reported from the F0 tornado. It was only notable because of its unusual location.

Tornadoes are very rare in Hawaii; since 1950 there have been only 34 tornadoes in the state. The strongest was an F2 tornado on the Big Island in 1971.

• Honolulu NWS office information

March 27

A line of thunderstorms with some supercells track across Netherlands, France, Belgium, and Germany, spawning tornadoes in Germany, including one that tracks through the southern section of Hamburg at about 7:00 p.m. local time (1700 UTC) on March 27. The tornadoes killed two people who were caught on construction cranes when the tornado hit. 300,000 people also lost electricity as a result of the storms. Damage was reported to be significant, including flipped cars and major roof damage to numerous houses. Rail traffic was also halted temporarily.⁵ Damage is estimated at several million Euros.⁶ No Fujita scale rating has been officially assigned. However, the damage suggests an F1 to F2 tornado.⁷

March 30-31

On March 30, a moderate tornado event developed across the central United States, from Iowa to Oklahoma. There were 24 tornadoes reported, of which 12 were confirmed. However, most touched down in rural areas and there have only been isolated damage reports. One person died six months later, and five others were injured. Many more reports of straight-line winds, microbursts and large hail (as large as baseballs) were reported.

There were three tornadoes of note. The strongest tornado touched down in Andrew County, Missouri, which severely damaged several houses. It was a high-end F2.⁸ Another tornado touched down in Sedalia, Missouri, which was hard hit by the March 12 tornado outbreak. Damage was much less than the last hit. That one was confirmed to have been a low-end F1.⁹ There was a report in the city of Omaha, Nebraska of an F1 .¹⁰¹¹

The activity continued on March 31, although it was primarily a straight line wind event across the Ohio Valley. Three tornadoes were reported, two of them were F2: one in Van Wert, Ohio and another in western Shelby County, Indiana.¹²

April

There were 244 confirmed tornadoes in the US in April.

April 1-3

Main article: April 2, 2006 Tornado Outbreak

The second major tornado outbreak of 2006 took place on April 2 in a large swath from Iowa to Mississippi and from western Missouri to the central Ohio Valley. 66 tornadoes were confirmed that day, and 29 people were killed,^{citation needed} 27 by tornadoes.¹

The outbreak was first expected to begin on April 1. Despite considerable threat levels and awareness, only one small tornado was reported on April 1, in Pawnee County, Kansas. Severe weather was largely restricted to significant microbursts and large hail.¹³

Severe weather quickly picked up on April 2 across a nine-state region. There were no less than 66 confirmed tornadoes. Damage was widespread in dozens of communities, in addition to very strong microbursts of winds as strong as 90 mph (145 km/h) and hail as large as softballs. The hardest hit area was Dyer and Gibson Counties in Tennessee, where at least 24 people were killed.

There was a moderate risk of severe weather on April 3 in the southeastern United States as the line was expected to refire. However, no tornadoes were reported, just straight-line wind damage.

April 6-8

Main article: April 6-8, 2006 Tornado Outbreak

The third major tornado outbreak occurred over the Central and Southern United States on April 6 and 7, and lasted into early April 8. At least 62 tornadoes were confirmed out of over 80 reported tornadoes. The hardest hit region was the Middle Tennessee area, where 10 deaths (seven in Gallatin, three near McMinnville)¹ and heavy damage were reported. Another fatality was reported in Marion County, Alabama.

The Storm Prediction Center had issued a rare high risk for severe weather for both April 6 and 7, with an unprecedented 60% probability of a tornado within 25 miles of a point south of the Nashville area.¹⁴

April 13-19

Main article: Easter Week 2006 Tornado Outbreak Sequence

On April 13, a complex of severe thunderstorms formed in eastern Iowa, bringing many reports of large hail along with reports of strong tornadoes, some with debris. It was unexpected, as the SPC issued only a slight risk of severe weather and never issued a tornado watch. The worst impacts were felt in and around Iowa City, where significant damage and numerous injuries were reported, in addition to at least one fatality.

A steady stream of severe weather occurred for several days in the upper Mississippi Valley, lower Great Lakes, and Ohio Valley regions over the Easter weekend. A moderate risk of severe weather was in place for Saturday, April 15 in parts of Iowa and Nebraska. Moderate risks of severe weather were also issued for parts of central Illinois and southern Indiana on Good Friday, April 14 and Easter Sunday, April 16. There were five to twenty reports of tornadoes each day.

Scattered tornadoes causing relatively light damage continued on April 17, 18, and 19.

April 21-22

A small tornado event took place in the Deep South late in the evening of April 21 and early on April 22 along a cold front. There were several tornadoes reported, but all of them were relatively weak. No injuries were reported.

April 24

On April 24, a small tornado event spawned at least two tornadoes in northeastern and central Oklahoma, causing some moderate damage particularly around Oklahoma City. No injuries were reported. There were some spectacular television images captured, including footage of a rare anti-cyclonic tornado in El Reno, Oklahoma.

April 28-29

A small tornado event developed primarily in Texas and southern Oklahoma on April 28, although it was primarily a derecho event. There was also an isolated tornado in Louisiana on April 29.

There were at least nine reported tornadoes in the area on April 28¹⁵ and 29¹⁶ along with numerous reports of significant wind damage. At least four people were injured in Coldspring, Texas when a tornado touched down there. It was confirmed to have been an F2 tornado.¹⁷ There were also numerous reports of straight-line winds as strong as 100 mph (160 km/h) and hail as large as baseballs and 10 tornadoes reported.

There was also one tornado in Louisiana, just north of New Orleans, late on April 29.

May

There were 139 confirmed tornadoes in the US in May.

May 2-5

Another small but widespread tornado event developed across much of the Great Plains on the evening of May 2. Two main clusters - one over Texas and Oklahoma, and the other primarily in South Dakota - produced a total of 10 reported tornadoes, along with powerful straight-line winds of up to 86 mph (139 km/h) and hail up to softball-sized. Damage has been sporadic in the region, with isolated pockets of varying degrees of damage. No injuries have been reported.

Several more tornadoes developed on May 3 and again on May 4 across the same regions, but damage was relatively minor.

The activity became somewhat more severe once again on May 5 across Texas. There were 18 reported tornadoes and many reports of wind and hail damage. One person was injured.

May 9-10

A series of isolated tornadoes developed on May 9 primarily in Oklahoma and Texas. There were seven reported tornadoes, however two of them were severe - one of which was a killer.

The first major tornado touched down in Childress, Texas. It has been reported by KAMR that a touchdown in Childress led to severe damage and electricity was out in the entire city.¹⁸ According to KAMR, several businesses and houses in the community were heavily damaged due to the tornado and large hail. One minor injury was reported by the tornado, which was ranked a low-end F2 on the Fujita scale.¹⁹

The second major tornado touched down in the area of Westminster, Texas in northern Collin County. The tornado destroyed at least six solid-frame houses and flattened several mobile homes in the area. Three people were killed as a result and ten were injured.²⁰ That tornado was initially declared a high-end F3 on the Fujita scale but could be upgraded.

More severe storms developed across a broad swath from Michigan to South Texas on May 10. Again, they were somewhat isolated in nature and less severe, but at least 15 tornadoes were reported across the large area, plus many reports of large hail and damaging winds.

May 14

A line of severe storms developed over much of the Southern United States on the afternoon of May 14. While the bulk of the damage was due to large hail, there were at least 17 tornadoes reported (of which seven were confirmed), with the most severe one taking place near Concord, North Carolina. Significant structural damage was reported in the area, including roofs blown off houses. It was confirmed to have been an F1 tornado.²¹²²

The other tornadoes were scattered around the Carolinas and in Texas on the same line. Most of them were relatively minor.²³

May 19-20

Europe's second significant outbreak of 2006 took place, primarily in Germany. There were at least nine confirmed tornadoes in the region, all of which were F1 or F2. It was part of a longer squall line that resulted in significant damage and many injuries along with one death.⁷

May 21

The first significant tornado in the Northeastern United States took place on May 21. It was an isolated event in Hampton Falls, New Hampshire and was confirmed to have been an F2 tornado.

Damage was significant along a narrow path, primarily to trees and vehicles along Interstate 95 in the area. Two people were injured.²⁴

May 24-25

A strong front developed over the Upper Midwest on May 24 and extended along the Mississippi Valley. It was primarily a straight line wind event, although there were at least five tornadoes reported, some of which produced significant damage.

A greater risk of tornadic activity was issued by the SPC on May 25 for a large swath from the Great Lakes to the central Mississippi Valley. The event turned into a derecho with hundreds of severe wind damage reports, but only six tornado reports. There were no tornado-related injuries, but at least one person was injured by straight-line winds.

May 30-31

A hot and humid air mass entered the Northeastern part of the U.S as well as much of Southern Ontario and Quebec, and severe thunderstorms and tornadoes were sparked by a cold front. Numerous severe weather events were reported across Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and New York - primarily damaging wind and hail events - when a storm system crossed the area during these two days.

On May 31 there were at least 6 reports of tornadoes in Indiana and Illinois with no immediate reports of significant damage or injuries. Also, Lanark County in eastern Ontario had two tornado warnings in a span of 18 hours with the threat of a strong tornado on the evening of May 30. While damage have been reported near Highway 7 southwest of Perth, Ontario due to straight line damaging winds, there were no immediate reports of tornadoes despite rotation inside two distinct supercells detected by radar.

June

There were 139 confirmed tornadoes in the US in June.

June 5-7

A low pressure system over the northern Plains and a cold front triggered a small tornado outbreak. 17 tornadoes were reported in the Dakotas, eastern Iowa and southwestern Wisconsin during these two days (of which at least seven were confirmed), 14 of them occurred on June 6. Two tornadoes were located near Barneveld, which was the site of an F5 tornado almost the same day in 1984. Both tornadoes were an F0.²⁵ with damage especially confined to trees, although one home was damaged. There were no reported injuries. There was another tornado in Sauk and Columbia counties, an F1.

A separate system had reportedly spawned a tornado which inflicted damage to numerous houses near Seymour, Indiana north of Louisville, but it was confirmed to have been a microburst.

June 10

More widespread severe weather occurred in the Central Plains with over 100 reports, mostly wind and hail events including reports of hurricane force wind-gusts. Tornadoes were confined especially in Nebraska where a mobile home and a barn were damaged and trailer was overturned near Gordon, Nebraska. There was also significant damage to trees and powerlines in New Florence, Missouri west of St. Louis.

June 11-14: Tropical Storm Alberto

Main article: Tropical Storm Alberto (2006)

Tropical Storm Alberto made landfall on June 13, but was producing squalls well before then. Alberto's bands produced a small tornado event in the southeastern United States. There were 16 tornadoes reported; four in Florida, three in Georgia, six in South Carolina and three in North Carolina. At least seven of the tornadoes were confirmed; one was an F1 and the rest were F0.²⁶ One person suffered minor injuries in one of the tornadoes.²⁷

June 16

A major wind event occurred in the Southern Plains states as a low pressure system crossed the area. There were at least 17 wind reports exceeding 75 mph (120 km/h) with significant local damage. The heaviest of the activity occurred in Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Despite the severity of the storms, only four tornadoes were reported in Kansas and three were confirmed; one was an F0 and the other two were F1, all in Sherman County.²⁸

June 18-19

A warm and humid airmass was covering much of the eastern U.S. as well as Ontario and Quebec during this period of severe weather. With the passage of a cold front and instability, it created a wide area of severe thunderstorms, some as supercells and others as squall lines, which created numerous damage in several U.S. cities as well as important Canadian cities such as Ottawa, Sherbrooke and Granby, Quebec.

First, an unexpected tornado touched down in Hartford, Wisconsin in the middle of a rain storm with few other storm reports on June 18. Over 50 buildings were reported to have been damaged. Three people were injured by what turned out to be an F1 tornado.²⁹ Meanwhile in Pembroke, Ontario further to the east, what was possibly a tornado but confirmed as a microburst, several roofs including one from a marina and another one from a large warehouse were blown away during the passage of a supercell storm.

On June 19, a widespread severe weather event took place throughout the Great Lakes region and into the Northeast. There were no confirmed tornadoes in the US that day, but two confirmed in Ontario, Canada. One tornado touched down just north of Stratford, Ontario, it was an F1 and caused moderate damage and a second one near Collingwood occurred late Sunday evening also rated F1 with a storage shed completely destroyed.³⁰

June 21-24

On the first day of summer, June 21, a significant severe weather outbreak began to develop in much of the Midwest and adjacent areas of Ontario. The most severe weather took place along the I-90 corridor and around Thunder Bay, Ontario, where tornadoes were reported. Another tornado was reported southwest of Detroit inside a massive cluster of severe thunderstorms that passed through the area in the early evening. However, the tornado did little damage; most of the damage in southeast Michigan was due to straight-line winds.

Additionally, another area of severe weather spawned numerous possible tornadoes in Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma and Colorado with severe weather reports also occurring in, Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri and Nebraska.

Three people were also injured as a result of a landfalling waterspout in Charlotte County, Florida in a separate and isolated event. It also damaged numerous homes and destroyed several mobile homes. It was confirmed that there were two tornadoes; one was an F2 and one was an F0.³¹

More severe weather took place the following day in areas slightly farther south than the previous day's activity. Again, it was primarily a straight-line wind event, with at least 250 wind reports from Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, West Virginia and New York with additional reports from the Carolinas, Florida, Georgia, Texas and Oklahoma.

A small tornado outbreak occurred in two distinct area: The Southern Plains and the Ohio Valley. 19 tornadoes were reported - five of them in Elbert County, Colorado (one was confirmed, it destroyed a house under construction), likely from the same supercell and five from northwest Ohio in Allen and Van Wert counties. Two of the Van Wert County tornadoes were rated F0 (in Willshire and Delphos) and another F1 (also in Willshire) while one of the tornadoes in Allen County was rated F1 with damage limited to sheds and roofs near Beaverdam.³² Another F0 would hit Willshire the following day. The area has a long history of destructive tornadoes. (See also Veterans Day Weekend tornado outbreak of 2002 and Palm Sunday tornado outbreak of 1965.)

One tornado destroyed some barns and heavily damaged two houses in Holmes County, Ohio. That one was an F2, and another tornado in Stark County was rated F1.³³ Other tornadoes were reported from Illinois, Missouri and Kansas.

Numerous funnel clouds were also spotted in Alberta with a separate family of thunderstorms over the Canadian Prairies which also brought tornadoes in the Dakotas the following two days.

June 25

The third significant event of 2006 for Europe took place on June 25. There were at least nine tornadoes reported, and various reports of damage. None of the tornadoes have been officially confirmed yet. There were also reports of significant wind damage from a related squall line.³⁴

June 30

A sudden F1 tornado³⁵ took place near Buffalo, New York on the afternoon of June 30 out of a long west-east axis line of severe thunderstorms that developed in the Niagara Peninsula of Ontario and crossed into New York. Damage reports remain sketchy at this time, but there were reports of structural damage to several buildings (mainly industrial buildings) in Cheektowaga, New York according to WGRZ coverage. Also, many vehicles were being thrown off Interstate 90 (the New York State Thruway). There were at least two reported injuries due to this tornado.³⁶

July

There have been 68 tornadoes reported in the US in July, of which at least 29 have been confirmed.

July 2

A rare tornado hit the Canadian province of New Brunswick at about 7 p.m. ADT (2200 UTC) near the western towns of Argyle and Glassville. Rotation was first detected by the Caribou, Maine radar and later confirmed as tornadic activity after Environment Canada surveyed the damage the next day. Several structures such as barns and homes sustained considerable damage and numerous trees were downed during the storm. The tornado was rated as an F1 with winds of about 75 mph (120 km/h) and had a path of roughly 7 km long (about 4 miles) and no injuries were reported.³⁷

July 11-12

Main article: Westchester Tornado of July 2006

A small tornado event, centered in southwestern Ohio, took place on July 11. At least 10 tornadoes were reported in the area.³⁸ There was significant damage reported in Warren County as well as Montgomery County. One person was injured. As of now, at least seven of them have been confirmed - four of them were F1 and three were F0.³⁹³³

An area with minimal tornado damage in Westchester County, New York.

The next day, the same weather system tracked eastward into the Northeast. A tornado touched down in Westchester County, New York. The tornado began on the Rockland County shore of the Hudson River, moving at 25 mph across the river toward Sleepy Hollow, just north of the Tappan Zee Bridge. It cut a 200 to 300 yard wide path straight across Westchester and into Fairfield County, Connecticut.⁴⁰ That tornado was confirmed to have been an F2, causing F1 damage farther east in Greenwich, Connecticut. Finally, there was what was described as a "strong F2" tornado that formed near Wickett Pond in Wendell, Massachusetts and ripped through the Wendell State Forest. Although many trees were snapped in half, there was very little structural damage, and no injuries.⁴¹

July 17-18

Main article: Heat wave of 2006 derecho series

While much of the focus was on the multiple lines of thunderstorms that crossed over Ontario and Quebec and the US Midwest including the derecho, which possibly spawned numerous tornadoes that swept through northeastern Ontario and southwestern Quebec, at least three tornadoes were reported: one in Larder Lake and two later-confirmed tornadoes in Newmarket, north of Toronto, which were rated F1 and F0. One of these tornadoes traveled for 10 kilometres (6 miles).³⁰ Also, significant tornado-like damage was recorded on Manitoulin Island and in the North Bay area. Another tornado was reported in Notre-Dame du Laus, Quebec north of Gatineau and Ottawa. However, the multiple tree and trailer damage was caused by a microburst embedded inside a powerful progressive derecho.

At least two deaths and numerous injuries were reported; however they resulted from the wider derecho, not the tornado events embedded within it.

July 19-20

A similar pattern to the previous event shaped up over parts of the Upper Midwest, although the risk of tornadoes was initially declared even greater. The greatest risk on July 19 was over southern Minnesota and Wisconsin, spreading eastward over Michigan, southern Ontario and into the north-central Appalachians on July 20. The risk extends as far south as roughly the Interstate 70 corridor.

A moderate risk of severe weather had been declared by the SPC for July 19. A cluster of storms did develop in the late afternoon and early evening hours in Missouri and Illinois with additional activity in Wisconsin and southern Minnesota. Three tornadoes were reported including a derecho that formed in the St. Louis metro area with heavy damage to trees and power lines, knocking out power to over 500,000 people. The other reports came from Illinois. In addition, there have been 80-90 reports of severe wind including reports of 80 mph (130 km/h) winds in De Soto, Missouri and in Havana, Illinois.⁴².

Severe weather was quite limited the next day, although significant wind reports with local damage were reported in western and southern Quebec. No tornadoes were reported inside the most concerned zone.

July 25

An F1 tornado was confirmed in the town of Hébertville, Quebec in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region⁴³ which is located about 180 kilometres north-northwest of Quebec City. During the event, golf ball-size hail smashed windows of houses and automobiles and damaged patio furniture as well as home facades. Corn and vegetable crops were ruined during the brief but robust storm. Farms and sheds sustained damage from the tornadic winds as well as trees. This very region was hit by 5 tornadoes during the summer of 2001, including some of the region's main cities such as Saguenay and Alma. Tornadoes are considered to be rare occurrences in this region, at least prior to 2001.⁴⁴ .

July 26

Central Illinois saw a small tornado event take place on July 26. Eight tornadoes were reported in the area, including Piatt, Macon and Vermilion counties. Of those reports, 4 were confirmed including three F0's and another unrated tornado in Rossville.⁴⁵ Generally the tornadoes were primarily in the rural areas surrounding Champaign-Urbana. Overall damage was minor but one shed was destroyed in Hoopeston.

July 27

A small outbreak occurred in western Minnesota, and six tornadoes have been reported including a large one near Dawson in Lac qui Parle County near the South Dakota border. Damage reports from the four confirmed tornadoes (three F0's and one F1') were limited to destroyed crops, branches, cottonwoods and signs.⁴⁶

August

There were 95 tornadoes reported in the US, at least 31 of which were confirmed.

August 1-2

Southern Quebec

Violent thunderstorms produced two tornadoes in the southern Quebec region August 1 during the evening hours. The damage associated with the F2 tornado was located in Lac Drolet in the Eastern Townships near Granby. Two people were injured when the winds ripped the whole roof of a home, while a barn was completed destroyed. Several other homes sustained significant damage or nearly destroyed. The tornado was caught on camera.⁴⁷

Another tornado, an F1, hit the community of St-Gedeon in the Beauce region. Numerous maple trees were uprooted by the storm and damage was pegged at 150 000$ Canadian dollars.⁴⁸

Two people were killed by events unrelated to the tornado but associated by the thunderstorms related to the derecho that crossed Southern Quebec for the Upper Laurentians to the coast of Maine. In the Montreal area, a motorist was killed when a tree fell on his vehicle while driving on a local street in Westmount.⁴⁹ Also in the Mauricie region, another was killed by a lightning bolt. Overall, nearly 450 000 homes were without power during the height of the storms.⁵⁰

Minnesota

Meanwhile, the same cold front produced violent weather in Minnesota with a localized tornado event. Four tornadoes were reported and four were confirmed, but one was an F3 - the first in the US since May. It took place in Watonwan County near the town of Butterfield. Another tornado near St. James in Cottonwood County was reported; it was an F1. With the first tornado, one farmhouse was flattened, but it was poorly attached - preventing an F4 according to early surveys. It also destroyed the barns, cornfields and silos surrounding the farmhouse. No injuries were reported. The second tornado left moderate damage - including tearing the roofs of a few houses, although it destroyed a few outbuildings. The path of the second tornado was quite erratic at times.⁵¹

Southern Ontario

The same cold front redeveloped on August 2 across the Great Lakes region, leading to numerous tornado and wind damage reports as a strong line of storms, a bow echo, raced through southern-central Ontario with intense supercells on its way to eastern Ontario including one that prompted a tornado warning for the city of Ottawa. According to a survey by Environment Canada,³⁰ there were 11 tornadoes confirmed in the province on that day. It was the largest single day tornado outbreak in Ontario since May 31, 1985. The final reports counted two F2, five F1, three F0 strength confirmed tornadoes and one additional (as yet unconfirmed F0) bringing the total to 10 (or possibly 11). ⁵²

One of the confirmed tornadoes touched down south of Barry's Bay, in the town of Combermere at 8:30 p.m. EDT.With the video footage and reports the tornado did extensive damage in the town and a nearby trailer camp site. Numerous trees and hydro poles were snapped. A local Home Hardware store was also completely destroyed, several structures including trailers were also heavily damaged or destroyed and cottages and decks sustained significant damage with possible reports of cottages being thrown on the shores and in some cases into the nearby Madawaska River. A state of emergency has been declared in that area as damage was pegged in the millions of dollars. Environment Canada previously only rated it as an F1 but has since been upgraded it to an F2. It had a path of about 3 kilometres long and 300 metres wide.⁵³.⁵⁴⁵⁵

East of Bancroft, another F2 was later confirmed as that tornado traveled for 10 kilometres and had a path of damage of about 500 metres wide. One house sustained heavy damage with its roof and 2 walls destroyed. A barn was also destroyed during the storm.

Another possible tornado was spotted by a weather trainer and was located in the Guelph area near Highway 401 & Highway 6 but there were no reports of damage from that afternoon storm, thus it would have been rated F0 but it was not confirmed by the federal weather agency.

Six other tornadoes were later confirmed as F0's or F1's. There were located in West Gilford (F1), in Minden Hills (F1), Drag Lake (F0), Uffington (near Gravenhurst) (F0), Anstruther Lake (near Apsley) (F1) and in Catchacoma (near Gooderham) (F0). The Minden Hills tornado also destroyed a 500m long suspension bridge that passes though a nature reserve of original growth white pine forest, often used during guided school tours, no one was on the bridge at the time it was felled due to severe weather in the area. These locations are in the Muskoka, Haliburton and Kawartha Highlands regions of Central Ontario. Damage mostly consists of trees blocking roads to cottage properties, some structural damage and downed power lines.⁵⁶

Overall, over 150,000 customers were without power during August 2's storms mostly in the Georgian Bay, Haliburton, Hastings and Toronto regions as well as areas near Arnprior, Peterborough, Belleville, Tweed and Napanee in eastern Ontario.⁵⁷ Some 20,000 residents of central and eastern Ontario remained without power 6 days following the storm event.

During the same storm system other non-tornadic winds produced damage, including Hagersville in Haldimand County, a silo collapsed under the strong winds and crashed into a house. That event was caused by straight-line damaging winds of about 120 km/h. A roof of a house was torn off in Newmarket, the same town was hit by two confirmed tornadoes on two weeks earlier. Also, an animal shelter in Midland north of Barrie was completely destroyed by a fire caused by the storm. Several animals perished in the blaze.

August 5

Main article: Gull Lake, Manitoba Tornado

Early indications were predicting a very active severe weather day in the northern Plains along the Canada–US border. The SPC issued a moderate risk of severe weather and there were strong initial indications of a possible outbreak.

Severe weather erupted in northern Minnesota, southern Manitoba and northwestern Ontario as a strong low pressure system hit the area on August 5. There were two strong tornadoes.

A tornado touched down near Gull Lake, Manitoba, north of Winnipeg and just off Lake Winnipeg, in which one person was killed by the storm while been caught in the tornado's path while walking near campground. Boats, Power lines, and cottages were completely destroyed by the 5:19 p.m. CDT (2219 UTC) storm. Ten other people were injured. The storm was later rated as an F2 tornado and Manitoba Premier Gary Doer visited the area devastated by the storm on the next day. Two other tornadoes were confirmed to have touched down in the area.⁵⁸⁵⁹ It was the first fatal Canadian tornado since the Pine Lake, Alberta F3 Tornado in July 2000.

Another strong tornado was reported near