Tornado, Adair
- When
- January 2, 3:22 PM EST to 3:24 PM EST
- Where
- Adair County, 1 mi ESE of Columbia
- Rating
- F2
- Path length
- 0.6 mi
- Path width
- 200 yd
- Property damage
- $150,000
- Reported by
- NWS STORM SURVEY
- Coordinates
- 37.100, -85.283
The first tornado touched down near Columbia. It destroyed a mobile home and removed the roof from a house.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS LMK wrote it up.
The first tornado touched down near Columbia. It destroyed a mobile home and removed the roof from a house. Other homes and mobile homes were damaged. The tornado lifted and the parent cell travelled into northeast Adair County. The second tornado touched down in the Pellyton area, about 13 miles to the northeast of the first touchdown. Several homes and barns in the area were damaged before the tornado lifted again.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Louisville, KY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 2, 11:47 AM EST, 3 hours 35 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION UPDATE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY 1147 AM EST MON JAN 2 2006 ...SEVERE WX THREAT THROUGH EARLY EVENING... .EARLY AFTERNOON UPDATE... UPDATED ZONES TO ADD SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH AND SEVERE WORDING IN FORECAST. THUNDERSTORMS ARE DEVELOPING RAPIDLY AHEAD OF A LINE OF STRONG STORMS. THESE STORMS WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP IN VERY UNSTABLE AIR ACROSS CENTRAL KENTUCKY. STORMS WILL REACH BOWLING GREEN BEFORE 1 PM CST...LOUISVILLE BETWEEN 2 AND 3 PM EST AND LEXINGTON AFTER 4 PM EST. OTHERWISE NO CHANGES TO FORECAST. LATE MORNING UPDATE... QUICK UPDATE TO RAISE HIGH TEMPERATURES AND ADJUST TIMING OF THUNDERSTORMS. LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS IS MOVING ACROSS WESTERN KENTUCKY AND WILL BE MOVING INTO LMK FAR WESTERN COUNTIES BETWEEN 17Z AND 18Z. LINE OF STORMS CONTINUES TO HOLD TOGETHER WITH STRONG WARMING AHEAD OF THE LINE. TEMPERATURES ARE ALREADY NEAR OR AT RECORD HIGHS FOR THIS DATE. AIR HAS BECOME VERY UNSTABLE WITH SURFACE BASED LIS --6 TO -8 AHEAD OF THE LINE. EXPECT LINE OF STRONG/SEVERE STORMS TO CONTINUE TRACKING TO THE EAST REACHING INTERSTATE 65 CORRIDOR MID AFTERNOON AND INTERSTATE 75 LATE AFTERNOON TO EARLY EVENING. HAVE MADE MINOR ADJUSTMENTS TO TO TIMING ON GRIDS TO REFLECT THIS. REST OF FORECAST APPEARS ON TRACK. SCHOLZ PREVIOUS DISCUSSIONS... EARLY AM UPDATE... BULK OF THE INITIAL WARM ADVECTION PCPN HAS EXITED THE FCST AREA AS OF 11 UTC. STILL SOME RESIDUAL -TSRA WILL REMAIN POSSIBLE EARLY THIS MORNING AHEAD OF APPROACHING MID-LEVEL DRY SLOT. WILL LOWER POPS FOR THE MORNING HOURS INTO THE CHANCE/SCATTERED CATEGORY. BASED ON MSAS LIFTED INDEX FIELDS...INSTABILITY OVER THE SWRN 1/2 OF THE CWA HAS BECOME SFC BASED...THOUGH MAGNITUDES ARE RATHER WEAK. BEST INSTABILITY AXIS IS CLOSER TO N-S ORIENTED TROF AXIS FROM ERN MO INTO ARKANSAS. CLUSTER OF SEVERE AND POSSIBLY TORNADIC STORMS FORMED OVERNIGHT IN THE STL AREA CLOSE TO THE SFC LOW AND AT THE NOSE OF THIS INSTABILITY AXIS. INSTABILITY AXIS AND SFC TROF STILL FORECAST TO MIGRATE EWD...ALLOWING FOR A THREAT OF CONVECTIVE REDEVELOPMENT OVER THE CWA THIS AFTN. SVR STORMS STILL A GOOD POSSIBILITY AREA WIDE THIS AFTN (SEE PREV DISC)...BUT BASED ON WHATS HAPPENED NEAR STL...AM CONCERNED ABOUT POTENTIAL FOR ISLTD TORNADO NEAR THE SFC LOW TRACK...AS IT HEADS EWD INTO PARTS OF SRN INDIANA BY 21/00 UTC. HOWEVER THE SFC LOW IS EXPECTED TO FILL SOMEWHAT BY THEN...ALLOWING LOW LEVEL WIND FIELDS TO LESSEN...PERHAPS DIMINISHING TORNADO POTENTIAL THERE. SOMETHING WELL CONTINUE TO WATCH AS THE DAY PROGRESSES. SINCE WELL SEE A PERIOD OF LITTLE/NO PCPN TODAY...AND SINCE TEMPERATURES ARE ALREADY NEAR FCST HIGHS IN SRN KY...WILL INCREASE MAX TEMPS FOR MOST AREAS...INTO THE LOWER 70S NEAR THE KY/TN LINE. SCT-BKN LOW CLOUDS WILL LIKELY PERSIST...BUT PROBABLY NOT ENOUGH TO COUNTER MAGNITUDE OF WARM ADVECTION. CS .SHORT TERM (TODAY-TONIGHT)... PRONOUNCED UPPER WAVE APPROACHING THE CWA EARLY THIS MONDAY MORNING. SYSTEM IS PROGRESSING SLOWER THAN MODEL DATA INDICATED 24 HOURS AGO. CLUSTERS OF TSRA HAVE FINALLY DEVELOPED OVER THE VICINITY AS OF 07 UTC. THIS ACTIVITY IN ASSOC WITH THE NOSE OF STRENGTHENING LLJ...WHICH IS FCST TO TRANSLATE EWD ACROSS THE LMK CWA BETWEEN NOW AND 12 UTC. SO WE EXPECT THE THREAT FOR TSRA TO ALSO CONTINUE EASTWARD DURING THE PRE-DAWN HOURS. ORGANIZED CONVECTION A GOOD POSSIBILITY GIVEN THE ENVIRONMENTAL SHEAR...THINKING THE MAIN THREAT WOULD BE ELEVATED HAILERS THROUGH 12 UTC. ALSO...AS EVIDENCED EARLIER ON PAH RADAR...STORMS WILL HAVE A TENDENCY TO BACKBUILD TO THE SW GIVEN THE WIND FIELDS...SO SOME SPOTS OF HEAVY RAIN ARE POSSIBLE. WELCOME TO JANUARY BULK OF THIS PCPN SHOULD MOVE N/E OF THE LMK CWA AFTER 12-15 UTC OR SO THIS MORNING AS MID-LEVEL DRY SLOT OVERSPREADS THE CWA. BY 18-21 UTC...SFC LOW FCST TO MOVE INTO IL/IN BORDER REGION...WITH TROF AXIS STRETCHING DOWN INTO MIDDLE TN. ALONG THIS AXIS...MODEST SFC BASED INSTABILITY EXPECTED TO FORM...THEREFORE WE THINK ANOTHER ROUND OF TSRA SHOULD COMMENCE. WITH DRY SLOT ALOFT...THIS COULD PROMOTE COLD POOL GENERATION WITH DAMAGING WIND POTENTIAL ALONG WITH LARGE HAIL. ISLTD TORNADO POSSIBLE ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE SE CWA...WHERE 1KM HELICITIES FCST TO BE RATHER HIGH THIS AFTN. THREAT FOR CONVECTION SHOULD VACATE THE CWA SOMETIME BETWEEN 00 AND 03 UTC THIS EVENING...THOUGH IT COULD EXIT QUICKER AS MODELS SOMETIMES UNDERESTIMATE ORGANIZED STORM VELOCITIES. BOTH GFS/NAM MOS INDICATE FAIRLY HIGH POPS CONTINUING AFTER 00 UTC. I BELIEVE THIS IS CENTERED AROUND A SECONDARY TROF/FRONT DROPPING DOWN INTO THE CWA TONIGHT AS INDICATED BY THE NAM. WILL CONTINUE ONGOING FCST OF SHOWERS LIKELY TONIGHT. NAM BUFKIT SHOWING POTENTIAL FOR LOW STRATUS BY 12 UTC TUESDAY. REGARDING TEMPERATURES...NEAR RECORD VALUES LIKELY TODAY ASSUMING WE GET A BREAK IN THE PRECIPITATION. SOUTHERLIES COULD ALSO GET A LITTLE GUSTY IN THE WARM SECTOR TODAY. CS .LONG TERM (TUESDAY-SUNDAY)... TUESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY... VERTICALLY STACKED UPPER LEVEL AND SURFACE LOW WILL MOVE SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS TUESDAY. LIGHT RAIN AND DRIZZLE TUESDAY MORNING SHOULD END DURING THE DAY...HOWEVER...NORTH WINDS AND REMAINING LOW LEVEL MOISTURE WILL KEEP LOW CLOUDS LOCKED IN MUCH OF THE DAY. THE AIR BEHIND THIS UPPER LOW IS NOT COLD AT ALL...SO TEMPERATURES TUESDAY SHOULD STILL RISE ABOVE SEASONAL VALUES...WITH TEMPERATURES IN THE MID TO UPPER 40S LIKELY. FOR HIGHS TUESDAY...WENT WITH COOLER ETA OVER THE GFS. FEEL THAT GFS FAILS TO RESOLVE COOLER AIR AT LOW LEVELS IN THE FACE OF NORTH WINDS. A RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE MOVES OVERHEAD TUESDAY NIGHT AS THE LOWER OHIO VALLEY WILL BE BETWEEN SYSTEMS. WINDS WILL LESSEN. LOW CLOUDS AND TEMPERATURES WILL BE A CHALLENGE TUESDAY NIGHT. WITH BOUNDARY LEVEL WINDS BECOMING LIGHT...MOISTURE AND LOW CLOUDS MAY CONTINUE THROUGH THE NIGHTTIME HOURS. SOUTH WINDS WILL INCREASE WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AHEAD OF A TROUGH THAT WILL EXTEND SOUTHWARD FROM LOW PRESSURE MOVING TOWARDS THE GREAT LAKES. THIS SYSTEM WILL MOVE FARTHER NORTH AND WILL HAVE MUCH LESS MOISTURE AVAILABLE THAN TODAYS SYSTEM. WILL HOLD OFF ON PRECIP CHANCES UNTIL WEDNESDAY NIGHT...WHEN FRONTAL PASSAGE MAY BRING A FEW LIGHT SHOWERS OR FLURRIES. THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. UPPER AIR PATTERN WILL AMPLIFY SIGNIFICANTLY ACROSS THE CONUS BEGINNING THURSDAY AS A WESTERN RIDGE BUILDS WHILE A DEEP FULL LATITUDE TROUGH DEVELOPS ACROSS THE EASTERN STATES. ON THURSDAY...A STRENGTHING NORTH/SOUTH UPPER JET WILL DEVELOP ACROSS THE CENTRAL U.S. THIS WILL DIG SOUTH AND BRING NORTHERLY LOW LEVEL FLOW TO THE LOWER OHIO VALLEY. TEMPERATURES WILL STEADILY FALL TO NEAR SEASONAL NORMALS BY FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. WITH SUCH A BROAD CYCLONIC FLOW...CLOUDINESS WILL BE PERSISTENT AND WILL EXPECT MOSTLY CLOUDY SKIES INTO THE EARLY PART OF THE WEEKEND. JSD && .LMK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... KY...NONE. IN...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY 640 AM EST MON JAN 2 2006 INZ076>079-083-084-089>092-KYZ023>043-045>049-053>057-061>067- 070>078-081-082-030930- ORANGE IN-WASHINGTON IN-SCOTT IN-JEFFERSON IN-DUBOIS IN- CRAWFORD IN-PERRY IN-HARRISON IN-FLOYD IN-CLARK IN-HANCOCK KY- BRECKINRIDGE KY-MEADE KY-OHIO KY-GRAYSON KY-HARDIN KY-BULLITT KY- JEFFERSON KY-OLDHAM KY-TRIMBLE KY-HENRY KY-SHELBY KY-FRANKLIN KY- SCOTT KY-HARRISON KY-SPENCER KY-ANDERSON KY-WOODFORD KY- FAYETTE KY-BOURBON KY-NICHOLAS KY-NELSON KY-WASHINGTON KY- MERCER KY-JESSAMINE KY-CLARK KY-LARUE KY-MARION KY-BOYLE KY- GARRARD KY-MADISON KY-BUTLER KY-EDMONSON KY-HART KY-GREEN KY- TAYLOR KY-CASEY KY-LINCOLN KY-LOGAN KY-WARREN KY-SIMPSON KY- ALLEN KY-BARREN KY-MONROE KY-METCALFE KY-ADAIR KY-RUSSELL KY- CUMBERLAND KY-CLINTON KY- 640 AM EST MON JAN 2 2006 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL INDIANA AND CENTRAL KENTUCKY. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. A VIGOROUS LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM AND ITS ASSOCIATED FRONTAL BOUNDARIES WILL PUSH INTO THE REGION TODAY. GUSTY SOUTHERLY WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO PUMP UNSEASONABLY WARM AND MOIST AIR INTO THE AREA. THERE IS A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH THE MORNING HOURS...THOUGH MOST AREAS WILL BE DRY. HOWEVER THE ATMOSPHERE WILL CONTINUE TO WARM AND DESTABILIZE...WITH NEAR RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES FORECAST TODAY. THEN AS THE SURFACE LOW MOVES CLOSER AND A FRONT SWINGS THROUGH DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS...NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO AFFECT THE OUTLOOK AREA. THESE STORMS COULD TURN SEVERE...WITH DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL THE PRIMARY THREATS...THOUGH AN ISOLATED TORNADO IS POSSIBLE. AT THIS TIME...THE STORMS WOULD BE MOST NUMEROUS ALONG THE I-65 CORRIDOR BETWEEN ROUGHLY NOON AND 3 PM EST...AND APPROACHING THE I-75 CORRIDOR BETWEEN 3 PM AND 6 PM EST. THE THREAT FOR SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED TO DIMINISH AFTER SUNSET FOR MOST LOCATIONS IN THE OUTLOOK AREA. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS POSSIBLE TODAY. SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGERS SHOULD PERIODICALLY CHECK THE FORECAST FOR UPDATED DETAILS. VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WEATHER.GOV/LOUISVILLE OR LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR INFORMATION. USE OUR E-SPOTTER SYSTEM ON OUR WEBSITE TO SUBMIT REPORTS OF SEVERE WEATHER. CS
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY
251 PM EST MON JAN 02 2006
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0248 PM HAIL 2 S CORYDON 38.18N 86.13W
01/02/2006 0.75 INCH HARRISON IN EMERGENCY MNGR
&&
SZAPPANOSPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY
259 PM EST MON JAN 02 2006
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0248 PM HAIL ELIZABETH 38.13N 85.97W
01/02/2006 1.75 INCH HARRISON IN EMERGENCY MNGR
&&
SZAPPANOSPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY
301 PM EST MON JAN 02 2006
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0248 PM TORNADO ELIZABETHTOWN 37.70N 85.87W
01/02/2006 HARDIN KY LAW ENFORCEMENT
POSSIBLE TORNADO ON GROUND NEAR US31W. STRUCTURAL DAMAGE
NEAR THOMAS AND ST JOHN ROADS.
&&
SZAPPANOSPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY
308 PM EST MON JAN 02 2006
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0302 PM HAIL SALEM 38.60N 86.10W
01/02/2006 1.50 INCH WASHINGTON IN TRAINED SPOTTER
0302 PM TORNADO ELIZABETHTOWN 37.70N 85.87W
01/02/2006 HARDIN KY AMATEUR RADIO
TORNADO TOUCHDOWN NEAR KROGER. STRUCTURAL DAMAGE AT
BLUEGRASS MIDDLE SCHOOOL.
&&
WAIDLEYPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY
320 PM EST MON JAN 02 2006
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0320 PM HAIL FLOYDS KNOBS 38.32N 85.87W
01/02/2006 0.25 INCH FLOYD IN LAW ENFORCEMENT
&&
WAIDLEYPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY
322 PM EST MON JAN 02 2006
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0320 PM TORNADO LEBANON JUNCTION 37.83N 85.73W
01/02/2006 BULLITT KY LAW ENFORCEMENT
TORNADO ON GROUND JUST EAST OF LEBANON JUNCTION.
&&
WAIDLEYThe Louisville radar (KLVX), 113 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:22 UTC.
2 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kentucky in 2006Every state in 2006This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Kentucky, 2006Warnings in Kentucky, January 2006
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5486510, 5486511.