Central Severe Weather
One of the severe storm disasters on NOAA’s billion-dollar list: $1.4 billion in losses at 2024 prices ($879 million at the time) and 1 deaths.
What the offices filed during it
The 62 most significant severe storm episodes filed in these dates, colored by kind.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Losses, 2024 dollars
- $1.4 billion
- Losses at the time
- $879 million
- Deaths
- 1
The losses and deaths are NCEI’s, counting everything the disaster did. The episodes below are only what the Weather Service filed in its Storm Events record, which counts damage differently and often not at all, so the two never add up and are shown apart.
By state, as filed
| State | Events | Deaths | Injuries | Damage filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio | 34 | 0 | 1 | $201 million |
| Utah | 6 | 0 | 0 | $8.1 million |
| Illinois | 115 | 0 | 2 | $2.4 million |
| Iowa | 22 | 0 | 0 | $1.9 million |
| Wisconsin | 120 | 1 | 1 | $1.4 million |
| Michigan | 60 | 0 | 0 | $1.3 million |
| Colorado | 13 | 0 | 0 | $1.0 million |
| Indiana | 28 | 0 | 1 | $847,000 |
| Minnesota | 39 | 0 | 0 | $85,000 |
| Connecticut | 1 | 0 | 0 | $15,000 |
| Maryland | 2 | 0 | 0 | $8,000 |
| West Virginia | 7 | 0 | 0 | $7,000 |
| Idaho | 8 | 0 | 0 | $1,000 |
| Tennessee | 10 | 0 | 0 | |
| Pennsylvania | 9 | 0 | 0 | |
| Arizona | 8 | 0 | 0 | |
| South Dakota | 7 | 0 | 0 | |
| North Carolina | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
| New Mexico | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Episode by episode
- Hail in Indiana, September 30, 2006
- Hail in Tennessee, September 30, 2006Quarter size hail reported.
- Damaging Wind in Connecticut, October 1, 2006Low pressure tracking east from the Great Lakes brought showers and scattered thunderstorms to southern New England.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Michigan, October 2 to 4, 2006A slow moving low pressure system and it's attendant cold front brought an early October severe weather episode with numerous reports of large hail and several reports of high winds with severe thunderstorms.
- Hail and Lightning Strikes in Michigan, October 2 to 3, 2006A complex of thunderstorms moved across the region resulting in one severe hail report.
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Indiana, October 2, 2006A warm front moved north across northern Indiana during the morning hours with numerous showers and embedded thunderstorms. Numerous reports of hail were recieved with a few exceeding severe limits.
- Hail in Wisconsin, October 2, 2006Thunderstorms developed during the day along and ahead of a cold front that moved from northwest to southeast through Wisconsin. Some of the storms became severe during the afternoon, dropping large hail as they passed through east central Wisconsin.
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Illinois, October 2 to 3, 2006Severe thunderstorms developed over northeast Illinois during the afternoon on October 2nd. These thunderstorms caused significant wind damage across parts of the Chicago Metro Area.
- Lightning Strike in Wisconsin, October 2, 2006A 46 year old man was struck and killed by lightning while surveying land in the township of Preston. Another man nearby was injured.
- Hail in Michigan, October 2, 2006Thunderstorms developed in the afternoon in Northern Lower Michigan, ahead of an approaching cold front. Some storms became severe, producing large hail.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Indiana, October 2, 2006A round of thunderstorms moved across far northwest Indiana during the afternoon hours of October 2nd, then a second round of thunderstorms moved across the same areas during the late evening hours of October 2nd.
- Hail in Wisconsin, October 2, 2006Severe thunderstorms produced large hail up to the size of quarters in parts of central Wisconsin during the late afternoon of October 2.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, October 2, 2006A cold front accompanying a strong shortwave afloft combined with moderate instability and vertical wind shear by late afternoon led to the development of numerous thunderstorms. Many of these storms pulsed to produce large hail and damaging thunderstorm wind gusts.
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Illinois, October 2, 2006A strong short wave trough moved across Iowa and Illinois, and triggered scattered severe thunderstorms across northwest Illinois.
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Illinois, October 2 to 3, 2006Scattered thunderstorms moved through central Illinois during the early morning hours of the 3rd. These storms produced marginally severe hail and wind gusts.
- Flash Flood and Hail in Indiana, October 3 to 4, 2006A series of severe thunderstorms moved through northern and southeastern sections of central Indiana during the early evening hours of 4 October 2006. Large hail and heavy rain were the main threats, but isolated areas of wind damage were reported as well.
- Hail in Pennsylvania, October 3, 2006A line of strong to severe thunderstorms moved across Northwest Pennsylvania during the morning hours of October 3rd.
- Hail in South Dakota, October 3, 2006Warm air advection elevated thunderstorms developed over parts of northeast South Dakota producing large hail up to the size of golfballs.
- Flash Flood in Utah, October 3, 2006A moist southerly flow ahead of an upper level trough brought areas of heavy rainfall to east central Utah.
- Hail in Minnesota, October 3, 2006As surface low pressure moved into southwest Minnesota, thunderstorms occurred well north of the low.
- Hail in Wisconsin, October 3, 2006Thunderstorms producing large hail developed along a cold front across northwest Wisconsin.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Minnesota, October 3 to 4, 2006A warm frontal boundary over central and southern Minnesota was the catalyst for a rash of severe weather across a portion of the Chanhassen county warning area.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, October 3, 2006A warm frontal boundary over West Central Wisconsin was the catalyst for a rash of severe weather across a portion of this region.
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Wisconsin, October 3 to 4, 2006A southerly flow of warm, moist air over a surface boundary near the Wisconsin/Illinois border led to the development of thunderstorms in central and northern Wisconsin as the air aloft became more unstable. The storms produced large hail, high winds and some flooding.
- Hail in Wisconsin, October 3 to 4, 2006A supercell producing hail up to the size of tennis balls affected locations along the Interstate 94 corridor during the evening of October 3. Additional hail storms hit parts of southwest Wisconsin during the early morning of October 4.
- Tornado and Hail in Michigan, October 3 to 4, 2006A somewhat disorganized band of thunderstorms developed, ahead of a fast-moving cold front. These storms crossed Northern Lower Michigan in the late evening and early overnight hours, producing very large hail, some damaging winds, and a brief tornado.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Michigan, October 4, 2006A line of thunderstorms developed way out ahead of a cold front and dropped southeast into the Saginaw Valley and Thumb. This late season event occurred at night with intense lightning strikes and damaging wind gusts.
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Iowa, October 4, 2006A surface low pressure tracked east across Iowa during the early morning hours of the 4th. A frontal boundary extended northeast to southwest through the low and separated very warm and moist air from seasonal cooler air to the north.
- Hail in Minnesota, October 4, 2006Hail storms affected parts of southeast Minnesota during the early morning of October 4 producing hail up to the size of quarters.
- Hail in Iowa, October 4, 2006A supercell moved across northeast Iowa during the early morning hours of October 4, producing large hail up to the size of baseballs.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, October 4, 2006Scattered clusters of severe storms developed across south-central and southeast Wisconsin during the pre-dawn hours. Synoptically, a warm front moved slowly north through Iowa and northern Illinois, while an upper-level short-wave moved east.
- Damaging Wind in Michigan, October 4, 2006A prefrontal trough provided the focus for thunderstorm development that moved south into far southern Lower Michigan. An isolated storm produced severe wind gusts as a result of a wet microburst.
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Ohio, October 4 to 5, 2006A line of severe thunderstorms affected central Ohio during the afternoon and evening ahead of a cold front.
- Damaging Winds in Ohio, October 4, 2006A strong cold front produced numerous severe thunderstorms across Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and western Maryland.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Ohio, October 4, 2006Strong to severe thunderstorms formed along a cold front. The storms then dropped southeast. Dew points had pooled into the low and mid 60s along the front.
- Hail in Idaho, October 4, 2006Strong vertical wind shear profile and left front exit region of well organized upper diffluence pattern produced isolated supercell convection in southeast part of CWFA.
- Tornado in Idaho, October 4, 2006Tornado touched down 9 miles northwest of Shoshone.
- Damaging Winds in Pennsylvania, October 4, 2006Isolated severe thunderstorms moved through Central Pennsylvania during the afternoon of October 4, 2006.
- Damaging Winds in West Virginia, October 4, 2006A strong cold front produced numerous severe thunderstorms across Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and western Maryland.
- Hail in Idaho, October 4, 2006Nickel size hail 12 miles north of Shoshone.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Pennsylvania, October 4, 2006A strong cold front produced numerous severe thunderstorms across Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and western Maryland.
- Tornado in Idaho, October 4, 2006Tornado touched down in Shoshone. Several trees downed with some branches thrown through windows on west side of Shoshone.
- Tornadoes in Idaho, October 4, 2006Tornado touched down in open ground near Mammoth Ice Caves. No damage was reported.
- Tornado in Idaho, October 4, 2006Tornado touched down in northwest Bingham County and travelled into southeastern Butte County. The tonado was over open land with no damage reported.
- Tornado in Idaho, October 4, 2006Tornado to west of Atomic City in Bingham County continued into southeastern Butte County.
- Damaging Wind in Pennsylvania, October 4, 2006An isolated severe thunderstorm affected Berks County.
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Indiana, October 4, 2006Severe thunderstorms developed across the Whitewater Valley during the evening hours ahead of a cold front.
- Damaging Wind in Maryland, October 4, 2006Scattered thunderstorms developed along a strong front on the 5th. One confirmed severe thunderstorm occurred in Allegany County.
- Damaging Wind in Maryland, October 4, 2006A strong cold front produced numerous severe thunderstorms across Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and western Maryland.
- Damaging Wind in West Virginia, October 4, 2006Strong to severe thunderstorms formed during the late afternoon in Ohio, along a cold front. The storms dropped southeast, into western West Virginia during the evening.
- Flash Flood and Heavy Rain in Colorado, October 4 to 7, 2006Moist southerly flow ahead of an upper level trough brought widespread rainfall, including areas of heavy rain, to west central and southwest Colorado.
- Hail in North Carolina, October 5, 2006A backdoor cold front progressed south through the region on the afternoon and evening of October 5th. This front helped prompt showers and thunderstorms across the region with some of the storms reaching severe limits.
- Flash Flooding in Utah, October 5 to 6, 2006Large, slow moving thunderstorms created flash floods and large hail in southwest Utah.
- Hail in North Carolina, October 5, 2006A cold front moved through the western Carolinas, causing an isolated severe event.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Tennessee, October 5, 2006Scattered Severe Thunderstorms covered the northern portions of East Tennessee.
- Flash Flood in Utah, October 5, 2006A moist southerly flow ahead of an upper level trough brought widespread rainfall and areas of heavy rain to east central Utah.
- Flash Flood and Damaging Wind in Arizona, October 5, 2006A strong low pressure system off the west coast brought deep moisture and strong lift over Arizona. A severe thunderstorm brought damaging winds, heavy rain, and a funnel cloud to Tuba City area.
- Flash Flood in Arizona, October 5, 2006A strong thunderstorm with heavy rain caused flash flooding in Antelope Canyon.
- Flash Flooding in Arizona, October 6, 2006A moist southerly flow and a strong cold front caused widespread strong thunderstorms with scattered flash flooding across northern Arizona.
- Hail in North Carolina, October 6, 2006A strong upper level low pressure system moved across the area during the day. Isolated severe thunderstorms developed across eastern North Carolina ahead of a cold front.
- Flash Flooding and Debris Flows in Colorado, October 6 to 7, 2006Moist southerly flow ahead of a low pressure system over the southwestern states brought copius amounts of rainfall to much of western Colorado. The Four Corners area and west central Colorado received the brunt of the heavy precipitation.
- Hail in New Mexico, October 6, 2006Thunderstorm produced heavy rain and small hail near Farmington and Aztec.
More
Every billion-dollar disasterEvery storm of 2006Tornadoes in 2006
Sources
NOAA NCEI, U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters (2025), https://doi.org/10.25921/stkw-7w73, and the Storm Events Database for the episodes.