Tornadoes · United States · Arkansas · 2005

F2 tornado, Bonnerdale, Arkansas, November 27, 2005

This F2 tornado ran 4.2 miles across Hot Spring County on November 27, 2005, touching down at 5:20 PM CST and reaching 100 yards wide. It killed nobody.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F040 to 72 mph

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. F173 to 112 mph

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. F2113 to 157 mphthis tornado

    Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

  4. F3158 to 206 mph

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. F4207 to 260 mph

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. F5261 to 318 mph

    Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

  7. Unrated

    The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

The record

Rating
F2
Date
November 27, 2005
Touchdown
5:20 PM CST (23:20 UTC)
Path length
4.2 miles (6.8 km)
Path width
100 yards (91 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Hot Spring County
Touchdown point
34.350, -93.350
Lift-off point
34.420, -93.300
Record number
565

What the Weather Service recorded

A strong tornado was spawned in western Hot Spring County around 3 miles southeast of Bonnerdale and tracked quickly to the northeast. The tornado caused mainly tree and power line damage before moving into southwestern Garland County.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

The warnings

4 minutes of warning. NWS LZK issued a tornado warning for this county at 23:16 UTC, 4 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 23:45 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 20:55 UTC and running to 04:00 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
16:00 UTC12:00 UTCLake Wind AdvisoryLZK
20:55 UTC04:00 UTCTornado WatchLZK
23:16 UTC23:45 UTCTornado WarningLZK
00:36 UTC01:30 UTCTornado WarningLZK
01:41 UTC02:45 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZK

Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.

The forecast that day

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Moderate Risk, with a 0.15 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 19:59 UTC.

SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.

The air that afternoon

The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.

Shreveport, LA (KSHV), 12:00Z

11.3 hours before the tornado, 215 km from the path. November 27, 2005.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Shreveport, LA at 12:00Z on 2005-11-27Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 0 joules per kilogram, CIN -5168, lifted condensation level 720 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Shreveport, LA at 12:00Z on 2005-11-27The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 212 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 45 knots.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-5168 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
720 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
45 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
24 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
212 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
195 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
4.2 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Shreveport, LA (KSHV), 00:00Z

0.7 hours after it, 215 km from the path. November 28, 2005.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Shreveport, LA at 00:00Z on 2005-11-28Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 222 joules per kilogram, CIN -75, lifted condensation level 1274 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Shreveport, LA at 00:00Z on 2005-11-28The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 339 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 88 knots.1939587897117136Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
222 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-75 J/kg
Surface CAPE
349 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1274 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
88 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
339 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
477 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.3
Supercell composite
1.9
0-3 km lapse rate
7.0 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Little Rock radar (KLZK), 109 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 23:20 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track

Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.

What was reported nearby

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

Time (UTC)ReportWhereCountyRemark
22:20 UTCHAIL 1OdenMontgomery, AR
22:30 UTCTSTM WND DMGKirbyPike, ARROOF BLOWN OFF OF A CHICKEN HOUSE.
22:37 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 Ne KirbyPike, ARPOSSIBLE TORNADO. DAMAGE ALONG EBENEZER AND ROCK CREEK ROADS. HOUSE TRAILERS...SHOPS...SHEDS...AND CHICKEN HOUSES DAMAGED.
22:45 UTCHAIL 1.75NathanPike, AR
23:10 UTCTSTM WND DMG5 N RoyalGarland, ARDOCKS DESTROYED AND BOATS OVERTURNED AT BRADY MOUNTAIN MARINA. ALSO...REPORT OF PENNY SIZED HAIL.
23:25 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 W PearcyGarland, ARTREES DOWN COVERING HIGHWAY 70 WEST.
23:25 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 S PearcyGarland, ARMOBILE HOMES DAMAGED...ONE MOBILE HOME BLOWN OFF ITS FOUNDATION.
23:43 UTCFUNNEL CLOUDSunshineGarland, ARREPORT OF FUNNEL CLOUD MOVING NORTHEAST.
00:00 UTCHAIL 0.75Hot Springs VillageGarland, AR
00:13 UTCFUNNEL CLOUDHot Springs VillageGarland, ARREPORTS OF A FUNNEL CLOUD NEAR HOT SPRINGS VILLAGE ON HIGHWAY 7.
00:55 UTCHAIL 1.75BismarckHot Spring, AR

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2005 tornado in ArkansasEvery tornado in Arkansas since 1950Warnings in force in Arkansas nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of November 27, 2005

64 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
November 271:48 PM CSTF0Marion, KS0.150
November 271:48 PM CSTF0Marion, KS13.050
November 271:50 PM CSTF0Marion, KS2.050$1,000
November 272:04 PM CSTF0Marion, KS0.150
November 272:05 PM CSTF0Morris, KS0.3100
November 272:12 PM CSTF1Morris, KS20.0400$250,000
November 272:32 PM CSTF0Dickinson, KS1.5100
November 272:32 PM CSTF0Morris, KS6.0100
November 272:35 PM CSTF0Lyon, KS1.0100$20,000
November 272:48 PM CSTF0Montgomery, KS0.150
November 272:58 PM CSTF0Morris, KS0.3100
November 273:09 PM CSTF1Geary, KS2.0300$900,000
November 273:15 PM CSTF0Geary, KS0.3100
November 273:21 PM CSTF0Geary, KS2.0150$40,000
November 273:28 PM CSTF0Riley, KS0.3100
November 273:32 PM CSTF0Riley, KS0.3100$10,000
November 273:40 PM CSTF1Yell, AR4.550
November 273:49 PM CSTF0Riley, KS0.3100
November 273:57 PM CSTF0Yell, AR2.740
November 274:06 PM CSTF1Neosho, KS6.080$120,000
November 274:22 PM CSTF0Allen, KS0.250
November 274:25 PM CSTF1Pike, AR13.8401
November 274:42 PM CSTF1Montgomery, AR3.240
November 274:49 PM CSTF1Montgomery, AR4.540
November 274:56 PM CSTF1Garland, AR3.540
November 275:10 PM CSTF1Garland, AR1.250
November 275:19 PM CSTF0Jasper, MO0.075
November 275:23 PM CSTF1Van Buren, AR2.850
November 275:26 PM CSTF2Garland, AR13.81001
November 275:27 PM CSTF1Searcy, AR2.750
November 275:30 PM CSTF1Garland, AR2.1100
November 275:32 PM CSTF1Saline, AR6.1100
November 275:37 PM CSTF2Conway, AR3.9250
November 275:41 PM CSTF3Perry, AR19.0800$4.0 million
November 275:42 PM CSTF2Pope, AR2.3250
November 275:44 PM CSTF1Clay, MO11.075$1.2 million
November 275:45 PM CSTF2Conway, AR11.8250
November 275:59 PM CSTF1Ray, MO2.075$30,000
November 276:00 PM CSTF3Conway, AR2.0150
November 276:09 PM CSTF3Conway, AR15.070018
November 276:15 PM CSTF1Baxter, AR3.7100
November 276:25 PM CSTF1Perry, AR0.825
November 276:26 PM CSTF1Pulaski, AR2.225
November 276:27 PM CSTF2Conway, AR6.1600
November 276:34 PM CSTF2Faulkner, AR2.6400
November 276:37 PM CSTF2Van Buren, AR13.1400
November 276:40 PM CSTF1Fulton, AR1.350
November 276:42 PM CSTF1Ozark, MO1.0100
November 276:46 PM CSTF1Howell, MO3.01002$70,000
November 276:55 PM CSTF1Van Buren, AR3.750
November 276:56 PM CSTF1Howell, MO5.01002$70,000
November 276:59 PM CSTF1Faulkner, AR7.775
November 277:02 PM CSTF1Cleburne, AR2.750
November 277:11 PM CSTF0Faulkner, AR4.040
November 277:19 PM CSTF2Van Buren, AR0.8100
November 277:20 PM CSTF2Cleburne, AR9.21001
November 277:47 PM CSTF0Cleburne, AR1.225
November 277:55 PM CSTF1Izard, AR5.8150
November 278:01 PM CSTF1Sharp, AR0.4100
November 278:02 PM CSTF1Fulton, AR5.8100

All 65 of them

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.