Tornadoes · United States · Arkansas · 2006

F1 tornado, Franklin, Arkansas, September 22, 2006

Name: F1 tornado, Franklin, Arkansas, September 22, 2006
Start: 2006-09-22T23:15:00.000Z
Location: Franklin, Arkansas

This F1 tornado ran 3.7 miles across Izard County on September 22, 2006, touching down at 6:15 PM CDT and reaching 40 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.

F040 to 72 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
F173 to 112 mphthis tornado
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
F2113 to 157 mph
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.
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.
F4207 to 260 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
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.
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: F1
Date: September 22, 2006
Touchdown: 6:15 PM CDT (23:15 UTC)
Path length: 3.7 miles (6.0 km)
Path width: 40 yards (37 m)
Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
County: Izard County
Touchdown point: 36.150, -91.770
Lift-off point: 36.170, -91.700
Record number: 921

What the Weather Service recorded

A weak tornado was spawned in eastern Izard County. The tornado tracked from 1.4 miles southeast of Franklin to 1 mile south-southeast of Myron. The tornado snapped or uprooted dozens of trees.

A weak tornado was spawned in eastern Izard County. The tornado tracked from 4.5 miles southeast of Franklin to 3.5 miles south-southeast of Myron. The tornado snapped or uprooted dozens of trees before continuing into Sharp County.

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

The warnings

28 minutes of warning. NWS LZK issued a tornado warning for this county at 22:47 UTC, 28 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 23:30 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 14:10 UTC and running to 23:30 UTC.

Issued (UTC)	Expired	Product	Office
09:39 UTC	14:10 UTC	Tornado Watch	LZK
09:45 UTC	10:30 UTC	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK
12:00 UTC	19:49 UTC	Lake Wind Advisory	LZK
14:10 UTC	23:30 UTC	Tornado Watch	LZK
19:27 UTC	20:00 UTC	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK
19:34 UTC	20:00 UTC	Tornado Warning	LZK
20:00 UTC	20:36 UTC	Tornado Warning	LZK
22:47 UTC	23:30 UTC	Tornado Warning	LZK
23:30 UTC	05:59 UTC	Tornado Watch	LZK
23:56 UTC	00:45 UTC	Tornado Warning	LZK
00:25 UTC	01:00 UTC	Tornado Warning	LZK
00:42 UTC	01:30 UTC	Tornado Warning	LZK
01:30 UTC	02:15 UTC	Tornado Warning	LZK
01:41 UTC	02:30 UTC	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK

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 19:56 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.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the tornado touched down, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Little Rock, AR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Sep 22, 3:33 PM CDT, 2 hours 42 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 22, 3:33 PM CDT, 2 hours 42 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
333 PM CDT FRI SEP 22 2006

.SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT
KLZK RADAR SHOWS MAIN THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY ACROSS NORTH AND
NORTHWEST SECTIONS OF THE STATE. ISOLATED SHOWERS ARE ALSO LOCATED
ACROSS THE CENTRAL SECTIONS. SATELLITE IMAGES SHOW CLOUDS DECREASING
IN CENTRAL SECTIONS. THIS WILL LEAD TO FURTHER HEATING AND
DESTABILIZATION. WILL KEEP SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS LIKELY MAINLY
FOR THE NORTHWEST HALF OF THE AREA TONIGHT. STRONG SOUTH AND
SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL CONTINUE OVERNIGHT. EXTENDED THE LAKE WIND
ADVISORY THROUGH TONIGHT.

COLD FRONT REMAINS IN OKLAHOMA WITH A WARM FRONT ACROSS SOUTHERN
MISSOURI. MODELS HAVE THE FRONT TO SLOWLY APPROACH THE AREA WITH THE
GFS A BIT MORE AGGRESSIVE. THIS WILL KEEP MUCH OF THE AREA IN THE
WARM SECTOR THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT. WILL TAPER RAIN CHANCES OFF
SUNDAY MORNING AND FINALLY EXIT THE AREA SUNDAY AFTERNOON. HIGH
PRESSURE AND DRIER AIR MOVES IN FOR SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND NIGHT.
&&

.LONG TERM...MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY
HIGH PRESSURE IN CONTROL FOR MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. A FRONT WILL
MOVE IN FROM THE NORTH WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY...AND INCREASED
POPS TO 30 PERCENT. TEMPERATURES WILL BE BELOW NORMAL.
&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
LITTLE ROCK   AR  72  83  61  78 /  70  70  70  30
HARRISON AR       67  78  52  70 /  70  70  70  10
HOT SPRINGS AR    72  83  59  78 /  70  70  70  20
PINE BLUFF AR     74  86  63  79 /  50  60  60  40
MOUNTAIN HOME AR  69  79  52  70 /  70  70  70  10
MONTICELLO AR     75  88  64  80 /  50  60  60  40
SEARCY AR         70  83  58  75 /  70  70  70  30
MOUNT IDA AR      70  82  57  77 /  70  70  70  20
RUSSELLVILLE AR   68  80  57  73 /  70  70  70  10
&&

.LZK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
LAKE WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 7 AM SATURDAY FOR ARZ003-ARZ004-ARZ005-
ARZ006-ARZ007-ARZ012-ARZ013-ARZ014-ARZ015-ARZ016-ARZ021-ARZ022-
ARZ023-ARZ024-ARZ025-ARZ030-ARZ031-ARZ032-ARZ033-ARZ034-ARZ037-
ARZ038-ARZ039-ARZ040-ARZ041-ARZ042-ARZ043-ARZ044-ARZ045-ARZ046-
ARZ047-ARZ052-ARZ053-ARZ054-ARZ055-ARZ056-ARZ057-ARZ062-ARZ063-
ARZ064-ARZ065-ARZ066-ARZ067-ARZ068-ARZ069.

&&

SHORT TERM...51 / LONG TERM...58

Hazardous weather outlook, Sep 22, 8:15 AM CDT, 10 hours before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
815 AM CDT FRI SEP 22 2006

ARZ003>007-012>016-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-231000-
ARKANSAS-BAXTER-BOONE-BRADLEY-CALHOUN-CLARK-CLEBURNE-CLEVELAND-
CONWAY-DALLAS-DESHA-DREW-FAULKNER-FULTON-GARLAND-GRANT-HOT SPRING-
INDEPENDENCE-IZARD-JACKSON-JEFFERSON-JOHNSON-LINCOLN-LOGAN-LONOKE-
MARION-MONROE-MONTGOMERY-NEWTON-OUACHITA-PERRY-PIKE-POLK-POPE-
PRAIRIE-PULASKI-SALINE-SCOTT-SEARCY-SHARP-STONE-VAN BUREN-WHITE-
WOODRUFF-YELL-
815 AM CDT FRI SEP 22 2006

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR A LARGE PART OF ARKANSAS.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

A LAKE WIND ADVISORY HAS BEEN POSTED FOR TODAY. SOUTH WINDS WILL
LIKELY GUST ABOVE 25 MPH.

THUNDERSTORMS IN ARKANSAS THIS MORNING WILL DIMINISH BY MIDDAY.
UNTIL THEN...AN ISOLATED SEVERE STORM OR TWO COULD OCCUR.

THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD BEGIN REDEVELOPING BY MID AFTERNOON IN WESTERN
ARKANSAS. THESE STORMS WILL INTENSIFY AND BECOME MORE NUMEROUS BY
THE EARLY EVENING HOURS. SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE POSSIBLE IN ALL
PARTS OF THE STATE. HOWEVER...IT APPEARS THAT THE GREATEST CHANCES
OF SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE IN NORTHERN AND WESTERN SECTIONS...
POSSIBLY EXTENDING INTO THE CENTRAL PART OF THE STATE. IN THESE
AREAS...A FEW TORNADOES WILL BE POSSIBLE...AND A FEW OF THE
THUNDERSTORMS WILL HAVE THE CAPABILITY TO PRODUCE WIND GUSTS
EXCEEDING 75 MPH AS WELL AS LARGE HAIL. SOME THUNDERSTORMS ARE
LIKELY TO LINGER IN THE STATE ALL THE WAY INTO THE LATE NIGHT HOURS.
HOWEVER...CHANCES FOR SEVERE WEATHER SHOULD DIMINISH AFTER MIDNIGHT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY

ON SATURDAY...SEVERE WEATHER WILL AGAIN BE POSSIBLE ACROSS ALL PARTS
OF THE STATE. THE MOST FAVORABLE TIME WILL BE FROM MIDDAY INTO THE
EVENING...BUT SOME SEVERE WEATHER COULD CONTINUE IN THE SOUTHEAST
HALF OF THE STATE AFTER MIDNIGHT. DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL WILL
BE POSSIBLE...AND ISOLATED TORNADOES CANNOT BE RULED OUT.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED LATER TODAY AND AGAIN ON
SATURDAY.

VISIT NWS LITTLE ROCK ON THE WEB. GO TO WWW.WEATHER.GOV AND
CLICK ON CENTRAL ARKANSAS.

28

In the hours before

Local storm report, Sep 22, 1:54 PM CDT, 4 hours 21 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
154 PM CDT FRI SEP 22 2006

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0131 PM     HAIL             WITTS SPRINGS           35.80N 92.90W
09/22/2006  E0.75 INCH       SEARCY             AR   LAW ENFORCEMENT

0131 PM     HAIL             PINDALL                 36.06N 92.87W
09/22/2006  E0.75 INCH       SEARCY             AR   LAW ENFORCEMENT

&&

51

Local storm report, Sep 22, 3:29 PM CDT, 2 hours 46 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
329 PM CDT FRI SEP 22 2006

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0310 PM     HAIL             WIDEMAN                 36.19N 92.01W
09/22/2006  E0.88 INCH       IZARD              AR   LAW ENFORCEMENT

&&

58

Local storm report, Sep 22, 3:52 PM CDT, 2 hours 23 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
352 PM CDT FRI SEP 22 2006

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0335 PM     HAIL             3 S ASH FLAT            36.18N 91.61W
09/22/2006  E3.00 INCH       SHARP              AR   EMERGENCY MNGR

            HAIL AND TREES DOWN.

0335 PM     HAIL             ASH FLAT                36.23N 91.61W
09/22/2006  E3.00 INCH       SHARP              AR   AIRPLANE PILOT

            HAIL AND TREES DOWN 3 MILES SOUTH OF ASH FLAT.

&&

222

Local storm report, Sep 22, 3:58 PM CDT, 2 hours 17 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
358 PM CDT FRI SEP 22 2006

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0335 PM     HAIL             3 S ASH FLAT            36.18N 91.61W
09/22/2006  E3.00 INCH       SHARP              AR   EMERGENCY MNGR

            HAIL AND TREES DOWN.

&&

58

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.

Springfield, MO (KSGF), 12:00Z

11.3 hours before the tornado, 202 km from the path. September 22, 2006.

Skew-T log-p

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.

Hodograph

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: 409 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -55 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 119 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 642 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 66 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 311 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 363 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.8
Supercell composite: 8.7
0-3 km lapse rate: 5.3 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Springfield, MO (KSGF), 00:00Z

0.7 hours after it, 202 km from the path. September 23, 2006.

Skew-T log-p

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.

Hodograph

Mixed-layer CAPE: 287 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -27 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 1133 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1903 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 66 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 22 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 112 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 212 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.6
0-3 km lapse rate: 8.3 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Batesville (Awos) (BVX), 49 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)	Temp (°F)	Dew point (°F)	Wind	Gust (kt)	Pressure (mb)	Weather
21:15 UTC	87.8	69.8	200° 12 kt	19	1002.7
21:35 UTC	87.8	71.6	180° 9 kt	17	1002.7
21:55 UTC	87.8	69.8	200° 14 kt	24	1002.7
22:15 UTC	87.8	71.6	200° 11 kt	18	1002.7
22:35 UTC	86	71.6	190° 7 kt	16	1002.7
22:55 UTC	87.8	71.6	190° 10 kt	22	1002.4
23:15 UTC	87.8	69.8	200° 14 kt	22	1001.7	TS
23:35 UTC	86	69.8	200° 10 kt	17	1002.7
23:55 UTC	86	69.8	200° 7 kt	14	1003
00:15 UTC	84.2	69.8	200° 6 kt		1003.7
00:35 UTC	84.2	69.8	170° 7 kt		1002.7	VCTS
00:55 UTC	84.2	68	190° 6 kt		1003.4	TS

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

The radar

The Little Rock radar (KLZK), 155 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 23:14 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)	Report	Where	County	Remark
20:35 UTC	HAIL 3	3 S Ash Flat	Sharp, AR	HAIL AND TREES DOWN.
20:35 UTC	HAIL 3	Ash Flat	Sharp, AR	HAIL AND TREES DOWN 3 MILES SOUTH OF ASH FLAT.
20:54 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	Dalton	Randolph, AR	SEVERAL TREES DOWN IN DALTON
20:54 UTC	HAIL 0.88	Dalton	Randolph, AR	NICKEL SIZE HAIL IN DALTON
21:00 UTC	HAIL 1	W Ravenden	Lawrence, AR	HAIL REPORTED FROM JUST WEST OF RAVENDEN INTO RAVENDEN. PEA SIZED TO QUARTER HAIL.
23:02 UTC	HAIL 4	Brockwell	Izard, AR
23:10 UTC	HAIL 4	Brockwell	Izard, AR	ALSO TREES DOWN ON HIGHWAY 56.
23:15 UTC	HAIL 1.75	Horseshoe Bend	Izard, AR	GOLF BALL SIZE HAIL.
23:15 UTC	HAIL 2.75	3 S Franklin	Izard, AR
23:20 UTC	HAIL 1.75	Horseshoe Bend	Izard, AR
23:30 UTC	HAIL 0.75	2 S Ash Flat	Sharp, AR
00:00 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	Ravenden	Lawrence, AR
00:00 UTC	TORNADO	Ravenden	Lawrence, AR	TORNADO ON GROUND BY KAIT STORM CHASE TEAM
00:02 UTC	HAIL 0.75	Mountain Home	Baxter, AR	TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN. HAIL THE SIZE OF MARBLES.
00:15 UTC	HAIL 0.75	Mountain View	Stone, AR
00:35 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	5 W Pocahontas	Randolph, AR
00:35 UTC	TORNADO	5 W Pocahontas	Randolph, AR	VALLEY CHAPEL ROAD 5 TO 7 MILES WEST OF POCAHONTAS.CONFIRMED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT.
00:49 UTC	FUNNEL CLOUD	3 Sw Sidney	Sharp, AR	FUNNEL CLOUD LOCATED 3 MILES SW OF SIDNEY.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the track Every 2006 tornado in Arkansas Every tornado in Arkansas since 1950 Warnings in force in Arkansas now The forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of September 22, 2006

32 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
September 22	2:40 PM CDT	F0	Crawford, MO	3.0	80
September 22	2:42 PM CDT	F2	Reynolds, MO	25.2	550
September 22	2:42 PM CDT	F1	Crawford, MO	10.4	80
September 22	3:11 PM CDT	F1	Washington, MO	3.1	150
September 22	3:18 PM CDT	F1	Jefferson, MO	1.5	100
September 22	3:20 PM CDT	F3	Massac, IL	3.5	125	2	$500,000
September 22	3:30 PM CDT	F2	Madison, MO	25.0	880	1	$150,000
September 22	4:02 PM CDT	F1	Livingston, IL to KY	9.3	500		$365,000
September 22	4:13 PM CDT	F4	Crosstown–Murphysboro tornado, Missouri and Illinois	27.5	225	6	$7.8 million
September 22	4:27 PM CDT	F1	Crittenden, KY	5.0	150		$100,000
September 22	4:38 PM CDT	F0	Marshall, AL	0.1	10
September 22	4:55 PM CDT	F0	Washington, IL	0.1	20
September 22	5:02 PM CDT	F2	Iron, MO	4.8	100
September 22	5:05 PM CDT	F1	Jefferson, MO	0.7	100
September 22	5:12 PM CDT	F0	Marion, AR	0.3	25
September 22	5:15 PM CDT	F0	Colbert, AL	4.0	20
September 22	5:17 PM CDT	F1	Webster, KY	6.0	150		$150,000
September 22	5:20 PM CDT	F0	Pike, IL	0.1	20
September 22	5:35 PM CDT	F0	Stone, AR	5.2	25
September 22	6:02 PM CDT	F2	Blount, AL	1.3	100		$70,000
September 22	6:02 PM CDT	F0	Cook, IL	0.3	50
September 22	6:06 PM CDT	F1	Marshall, AL	3.2	500		$90,000
September 22	6:22 PM CDT	F2	Sharp, AR	14.0	100		$2,000
September 22	6:23 PM CDT	F1	Izard, AR	8.0	50
September 22	6:40 PM CDT	F2	Blount, AL	0.3	200		$50,000
September 22	6:52 PM CDT	F2	Blount, AL	4.4	200	3	$1.5 million
September 22	7:38 PM CDT	F1	Daviess, KY	4.0	75		$70,000
September 22	6:39 PM MDT	F0	Grand, UT	0.2	15
September 22	8:01 PM CDT	F1	Butler, MO	0.3	50		$4,000
September 22	8:05 PM CDT	F1	Madison, TN	3.0	25		$50,000
September 22	8:15 PM CDT	F1	Phelps, MO	8.0	350		$1.5 million
September 22	12:06 AM CDT	F0	Graves, KY	0.2	40

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.