Tornadoes · United States · Idaho · 2006

F0 tornado, Blackfoot, Idaho, March 25, 2006

This F0 tornado ran 2.0 miles across Bingham County on March 25, 2006, touching down at 7:58 PM MST and reaching 200 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $210,000 of property damage.

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 mphthis tornado

    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 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.

  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
F0
Date
March 25, 2006
Touchdown
7:58 PM MST (02:58 UTC)
Path length
2.0 miles (3.2 km)
Path width
200 yards (183 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$210,000
County
Bingham County
Touchdown point
43.180, -112.350
Lift-off point
43.180, -112.350
Record number
172

What the Weather Service recorded

F0 tornado touched down in the southeastern part of Blackfoot near Robertson Street and moved up University and Schilling Streets before lifting near the State Fairgrounds. Four trees downed at St Paul's Episcopal Church on Schilling Street. Windows at private residence on Schilling Street shattered and house severely damaged by felled tree.

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

The warnings

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down.

The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 19:52 UTC and running to 04:00 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
19:52 UTC04:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WatchPIH
21:00 UTC19:01 UTCWind AdvisoryPIH
01:25 UTC02:12 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningPIH
02:03 UTC02:45 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningPIH
02:44 UTC03:30 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningPIH
03:29 UTC03:45 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningPIH
03:44 UTC04:30 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningPIH

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 Slight Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 00:26 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.

Salt Lake City I, UT (KSLC), 00:00Z

3.0 hours before the tornado, 269 km from the path. March 26, 2006.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Salt Lake City I, UT at 00:00Z on 2006-03-26Temperature 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 -87610, lifted condensation level 3240 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, Salt Lake City I, UT at 00:00Z on 2006-03-26The 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 16 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 34 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
-87610 J/kg
Surface CAPE
10 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
3240 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
34 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
19 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
16 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
55 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
9.5 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Salt Lake City I, UT (KSLC), 12:00Z

9.0 hours after it, 269 km from the path. March 26, 2006.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Salt Lake City I, UT at 12:00Z on 2006-03-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 2 joules per kilogram, CIN -33, lifted condensation level 647 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Salt Lake City I, UT at 12:00Z on 2006-03-26The 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 125 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 50 knots.1939587897Sfc1 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
2 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-33 J/kg
Surface CAPE
12 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
647 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
50 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
20 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
125 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
158 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
7.3 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Pocatello Municipal (PIH), 36 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
01:53 UTC5629160° 19 kt24997
02:44 UTC37.435.6230° 38 kt451002.4RA BR
02:53 UTC3533230° 36 kt471003+RA BR
02:59 UTC33.833.8240° 35 kt421003.4-SN BR
03:06 UTC33.832240° 31 kt431003.7-SN BR
03:13 UTC33.832230° 26 kt391004.4-TSSN BR
03:16 UTC33.833.8230° 23 kt311004.4-SN BR
03:40 UTC33.833.8210° 24 kt301004.7-SN FG
03:53 UTC33.833.8210° 24 kt301005.1-SN FG
04:02 UTC33.833.8220° 25 kt331005.4-SN BR
04:53 UTC3232220° 25 kt331006.1-SN BR

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

The radar

The Pocatello radar (KSFX), 28 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 02:56 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
02:35 UTCTSTM WND DMGPocatelloBannock, IDAIR CONDITIONER BLOWN OFF ROOF ESTIMATED WINDS OF 60 TO 70 MPH
02:45 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Ne PocatelloBannock, IDNORTH 12TH STREET POWER LINES DOWN TREE ON FIRE.
02:55 UTCTSTM WND DMGPocatelloBannock, IDTRANSFORMER BLOWN OUT
02:55 UTCTSTM WND GST 40TaberBingham, ID40 MPH SUSTAINED WINDS WITH 60 TO 70 MPH GUSTS
03:00 UTCTSTM WND DMGBlackfootBingham, IDPOWER OUT LAST REPORTED WIND 40 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 53
03:03 UTCTSTM WND GST 50MichaudPower, IDESTIMATED WINDS OF 50 MPH. WINDOWS BLOWN IN POWER OUT.
03:08 UTCTSTM WND DMGBlackfootBingham, IDESTIMATED WIND GUSTS TO 60 MPH NEIGHBORS TRAMPOLINE GONE.
03:12 UTCTSTM WND GST 0PingreeBingham, IDBRANCHES OFF TREES ESTIMATED WINDS OF 50 MPH.
03:15 UTCTSTM WND DMGBlackfootBingham, IDESTIMATED WIND GUSTS TO 60 MPH. NEIGHBORS TRMAPOLINE GONE.
03:20 UTCTSTM WND GST 60RockfordBingham, IDESTIMATED WIND GUSTS TO 60 MPH
03:25 UTCTSTM WND DMGBlackfootBingham, IDPOWER OUT TREES DOWN WITH SNOW.
03:45 UTCTSTM WND DMGPocatelloBannock, IDTREES AND POWER LINES DOWN IN CITY OF POCATELLO
04:00 UTCTSTM WND DMGBlackfootBingham, ID4 TREES DOWN AT EPISCOPAL CHURCH. WINDOW AT PRIVATE RESIDENCE ONE BLOCK AWAY FROM CHURCH BLOWN OUT BY TREE.
04:00 UTCTSTM WND DMGBlackfootBingham, IDTREES DOWN AT EPISCOPAL CHURCH. WINDOW AT PRIVATE RESIDENCE ONE BLOCK AWAY FROM CHURCH BLOWN OUT.
04:08 UTCTSTM WND DMGChubbuckBannock, IDESTIMATED WINDS OF 75 TO 80 MPH WINDS. DAMAGE TO FENCE
05:00 UTCSNOW 3PocatelloBannock, ID3 INCHES OF SNOW FALL SO FAR
05:05 UTCSNOW 2.5ChubbuckBannock, IDESTIMATED 2 1/2 INCHES SNOW SO FAR

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2006 tornado in IdahoEvery tornado in Idaho since 1950Warnings in force in Idaho nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of March 25, 2006

1 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
March 254:50 PM HSTF0Maui, HI1.010

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.