Tornadoes · United States · Indiana · 2006

F1 tornado, Lawrence County, Indiana, April 2, 2006

Name: F1 tornado, Lawrence County, Indiana, April 2, 2006
Start: 2006-04-03T01:07:00.000Z
Location: Lawrence County, Indiana

This F1 tornado ran 0.5 miles across Lawrence County on April 2, 2006, touching down at 9:07 PM EDT and reaching 100 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $100,000 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.

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: April 2, 2006
Touchdown: 9:07 PM EDT (01:07 UTC)
Path length: 0.5 miles (0.8 km)
Path width: 100 yards (91 m)
Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $100,000
County: Lawrence County
Touchdown point: 38.730, -86.470
Lift-off point: 38.730, -86.470
Record number: 267

The warnings

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down. One was issued for the county at another hour that day.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 22:44 UTC and running to 01:51 UTC.

Issued (UTC)	Expired	Product	Office
22:44 UTC	01:51 UTC	Tornado Watch	IND
01:07 UTC	02:00 UTC	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	IND
01:11 UTC	01:23 UTC	Tornado Warning	IND
12:35 UTC	23:00 UTC	Wind Advisory	IND

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 0.10 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 01:19 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 Indianapolis, IN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Apr 2, 7:30 PM EDT, 1 hour 37 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 2, 7:30 PM EDT, 1 hour 37 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
730 PM EDT SUN APR 2 2006

.AVIATION...THE MAIN PROBLEM FOR AVIATION WILL BE A LINE OF
THUNDERSTORMS THAT WILL MOVE THROUGH INDIANA. THEY WILL ENTER
WESTERN INDIANA AROUND 01Z AND EXIT EAST AROUND 06Z. THESE STORMS
HAVE A HISTORY OF VERY STRONG WIND GUSTS...HAIL AND POSSIBLE
TORNADOES. THE STORMS ARE JUST AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT. CIGS WITH THE
STORMS WILL DROP INTO THE MVFR LEVELS WITH VISIBILITIES BRIEFLY IFR.
CONDITIONS WILL GO VFR AFTER FROPA. WRAP AROUND MVFR CIGS WITH
ISOLATED SHOWERS WILL MOVE INTO AREA FROM THE NW AFTER 10Z.

&&

.PREV DISCUSSION... (ISSUED 205 PM EDT SUN APR 2 2006)

&&

.DISCUSSION...UPPR PTN TO REMAIN RATHER ENERGETIC...BUT PROGRESSIVE
OVR THE NEXT FEW DAYS. UPPR SYS CURRENTLY OVR THE PLAINS WL MOV EWD
IN THE LOCAL AREA BY EARLY MON MORN...AND INTO THE NERN PARTS OF THE
COUNTRY BY TUES NIGHT...EVENTUALLY CARVING OUT A LRG UPPR LO IN THAT
AREA. MODELS IN PRETTY GOOD AGREEMENT ON THE OVERAL SITUATION. FCST
FOCUS CENTERS ON POPS/SEVERE WX EARLY IN THE SHORT TERM WITH
INCOMING SYS.

IN THE NR TERM...RADAR INDICATING SCT SHWR/TSTM ACTVTY ACRS THE AREA
IN WAA ZONE. APPEARS MAIN UPPR SUPPORT WITH THIS SYS CURRENTLY
APPROACHING WRN MO...AND MODELS BRING THIS ENERGY RAPIDLY THRU THE
LOCAL AREA IN THE 01Z-07Z TIME FRAME. CDFNT LINGERS A LTL FARTHER
BEHIND...PROB NOT REACHING THE OH BORDER TIL 10Z-11Z OR SO. LOOKS
LIKE WHATEVER DVLPS OVR MO IN THE NEXT FEW HRS WL BE PUSHING THRU
DURG THE 01Z-07Z TIME FRAME...WITH ADDITIONAL ACTVTY PSBL ALONG THE
CDFNT AFT THAT. OVERALL PARAMETERS STILL SUPPORT A SVR THREAT...
MAINLY AFT 01Z...WITH AN ENHANCED THREAT OVR THE SWRN CWA. WIND
SHEAR LOOKS TO MAXIMIZED ACRS THE SRN PARTS OF STATE IN THE 06Z-12Z
TIME FRAME...SO SVR THREAT MAY LINGER WELL INTO THE EARLY MORN HRS
OF MON...IF TSTMS CAN DVLP ALONG CDFNT.

IN THR LTR PDS...LOOKS LIKE THERE WL BE SOME WRAP AROUND PCPN BEHIND
THE SYS THRU EARLY MON AFT...ESPECIALLY IN THE N. WL GO WITH LIKELY
POPS IN THE N...WITH CHC POPS FARTHER S. PCPN THREAT SHOULD DIMINISH
LTR IN THE AFT ON MON AS SYS PULLS AWAY. LO LVL WIND FIELDS OFF THE
MODELS SUGGEST MAYBE SOME 35KT SFC GUSTS ON MON AS WELL. IMPROVING
CONDS XPCTD MON NIGHT/TUES AS HI PRES BLDS IN.

UNDER WAA MOST OF THE NIGHT...TEMPS WL PROB HOLD OR RISE INTO THE
60S FOR THE BALANCE OF THE NIGHT...WITH READING DROPPING INTO THE
45-50 DEG RANGE BEHIND CDFNT. LTL TEMP RISE XPCTD ON MON UNDER STG
CAA. NGM MOS TEMPS IN THE LTR PDS LOOK REASONABLE AT THIS TIME BASED
ON PROGGED LO LVL THICKNESSES.

&&

.IND WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE.

&&

AVIATION...HAINES
FORECAST...JAS

Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 2, 2:36 PM EDT, 6 hours 31 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
236 PM EDT SUN APR 2 2006

INZ021-028>031-035>049-051>057-060>065-067>072-031100-
CARROLL-WARREN-TIPPECANOE-CLINTON-HOWARD-FOUNTAIN-MONTGOMERY-
BOONE-TIPTON-HAMILTON-MADISON-DELAWARE-RANDOLPH-VERMILLION-PARKE-
PUTNAM-HENDRICKS-MARION-HANCOCK-HENRY-VIGO-CLAY-OWEN-MORGAN-
JOHNSON-SHELBY-RUSH-SULLIVAN-GREENE-MONROE-BROWN-BARTHOLOMEW-
DECATUR-KNOX-DAVIESS-MARTIN-LAWRENCE-JACKSON-JENNINGS-
136 PM CDT SUN APR 2 2006 /236 PM EDT SUN APR 2 2006/

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL INDIANA.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY IS EXPECTED ACROSS CENTRAL INDIANA THIS
AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. PRESENT INDICATIONS ARE THAT SOME OF THE
STORMS MAY BE SEVERE...MAINLY FROM ABOUT 900 PM EDT...800 PM CDT...
TO ABOUT 500 AM EDT...400 AM CDT. DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL
ARE THE MAIN THREATS...ALTHOUGH ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE ALSO POSSIBLE.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY.

THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY IS POSSIBLE FROM THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY. THE
OVERALL WEATHER PATTERN IS FAVORABLE FOR THE POTENTIAL OF SEVERE
STORMS DURING THAT TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED AFTER 900 PM EDT...800 PM CDT
TONIGHT.

IN ADDITION...SEVERE WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO MONITOR
FUTURE WEATHER TRENDS AND STATEMENTS REGARDING THE SEVERE WEATHER
THREAT LATER THIS WEEK.

&&

THIS PRODUCT IS NOW AVAILABLE IN GRAPHICAL FORMAT...ALONG WITH
OTHER WEATHER...HYDROLOGICAL AND CLIMATE INFORMATION...AT
HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/IND (ALL LOWERCASE)

JAS

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 2, 8:30 PM EDT, 37 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
830 PM EDT SUN APR 02 2006

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

0826 PM     TSTM WND GST     4 E VINCENNES           38.68N 87.44W
04/02/2006  M61 MPH          KNOX               IN   AMATEUR RADIO

&&

CP

Local storm report, Apr 2, 8:48 PM EDT, 19 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
848 PM EDT SUN APR 02 2006

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

0846 PM     TSTM WND GST     SULLIVAN                39.10N 87.41W
04/02/2006  M58 MPH          SULLIVAN           IN   AMATEUR RADIO

&&

ALEXANDER

Local storm report, Apr 2, 8:52 PM EDT, 15 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
852 PM EDT SUN APR 02 2006

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

0851 PM     TSTM WND DMG     WASHINGTON              38.66N 87.17W
04/02/2006                   DAVIESS            IN   EMERGENCY MNGR

            ROOFS OFF OF OUTBUILDINGS

&&

ALEXANDER

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.

Lincoln, IL (KILX), 00:00Z

1.1 hours before the tornado, 242 km from the path. April 3, 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: 1184 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -39 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 1184 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 746 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 36 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 27 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 253 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 276 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.1
Supercell composite: 4.9
0-3 km lapse rate: 5.9 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Lincoln, IL (KILX), 12:00Z

10.9 hours after it, 242 km from the path. April 3, 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: 2 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: 0 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 11 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 512 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 27 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 122 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 93 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0
0-3 km lapse rate: 3.4 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Louisville radar (KLVX), 96 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 01:07 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
00:44 UTC	TSTM WND GST 81	Jasper	Dubois, IN
00:45 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	Ireland	Dubois, IN	POWER LINES AND TREES DOWN THROUGHOUT COUNTY.
00:45 UTC	TSTM WND GST 65	Ireland	Dubois, IN
00:50 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	13 Se Bloomfield	Martin, IN	DAMAGE TO HOMES IN JACKSON TOWNSHIP..TIME ESTIMATED
01:00 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	9 S Loogootee	Martin, IN	2 OR 3 HOMES REPORTED AS DESTROYED ALONG HIGHWAY 231 NEAR THE MARTIN AND DAVIESS COUNTY LINE ALSO A TRAILER THROWN INTO TREES
01:04 UTC	TSTM WND GST 60	Birdseye	Dubois, IN
01:06 UTC	HAIL 0.75	5 Sw Bedford	Lawrence, IN
01:07 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	Paoli	Orange, IN	TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN
01:07 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	Paoli	Orange, IN	STRUCTURAL DAMAGE IN AND NEAR PAOLI. SEVERAL ROOFS BLOWN OFF HOMES. NEW MODULAR HOME BLOWN OFF FOUNDATION NEAR PAOLI. NO INJURIES.
01:19 UTC	FUNNEL CLOUD	5 E Bedford	Lawrence, IN
01:19 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	10 W Seymour	Jackson, IN	TREES DOWN AND FLYING DEBRIS AT CLEAR SPRINGS
01:20 UTC	TSTM WND GST 59	Bloomington	Monroe, IN	MEASURED BY AWS SCHOOL MESONET SITE AT BLOOMINGTON TRI NORTH MIDDLE SCHOOL
01:20 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	2 N Saltillo	Washington, IN	NUMEROUS TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN. ALSO SOME STRUCTURAL DAMAGE.
01:20 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	Carefree	Crawford, IN	POWER LINES DOWN ACROSS I-64. I-64 CLOSED. SOME INJURIES DUE TO POWER LINES ON TRUCK.
01:20 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	Carefree	Crawford, IN	TRUCK BLOWN OFF OFF I-64
01:20 UTC	TSTM WND GST 60	1 E Curby	Crawford, IN	POWER LINES DOWN ALSO IN CAREFREE...ABOUT 2 MILES SOUTH OF CURBY.
01:30 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	Salem	Washington, IN	TREES...POWER LINES...AND BARNS DAMAGED THROUGHOUT COUNTY.
01:30 UTC	TSTM WND GST 70	Martinsburg	Washington, IN	SHINGLES BLOWN OFF ROOF.
01:45 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	Seymour	Jackson, IN	12 TO 24 INCH DIAMETER TREES DOWN, CONCRETE LIGHT POLES TWISTED AND DOWN, WIDESPREAD TREE DAMAGE
01:45 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	Seymour	Jackson, IN	ONE HOUSE ON NORTHWEST SIDE OF SEYMOUR DESTROYED

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 Indiana Every tornado in Indiana since 1950 Warnings in force in Indiana now The forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of April 2, 2006

66 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 2	3:47 PM CDT	F0	Davis, IA	0.2	30
April 2	3:57 PM CDT	F0	Davis, IA	0.1	25
April 2	4:03 PM CDT	F2	Van Buren, IA	3.0	100			$30,000
April 2	4:15 PM CDT	F1	Van Buren, IA	2.0	50			$10,000
April 2	4:18 PM CDT	F1	Jefferson, IA	0.3	50			$10,000
April 2	4:19 PM CDT	F1	Van Buren, IA	3.0	50			$10,000
April 2	4:25 PM CDT	F2	Ralls, MO	3.5	350
April 2	4:46 PM CDT	F2	Washington, IA	1.0	75			$30,000
April 2	4:59 PM CDT	F1	Sharp, AR	9.5	100			$100,000
April 2	5:00 PM CDT	F0	Saint Francois, MO	0.1	50
April 2	5:00 PM CDT	F1	Washington, IA	0.1	50			$10,000
April 2	5:05 PM CDT	F0	Sainte Genevieve, MO	2.0	40
April 2	5:06 PM CDT	F0	Warren, IA	0.2	30
April 2	5:15 PM CDT	F2	Saint Clair, IL	7.0	100	1	11
April 2	5:15 PM CDT	F0	Macoupin, IL	2.0	30
April 2	5:15 PM CDT	F0	Macoupin, IL	0.5	30
April 2	5:16 PM CDT	F0	Henderson, IL	0.0	25
April 2	5:20 PM CDT	F1	McDonough, IL	12.0	233			$150,000
April 2	5:21 PM CDT	F0	Madison, IL	16.0	50
April 2	5:30 PM CDT	F1	Madison, IL	2.0	100
April 2	5:31 PM CDT	F0	Polk, IA	0.2	30
April 2	5:35 PM CDT	F0	Macoupin, IL	0.1	20
April 2	5:37 PM CDT	F3	Randolph, AR to MO	77.0	880	2	177	$86 million
April 2	5:41 PM CDT	F0	Montgomery, IL	1.0	50
April 2	5:46 PM CDT	F1	Sangamon, IL	0.5	200
April 2	5:49 PM CDT	F1	Sangamon, IL	2.0	100
April 2	5:50 PM CDT	F2	Montgomery, IL	20.0	200
April 2	5:56 PM CDT	F1	Sangamon, IL	1.0	100
April 2	5:56 PM CDT	F1	Montgomery, IL	2.2	100
April 2	5:58 PM CDT	F1	Sangamon, IL	1.0	100
April 2	5:59 PM CDT	F0	Sangamon, IL	1.3	50
April 2	6:00 PM CDT	F2	White, AR	6.3	100
April 2	6:06 PM CDT	F1	Sangamon, IL	0.8	50
April 2	6:08 PM CDT	F1	Christian, IL	6.3	300		1
April 2	6:13 PM CDT	F1	Sangamon, IL	1.5	100		1
April 2	6:14 PM CDT	F1	Christian, IL	6.0	150
April 2	6:17 PM CDT	F0	Christian, IL	0.1	50
April 2	6:20 PM CDT	F1	Christian, IL	1.0	100
April 2	6:22 PM CDT	F0	Menard, IL	0.3	40
April 2	6:29 PM CDT	F3	Woodruff, AR	38.0	500		5	$5.0 million
April 2	6:30 PM CDT	F0	Macon, IL	0.1	30
April 2	6:30 PM CDT	F2	Macon, IL	4.5	300
April 2	6:32 PM CDT	F0	Logan, IL	1.0	80
April 2	6:36 PM CDT	F0	Logan, IL	2.5	50
April 2	6:36 PM CDT	F1	Macon, IL	7.5	150		3
April 2	6:42 PM CDT	F0	Cumberland, IL	0.8	100
April 2	6:43 PM CDT	F0	Scott, MO	1.5	50			$20,000
April 2	7:01 PM CDT	F0	DeWitt, IL	0.1	30
April 2	7:08 PM CDT	F0	McLean, IL	0.1	30
April 2	7:12 PM CDT	F0	McLean, IL	0.5	50
April 2	7:13 PM CDT	F1	McLean, IL	1.0	50
April 2	7:15 PM CDT	F0	Champaign, IL	0.1	30
April 2	7:22 PM CDT	F0	McLean, IL	2.6	50
April 2	7:25 PM CDT	F0	Champaign, IL	0.3	50
April 2	7:31 PM CDT	F0	Ballard, KY	0.1	30
April 2	7:32 PM CDT	F3	Dyer, TN	18.0	880	16	70	$20 million
April 2	8:09 PM CDT	F3	Gibson, TN	31.0	880	6	44	$27 million
April 2	9:25 PM EDT	F1	Tippecanoe, IN	0.5	100			$50,000
April 2	9:37 PM EDT	F1	Jackson, IN	0.5	100			$200,000
April 2	8:43 PM CDT	F3	Gibson, TN	8.0	880	2	6	$15 million

All 67 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.