Tornadoes · United States · Indiana · 2006

F0 tornado, Griffin, Indiana, May 10, 2006

This F0 tornado ran 2.5 miles across Posey County on May 10, 2006, touching down at 5:58 PM CDT and reaching 60 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 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
May 10, 2006
Touchdown
5:58 PM CDT (22:58 UTC)
Path length
2.5 miles (4.0 km)
Path width
60 yards (55 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Posey County
Touchdown point
38.200, -87.900
Lift-off point
38.220, -87.870
Record number
523

What the Weather Service recorded

Numerous small tree limbs were blown down in this weak tornado. The path, which was through sparsely populated open farmland, was not continuous. The parent supercell thunderstorm produced other weak tornadoes, including one in White County, Illinois just prior to this one.

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

The warnings

23 minutes of warning. NWS PAH issued a tornado warning for this county at 22:35 UTC, 23 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 23:00 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
13:42 UTC23:00 UTCFlash Flood WatchPAH
22:35 UTC23:00 UTCTornado WarningPAH
22:59 UTC23:45 UTCTornado WarningPAH
23:01 UTC00:50 UTCTornado WatchPAH

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, with a 0.10 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 20:01 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 Paducah, KY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at May 10, 2:31 PM CDT, 3 hours 27 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 10, 2:31 PM CDT, 3 hours 27 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
231 PM CDT WED MAY 10 2006

.DISCUSSION...

MAIN FOCUS WILL BE ON THIS AFTERNOON/EVENING SEVERE STORM AND
FLOODING CHANCES. ALSO MAY HAVE TO EXTEND FF.A PAST 23Z. WILL
COORDINATE AND MAKE THE CALL AT PRESS TIME.

LATEST SURFACE ANALYSIS PLACES COLD FRONT ALONG THE NORTHWEST
PERIPHERY OF THE PAH CWA. RADAR LOOPS DETECTED STORMS DEVELOPING
ALONG AND JUST AHEAD OF THE FRONT. VIS SAT LOOP INDICATES PLENTY OF
CLOUD COVER WHICH WAS CONTRIBUTING TO KEEPING INSTABILITY LOWER THAN
ORIGINALLY ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME YESTERDAY. THUS SPC DOWNGRADED
TO A SLIGHT RISK FOR THE AREA.

THE 12Z ETA AND GFS SOUNDINGS HAS CAPES RANGING FROM 1000 AND 2000
J/KG...RESPECTIVELY. K INDICIES OF 31 SHOWALTERS RANGING FROM -1 IN
SWIN TO -6 IN SEMO. THUS INSTABILITY IS NOT ALL THAT GREAT. HOWEVER
THAT COMBINED WITH FROPA AND NEARBY SFC LOW DO THINK SLIGHT RISK IS
APPROPRIATE. THE MAIN THREAT AT HAND ATTM IS POTENTIAL FLOODING.
HAVE HAD SOME EVACUATIONS...MAINLY IN FLOOD PRONE AREAS...AND
NUMEROUS COUNTIES REPORTED AT OR NEAR BANKFULL CONDITIONS ON MOST
STREAMS...CREEKS...DITCHES...AND SMALL RIVERS.

THE NEXT PROBLEM WILL BE THURSDAY. THERE WILL BE SOME LIFT AND
LIMITED MOISTURE OVER THE AREA AS UPPER LOW MEANDERS TO THE NORTH.
EVEN THOUGH THUNDER IS QUESTIONABLE AT ALL...WITH MAJOR COLD POOL
MOVING OVERHEAD...WITH -20C AROUND 16K FEET AND WET BULB ZERO AROUND
6K FEET. ANYTHING THAT FALLS COULD CONTAIN HAIL/SLEET. SO AS PER
SWODY2 DISC OPTED TO INTRO ISOLATED THUNDER THURSDAY. AFTER THAT
ATTEMPTED TO KEEPS POPS OUT OF THE FORECAST WHERE I COULD BUT
MAINTAINING POPS WHEN BEST CHCS EXPECTED THROUGH OUT THE WEEK.
REALLY DONT THINK IT WILL RAIN DAY AND NIGHT FOR THE NEXT SEVEN
DAYS. BUT WITH TIMING WILL CONTINUE TO BE ISSUE AS UPPER LOW
MEANDERS TO THE NORTH.

AS FOR TEMPS JUST TWEAKS HERE AND THERE TO MOSTLY FOR COLLABORATION.

&&

.PAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
KY...FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 6 PM CDT THIS AFTERNOON FOR BALLARD-
     CALDWELL-CALLOWAY-CARLISLE-CHRISTIAN-CRITTENDEN-DAVIESS-
     FULTON-GRAVES-HENDERSON-HICKMAN-HOPKINS-LIVINGSTON-LYON-
     MARSHALL-MCCRACKEN-MCLEAN-MUHLENBERG-TODD-TRIGG-UNION KY-
     WEBSTER.

MO...FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 6 PM CDT THIS AFTERNOON FOR BOLLINGER-
     BUTLER-CAPE GIRARDEAU-CARTER-MISSISSIPPI-NEW MADRID-PERRY
     MO-RIPLEY-SCOTT-STODDARD-WAYNE MO.

IL...FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 6 PM CDT THIS AFTERNOON FOR ALEXANDER-
     EDWARDS-FRANKLIN-GALLATIN-HAMILTON-HARDIN-JACKSON-JEFFERSON-
     JOHNSON-MASSAC-PERRY IL-POPE-PULASKI-SALINE-UNION IL-WABASH-
     WAYNE IL-WHITE-WILLIAMSON.

IN...FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 6 PM CDT THIS AFTERNOON FOR GIBSON-PIKE-
     POSEY-SPENCER-VANDERBURGH-WARRICK.

&&

KH
Hazardous weather outlook, May 10, 10:27 AM CDT, 7 hours 31 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
1027 AM CDT WED MAY 10 2006

ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087-
100-107>112-114-111000-
JEFFERSON-WAYNE IL-EDWARDS-WABASH-PERRY IL-FRANKLIN-HAMILTON-
WHITE-JACKSON-WILLIAMSON-SALINE-GALLATIN-UNION IL-JOHNSON-POPE-
HARDIN-ALEXANDER-PULASKI-MASSAC-GIBSON-PIKE-POSEY-VANDERBURGH-
WARRICK-SPENCER-FULTON-HICKMAN-CARLISLE-BALLARD-MCCRACKEN-GRAVES-
LIVINGSTON-MARSHALL-CALLOWAY-CRITTENDEN-LYON-TRIGG-CALDWELL-
UNION KY-WEBSTER-HOPKINS-CHRISTIAN-HENDERSON-DAVIESS-MCLEAN-
MUHLENBERG-TODD-PERRY MO-BOLLINGER-CAPE GIRARDEAU-WAYNE MO-CARTER-
RIPLEY-BUTLER-STODDARD-SCOTT-MISSISSIPPI-NEW MADRID-
1027 AM CDT WED MAY 10 2006

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN
ILLINOIS...SOUTHWEST INDIANA...WESTERN KENTUCKY...AND SOUTHEAST
MISSOURI.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

THERE IS A RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TODAY AND EARLY TONIGHT
ACROSS THE FOUR STATE AREA. THE AREA WITH THE GREATEST POTENTIAL
FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE ACROSS WESTERN KENTUCKY. THE
SEVERE WEATHER THREAT WILL DEPEND ON THE AMOUNT OF DAYTIME HEATING
THAT CAN TAKE PLACE. SATELLITE SHOWS A FAIRLY LARGE AREA OF CLOUD
COVER OVER MUCH OF THE REGION. HOWEVER...SOME THIN SPOTS IN THE
CLOUDS WERE OBSERVED. THE FOCUS FOR POTENTIALLY SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS
WILL BE WITH A COLD FRONT MOVING ACROSS THE REGION...AND UPPER
LEVEL ENERGY FORECAST TO MOVE FROM THE SOUTHERN PLAINS THIS MORNING
ACROSS THE MID MISSISSIPPI AND LOWER OHIO VALLEY REGIONS THIS
AFTERNOON. THE PRIMARY HAZARDS WILL BE HAIL AND STRONG WINDS.

HEAVY RAIN IS ALSO A CONCERN. A FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT
FOR THE ENTIRE FOUR STATE AREA THROUGH 6 PM THIS EVENING.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUESTED TODAY AND EARLY TONIGHT.

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 10, 5:28 PM CDT, 30 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
528 PM CDT WED MAY 10 2006

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

0508 PM     TORNADO          EVANSVILLE              37.98N 87.54W
05/10/2006                   VANDERBURGH        IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            TORNADO BRIEFLY TOUCHED DOWN IN LANDFILL ON NORTH SIDE OF
            EVANSVILLE. TRACKED NORTHEAST THROUGH A CLUMP OF TREES
            CAUSING DEBRIS...LIFTED FOR 3 MINUTES AND THEN BREIFLY
            TOUCHED DOWN AGAIN IN AN OPEN FIELD.

&&

SMITTY

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), 12:00Z

11.0 hours before the tornado, 224 km from the path. May 10, 2006.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Lincoln, IL at 12:00Z on 2006-05-10Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 33 joules per kilogram, CIN -129, lifted condensation level 897 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 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, Lincoln, IL at 12:00Z on 2006-05-10The 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 11 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 25 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
33 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-129 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
897 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
25 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
4 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
11 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
33 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

Lincoln, IL (KILX), 00:00Z

1.0 hours after it, 224 km from the path. May 11, 2006.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Lincoln, IL at 00:00Z on 2006-05-11Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 168 joules per kilogram, CIN -34, lifted condensation level 1279 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 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, Lincoln, IL at 00:00Z on 2006-05-11The 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 -15 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 31 knots.193958Sfc1 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
168 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-34 J/kg
Surface CAPE
249 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1279 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
31 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
6 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-15 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-26 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
8.4 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Evansville,IN radar (KVWX), 15 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 22:56 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
22:08 UTCTORNADOEvansvilleVanderburgh, INTORNADO BRIEFLY TOUCHED DOWN IN LANDFILL ON NORTH SIDE OF EVANSVILLE. TRACKED NORTHEAST THROUGH A CLUMP OF TREES CAUSING DEBRIS...LIFTED FOR 3 MINUTES AND THEN BREIFLY TOUCHED DOWN AGAIN IN AN OPEN FIELD.
23:08 UTCFUNNEL CLOUD3 N PoseyvilleGibson, IN
23:08 UTCTORNADO2 S LynnvilleWarrick, INBRIEF TOUCHDOWN ALONG STATE ROUTE 61 JUST SOUTH OF COMMUNITY.
23:25 UTCFUNNEL CLOUDLynnvilleWarrick, INFUNNEL CLOUD DROPPED TO TREE LEVEL WHICH BLEW OFF TOPS AND THREW MODERATE DEBRIS INTO POWER LINES JUST EAST OF COMMUNITY ON STATE ROUTE 68.
23:25 UTCTORNADO 0LynnvilleWarrick, INFUNNEL CLOUD DROPPED TO TREE LEVEL WHICH BLEW OFF TOPS AND THREW MODERATE DEBRIS INTO POWER LINES JUST EAST OF COMMUNITY ON STATE ROUTE 68. ...CORRECTED TO CHANGE TYPE OF EVENT FROM FUNNEL CLOUD TO TORNADO...
23:35 UTCFUNNEL CLOUDFort BranchGibson, INEVENT OCCURRED OVER COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL.

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 IndianaEvery tornado in Indiana since 1950Warnings in force in Indiana nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of May 10, 2006

19 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 101:40 AM CDTF1Okmulgee, OK0.575$70,000
May 1010:03 AM CDTF0Dallas, AR3.525
May 103:40 PM EDTF0Kalamazoo, MI0.120
May 102:44 PM CDTF1Marengo, AL2.6150$20,000
May 104:27 PM CDTF2Catahoula Parish, LA8.0250$250,000
May 104:35 PM CDTF0Victoria, TX0.575
May 104:35 PM CDTF0Tensas Parish, LA2.050$60,000
May 104:59 PM CDTF0Fort Bend, TX0.220$2,000
May 105:03 PM CDTF0Adams, LA to MS5.050
May 105:08 PM CDTF0Vanderburgh, IN5.275
May 106:20 PM EDTF0Highland, OH0.530$30,000
May 105:40 PM CDTF0White, IL2.550
May 105:49 PM CDTF2Jefferson, MS7.0440$120,000
May 106:08 PM CDTF0Warrick, IN0.250$2,000
May 106:08 PM CDTF0Clarke, AL0.130$10,000
May 106:17 PM CDTF0Warrick, IN0.250$1,000
May 106:22 PM CDTF0Gibson, IN2.750
May 106:34 PM CDTF0Kenedy, TX0.120
May 106:49 PM CDTF1Dubois, IN1.4100$150,000

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.