Tornadoes · United States · Kentucky · 2005

F0 tornado, Princeton, Kentucky, November 15, 2005

Name: F0 tornado, Princeton, Kentucky, November 15, 2005
Start: 2005-11-15T21:01:00.000Z
Location: Princeton, Kentucky

This F0 tornado ran 0.2 miles across Caldwell County on November 15, 2005, touching down at 3:01 PM CST and reaching 50 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 mphthis tornado
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
F173 to 112 mph
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: F0
Date: November 15, 2005
Touchdown: 3:01 PM CST (21:01 UTC)
Path length: 0.2 miles (0.3 km)
Path width: 50 yards (46 m)
Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
County: Caldwell County
Touchdown point: 37.100, -87.870
Lift-off point: 37.100, -87.870
Record number: 545

What the Weather Service recorded

This weak, brief tornado downed several trees.

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

The forecast that day

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a High Risk, with a 0.25 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 19:50 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 Nov 15, 1:42 AM CST, 13 hours 19 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 15, 1:42 AM CST, 13 hours 19 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
142 AM CST TUE NOV 15 2005

.DISCUSSION...
MAIN NEAR TERM FORECAST CONCERNS ARE SEVERE WEATHER/HEAVY RAIN
CHANCES FROM CURRENT TIME THROUGH THIS EVENING...AND TEMPS
ESPECIALLY TODAY INTO TONIGHT.

ALL BUT FAR NORTHERN COUNTIES OF THE PAH CWA ARE IN A TORNADO WATCH
UNTIL 5AM CST.  LATEST RADAR SHOWS THUNDERSTORMS TRAINING ACROSS
AREAS FROM CARTER AND WAYNE COUNTIES IN MISSOURI...TO UNION AND
WILLIAMSON COUNTIES IN ILLINOIS...TO UNION AND HENDERSON COUNTIES IN
KENTUCKY. HAVE HAD SOME FLOODING REPORTS...ESPECIALLY URBAN
AREAS...ACROSS AREAS IN THIS HEAVIER BAND OF SHOWERS AND STORMS.
GFS...WHICH SEEMS TO HAVE A BETTER HANDLE ON CURRENT
PRECIP...INDICATES HEAVIEST PRECIP AREA WILL LIFT NORTH OF THE PAH
FA AFTER 12Z AS WARM FRONT MOVES FARTHER NORTH.  WILL CONTINUE TO
MONITOR AREAS OF HEAVY RAIN FOR ADDITIONAL URBAN AND SMALL
STREAM/FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS...BUT WITH HEAVY RAIN ALREADY OCCURRING
AND EXPECTING THE BAND OF HEAVIEST RAIN TO MOVE NORTH OF THESE AREAS
IN THE NEXT 4 TO 6 HOURS...WILL NOT ISSUE A FLOOD WATCH AT THIS LATE
TIME.

ON TO THE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT...WITH SPC INCLUDING THE ENTIRE PAH
CWA IN A HIGH RISK...OBVIOUSLY WILL CONTINUE WITH SEVERE MENTION IN
TODAYS ZONES.  GFS IS SLIGHTLY FASTER THAN THE NAM WITH THE
LOW...PUTTING IT OVER STL BY 18Z...BUT OVERALL POSITIONING IS VERY
SIMILAR WITH GFS MAYBE JUST A COUPLE OF HOURS FASTER THAN THE NAM.
LOOKS LIKE PRIME TIME FOR SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE FROM LATE MORNING
INTO VERY EARLY EVENING...WITH PRECIP ENDING VERY QUICKLY FROM WEST
TO EAST DURING THE EVENING HOURS.  CURRENT GRID TIMING AND
CATEGORICAL POPS LOOK GOOD AND WILL NOT MAKE ANY CHANGES.  ONLY
TWEAK TO TODAY WILL BE TO INCLUDE DAMAGING WINDS...LARGE HAIL AND
TORNADOES NOW THAT WE ARE IN A HIGH RISK.

TEMPS TODAY WILL BE TRICKY.  AT 07Z...WITH WARM FRONT EXTENDING FROM
ALONG THE SOUTHERN MISSOURI BORDER...TO NORTH OF PAH...TO JUST NORTH
OF EVV...TEMPS RANGE FROM 68 DEGREES AT PAH AND HOP...TO 48 DEGREES
AT MVN.  TEMPS SOUTH OF THE FRONT ARE ALREADY NEAR OR WARMER THAN
THE FORECAST HIGHS OF THE MAV AND MET...SO WILL LOOK TO THE WARMEST
FWC FOR GUIDANCE.  OVERALL EXPECT TO GO WITH A MID 60S NORTH TO
LOWER 70S SOUTH.

BEHIND THE COLD FRONT...A MAJOR COOL DOWN WILL FOLLOW.  TEMPS WILL
FALL TO 20 TO 30 DEGREES LOWER THAN WE HAVE BEEN HAVING...WHICH WILL
BE ABOUT 10 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL.  BY LATE IN THE WEEK...TEMPS WILL
MODERATE TO NEAR SEASONAL.

GFS DOES SHOW A COUPLE OF WEAK...DRY COLD FRONTS MOVING ACROSS THE
REGION DURING THE DAY FRIDAY...THEN ANOTHER SATURDAY NIGHT.  SO FAR
ONLY EFFECTS LOOK LIKE MAYBE SOME INCREASE IN CLOUDS...BUT...BASED
ON LATEST MEX GUIDANCE...DO NOT EXPECT ANY SIGNIFICANT TEMPERATURE
DIFFERENCES.

MADE SOME CHANGES TO THE NEAR TERM TEMPS...STICKING PRETTY CLOSE TO
SLIGHTLY WARMER MAV VALUES.  IN THE EXTENDED...MADE SOME VERY MINOR
TWEAKS LATE IN THE EXTENDED BASED ON LATEST MEX GUIDANCE.

&&

.PAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
KY...NONE.
MO...NONE.
IL...NONE.
IN...NONE.

&&

RST

Hazardous weather outlook, Nov 15, 3:55 AM CST, 11 hours 6 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
355 AM CST TUE NOV 15 2005

ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087-
100-107>112-114-161100-
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-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...MOUNT VERNON...FAIRFIELD...ALBION...
MOUNT CARMEL...PINCKNEYVILLE...WEST FRANKFORT...MCLEANSBORO...
CARMI...CARBONDALE...MURPHYSBORO...HERRIN...HARRISBURG...
SHAWNEETOWN...JONESBORO...VIENNA...GOLCONDA...ELIZABETHTOWN...
CAIRO...MOUND CITY...METROPOLIS...FORT BRANCH...PETERSBURG...
POSEYVILLE...EVANSVILLE...BOONVILLE...ROCKPORT...HICKMAN...
CLINTON...BARDWELL...WICKLIFFE...PADUCAH...MAYFIELD...SMITHLAND...
BENTON...MURRAY...MARION...EDDYVILLE...CADIZ...PRINCETON...
MORGANFIELD...DIXON...MADISONVILLE...HOPKINSVILLE...HENDERSON...
OWENSBORO...CALHOUN...GREENVILLE...ELKTON...PERRYVILLE...
MARBLE HILL...CAPE GIRARDEAU...JACKSON...PIEDMONT...VAN BUREN...
DONIPHAN...POPLAR BLUFF...BLOOMFIELD...SIKESTON...CHARLESTON...
NEW MADRID
355 AM CST TUE NOV 15 2005

...SIGNIFICANT SEVERE WEATHER EVENT EXPECTED TODAY...

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 HIGH RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE ENTIRE
QUAD STATE REGION TODAY INTO EARLY THIS EVENING.  WARM...MOIST AIR
WILL SPREAD ACROSS THE REGION THIS MORNING AS A WARM FRONT MAKES
ITS WAY NORTHWARD. THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE ALONG THE WARM
FRONT THIS MORNING. A FEW OF THESE STORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE. THE
PRIMARY THREAT WITH THE STORMS THIS MORNING WILL BE HEAVY RAIN.

MEANWHILE...A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS THE REGION TODAY.
STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS WILL DEVELOP ALONG AND AHEAD OF THIS
FRONT...AFFECTING SOUTHEAST MISSOURI BY LATE MORNING. STORMS WILL
SPREAD EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS.
TORNADOES...DAMAGING WINDS...AND LARGE HAIL WILL ALL BE POSSIBLE
AS STORMS MOVE ACROSS THE AREA.

IN ADDITION...HEAVY RAIN WILL BE LIKELY WITH STORMS. THE GROUND
IS SATURATED ACROSS MANY LOCATIONS DUE TO STORMS THAT HAVE BEEN
ONGOING THROUGH THE EARLY MORNING HOURS...SO FLOODING MAY STILL BE
AN ISSUE WITH STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS EXPECTED TODAY INTO EARLY THIS EVENING.

RST

In the hours before

Local storm report, Nov 15, 2:42 PM CST, 19 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
242 PM CST TUE NOV 15 2005

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

0235 PM     TSTM WND DMG     LILBOURN                36.59N 89.61W
11/15/2005                   NEW MADRID         MO   COUNTY OFFICIAL

            DAMAGE REPORTED BETWEEN PARMA AND LILBOURN...ROOF OFF OF
            A HOUSE AND POWER LINES DOWN.

&&

WIELGOS

Local storm report, Nov 15, 2:45 PM CST, 16 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
245 PM CST TUE NOV 15 2005

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

0244 PM     TORNADO          LILBOURN                36.59N 89.61W
11/15/2005                   NEW MADRID         MO   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            TORNADO ON THE GROUND BETWEEN NEW MADRID AND LILBOURN
            NEAR ROUTE U OVERPASS.

&&

WIELGOS

Local storm report, Nov 15, 2:47 PM CST, 14 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
247 PM CST TUE NOV 15 2005

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

0244 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     CARTERVILLE             37.76N 89.08W
11/15/2005                   WILLIAMSON         IL   COUNTY OFFICIAL

            REPORTED SOUTHWEST OF CARTERVILLE ALONG NEW ROUTE 13.

&&

WIELGOS

Local storm report, Nov 15, 2:53 PM CST, 8 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
253 PM CST TUE NOV 15 2005

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

0240 PM     TSTM WND GST     OLD SHAWNEETOWN         37.70N 88.14W
11/15/2005  60 MPH           GALLATIN           IL   PUBLIC

            TOW BOAT OPERATOR SOUTH OF OLD SHAWNEETOWN ON OHIO RIVER
            REPORTING STRONG WINDS...ESTIMATED NEAR 60 MPH.

&&

WIELGOS

Local storm report, Nov 15, 2:55 PM CST, 6 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
255 PM CST TUE NOV 15 2005

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

0252 PM     TORNADO          EAST PRAIRIE            36.78N 89.38W
11/15/2005                   MISSISSIPPI        MO   BROADCAST MEDIA

            TORNADO REPORTED ON THE GROUND EAST OF EAST PRAIRIE ON
            HIGHWAY 102. REPORTED BY A RADIO STATION.

&&

WIELGOS

Local storm report, Nov 15, 2:58 PM CST, 3 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
258 PM CST TUE NOV 15 2005

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

0254 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     JOHNSTON CITY           37.82N 88.93W
11/15/2005                   WILLIAMSON         IL   COUNTY OFFICIAL

            FUNNEL CLOUD REPORTED 2.5 MILES SOUTH OF JOHNSTON CITY
            ALONG ILLINOIS ROUTE 37 HEADING TOWARDS PITTSBURGH.

&&

WIELGOS

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.

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), 12:00Z

9.0 hours before the tornado, 156 km from the path. November 15, 2005.

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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -56318 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 11 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 680 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 42 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 257 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 268 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0
0-3 km lapse rate: 5.4 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), 00:00Z

3.0 hours after it, 156 km from the path. November 16, 2005.

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: 554 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -53 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 540 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 786 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 52 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 421 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 506 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.6
Supercell composite: 5.9
0-3 km lapse rate: 6.4 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Fort Campbell (Aaf) (HOP), 58 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)	Temp (°F)	Dew point (°F)	Wind	Gust (kt)	Pressure (mb)	Weather
00:00 UTC

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

This ground now

The live radar over the track Every 2005 tornado in Kentucky Every tornado in Kentucky since 1950 Warnings in force in Kentucky now The forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of November 15, 2005

48 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
November 15	12:37 PM CST	F0	New Madrid, MO	0.2	50
November 15	12:44 PM CST	F0	Mississippi, MO	0.2	50
November 15	1:10 PM CST	F0	White, IL	0.2	50
November 15	1:20 PM CST	F1	Crockett, TN	15.0	300			$700,000
November 15	1:30 PM CST	F0	McCracken, KY	0.2	50
November 15	1:34 PM CST	F0	Massac, IL	0.1	50
November 15	1:45 PM CST	F3	Graves, KY	44.0	500	1	20	$8.6 million
November 15	1:55 PM CST	F1	Weakley, TN	2.0	150			$100,000
November 15	2:20 PM CST	F0	Jefferson, AR	0.7	20
November 15	2:30 PM CST	F0	New Madrid, MO	0.2	50			$10,000
November 15	2:35 PM CST	F1	Marion, IL	5.0	100
November 15	2:35 PM CST	F1	New Madrid, MO	1.0	75		2	$60,000
November 15	2:35 PM CST	F2	Henry, TN	20.0	200		13	$6.5 million
November 15	3:40 PM EST	F3	Daviess, IN	12.0	440		31	$12 million
November 15	2:52 PM CST	F1	Arkansas, AR	16.5	60
November 15	2:55 PM CST	F1	Arkansas, AR	3.5	30
November 15	3:15 PM CST	F1	Jasper, IL	10.0	40
November 15	4:25 PM EST	F1	Lawrence, IN	0.2	50			$50,000
November 15	3:27 PM CST	F4	Earlington–Madisonville tornado, KY	15.0	800		40	$31 million
November 15	3:32 PM CST	F0	Saline, IL	0.2	50
November 15	3:35 PM CST	F1	Benton, TN	1.0	100			$50,000
November 15	3:38 PM CST	F2	Benton, TN	1.2	150			$400,000
November 15	4:04 PM CST	F1	McLean, KY	0.2	50			$3,000
November 15	4:04 PM CST	F2	Houston, TN	0.5	200			$650,000
November 15	4:10 PM CST	F0	Houston, TN	0.2	100			$1,000
November 15	4:10 PM CST	F1	Houston, TN	0.3	100			$10,000
November 15	4:12 PM CST	F0	Daviess, KY	0.2	50
November 15	5:19 PM EST	F3	Bartholomew, IN	10.0	300		1	$5.1 million
November 15	4:35 PM CST	F1	Montgomery, TN	0.2	75			$500,000
November 15	4:36 PM CST	F1	Montgomery, TN	0.2	75			$600,000
November 15	4:37 PM CST	F0	Montgomery, TN	0.1	50
November 15	4:44 PM CST	F2	Montgomery, TN	1.0	400			$500,000
November 15	4:50 PM CST	F0	Benton, TN	0.1	10			$1,000
November 15	4:55 PM CST	F1	Humphreys, TN	2.0	100			$200,000
November 15	5:15 PM CST	F1	Logan, KY	8.4	150			$250,000
November 15	5:33 PM CST	F2	Dickson, TN	1.0	200			$20,000
November 15	5:40 PM CST	F0	Dickson, TN	0.1	50
November 15	5:52 PM CST	F2	Simpson, KY	1.0	150			$100,000
November 15	6:02 PM CST	F2	Wayne, TN	6.0	100		1	$100,000
November 15	6:05 PM CST	F0	Robertson, TN	0.1	20
November 15	6:07 PM CST	F1	Warren, KY	1.0	150			$500,000
November 15	7:10 PM EST	F1	Grant, IN	3.0	50			$10,000
November 15	6:15 PM CST	F0	Davidson, TN	0.1	20			$1,000
November 15	6:25 PM CST	F0	Maury, TN	0.1	10
November 15	6:30 PM CST	F0	Lamar, AL	0.1	30			$20,000
November 15	6:32 PM CST	F0	Williamson, TN	0.1	10
November 15	6:42 PM CST	F0	Sumner, TN	0.1	10
November 15	8:30 PM CST	F0	Cullman, AL	0.3	25			$40,000

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.