Tornadoes · United States · Kentucky · 2006

F1 tornado, Moorman, Kentucky, April 7, 2006

This F1 tornado ran 1.7 miles across Muhlenberg County on April 7, 2006, touching down at 7:02 PM CDT and reaching 150 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $40,000 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 mph

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. F173 to 112 mphthis tornado

    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
F1
Date
April 7, 2006
Touchdown
7:02 PM CDT (00:02 UTC)
Path length
1.7 miles (2.7 km)
Path width
150 yards (137 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$40,000
County
Muhlenberg County
Touchdown point
37.380, -87.150
Lift-off point
37.380, -87.120
Record number
319

What the Weather Service recorded

One home received damage due to a large tree falling on the roof. The community baseball park was damaged. A blocked building and some fencing was severely damaged. Peak winds were estimated near 85 MPH. The north side of the tornado ran along some railroad tracks which run east to west through the middle of Moorman. The tornado lifted near the Ohio County border.

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 tornado watch, issued at 15:20 UTC and running to 01:00 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
15:20 UTC01:00 UTCTornado WatchPAH
16:55 UTC18:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningPAH
19:13 UTC19:42 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningPAH
01:05 UTC07:05 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 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 16:32 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.

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

0.0 hours before the tornado, 147 km from the path. April 8, 2006.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Nashville Metro, TN at 00:00Z on 2006-04-08Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 310 joules per kilogram, CIN -177, lifted condensation level 1354 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°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, Nashville Metro, TN at 00:00Z on 2006-04-08The 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 219 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 65 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
310 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-177 J/kg
Surface CAPE
440 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1354 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
65 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
219 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
272 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.7
0-3 km lapse rate
5.1 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

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

12.0 hours after it, 147 km from the path. April 8, 2006.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Nashville Metro, TN at 12:00Z on 2006-04-08Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 14 joules per kilogram, CIN -7, lifted condensation level 596 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°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, Nashville Metro, TN at 12:00Z on 2006-04-08The 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 -36 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 53 knots.1939587897117Sfc1 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
14 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-7 J/kg
Surface CAPE
50 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
596 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
53 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
12 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-36 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-132 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

What was reported nearby

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

Time (UTC)ReportWhereCountyRemark
23:40 UTCHAIL 0.75Dawson SpringsHopkins, KYLATE REPORT. TIME ESTIMATED.
23:53 UTCHAIL 1SacramentoMclean, KYNUMEROUS REPORTS OF 1.00 INCH DIAMETER HAIL ACROSS THE SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF MCLEAN COUNTY AROUND 653 PM.
23:58 UTCHAIL 1LivermoreMclean, KY
00:02 UTCTSTM WND DMG5 Sw CentertownOhio, KYSEVERAL LARGE TREES AND LIMBS BLOWN DOWN
00:18 UTCHAIL 11 Wsw CentertownOhio, KYFUNNEL CLOUD ALSO BEING REPORTED.
00:18 UTCHAIL 13 W HartfordOhio, KY
00:19 UTCTORNADO3 Se CentertownOhio, KYF0 STORM SURVEY SEE SDFPNSLMK FOR DETAILS. F0 ON GROUND FROM 719-720 PM CDT.
00:24 UTCTORNADO2 Sw Beaver DamOhio, KYF0 DETERMINED BY STORM SURVEY...SEE SDFPNSLMK FOR DETAILS. F0 ON GROUND FROM 724-727 PM CDT.
00:39 UTCTORNADO1 Sw BaizetownOhio, KYF0 DETERMINED BY STORM SURVEY...SEE SDFPNSLMK FOR DETAILS. F0 ON GROUND FROM 739-742 PM CDT.
00:49 UTCTORNADO8 N MorgantownButler, KYF0 TORNADO DETERMINED BY STORM SURVEY...SEE SDFPNSLMK FOR DETAILS. F0 ON GROUND FROM 749-755 PM CDT.
01:01 UTCHAIL 0.88Welchs CreekButler, KY
02:18 UTCHAIL 0.88Dawson SpringsHopkins, KY

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 KentuckyEvery tornado in Kentucky since 1950Warnings in force in Kentucky nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of April 7, 2006

46 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 712:40 PM CDTF0Benton, TN1.110$50,000
April 71:05 PM CDTF0Humphreys, TN0.220$10,000
April 71:10 PM CDTF0Humphreys, TN0.220$1,000
April 71:30 PM CDTF3Dickson, TN18.8880$6.0 million
April 71:34 PM CDTF2Henderson, TN9.01005$2.0 million
April 71:40 PM CDTF1Henderson, TN3.5100$40,000
April 71:53 PM CDTF2Benton, TN6.050$250,000
April 72:05 PM CDTF1Humphreys, TN4.550$100,000
April 72:08 PM CDTF3Davidson, TN22.78807128$79 million
April 72:43 PM CDTF0Lewis, TN0.3100
April 73:04 PM CDTF2Barren, KY8.12504$1.6 million
April 73:35 PM CDTF0Union Parish, LA6.8250$70,000
April 75:14 PM EDTF1Adams, IN0.8100$40,000
April 74:36 PM CDTF0Leflore, MS3.050
April 74:45 PM CDTF1Pike, IN0.775$120,000
April 74:45 PM CDTF1Warren, TN11.01502$500,000
April 74:53 PM CDTF0Washington, MS1.050$100,000
April 74:56 PM CDTF0Pontotoc, MS6.030$30,000
April 75:43 PM CDTF0Humphreys, MS1.030
April 75:46 PM CDTF1Cumberland, TN6.21504$4.0 million
April 75:50 PM CDTF0Colbert, AL0.150$20,000
April 75:52 PM CDTF0Leflore, MS1.050
April 76:14 PM CDTF0Lauderdale, AL0.130
April 76:17 PM CDTF0Moore, TN0.230
April 76:25 PM CDTF1Colbert, AL8.0100$120,000
April 76:28 PM CDTF1Warren, TN4.01001$100,000
April 76:30 PM CDTF0Lincoln, TN0.550$1,000
April 76:55 PM CDTF1Colbert, AL10.0100$70,000
April 77:05 PM CDTF1Limestone, AL0.7200$10,000
April 77:35 PM CDTF0Chickasaw, MS0.215$10,000
April 77:45 PM CDTF0Madison, AL0.250$10,000
April 77:48 PM CDTF0Lincoln, AL to TN2.130
April 78:01 PM CDTF0Lincoln, TN0.130$5,000
April 78:45 PM CDTF0Lawrence, AL0.130
April 78:55 PM CDTF1Marion, AL9.450$50,000
April 79:00 PM CDTF0Franklin, AL3.075$10,000
April 79:30 PM CDTF0Lawrence, AL0.150
April 79:55 PM CDTF0Sunflower, MS3.050$30,000
April 710:00 PM CDTF0Lawrence, AL0.160$10,000
April 710:00 PM CDTF1Winston, AL4.7150$80,000
April 710:16 PM CDTF0Morgan, AL1.050$1,000
April 710:24 PM CDTF0Limestone, AL0.140
April 710:35 PM CDTF1Morgan, AL9.0150$110,000
April 711:15 PM CDTF0Marshall, AL0.1150$20,000
April 711:50 PM CDTF1Cullman, AL0.230$120,000
April 712:44 AM CDTF0DeKalb, AL0.185$10,000

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.