Tornadoes · United States · Oregon · 2006

F1 tornado, Boardman, Oregon, May 19, 2006

Name: F1 tornado, Boardman, Oregon, May 19, 2006
Start: 2006-05-19T23:05:00.000Z
Location: Boardman, Oregon

This F1 tornado ran 0.1 miles across Morrow County on May 19, 2006, touching down at 4:05 PM PDT and reaching 20 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $20,000 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: May 19, 2006
Touchdown: 4:05 PM PDT (23:05 UTC)
Path length: 0.1 miles (0.2 km)
Path width: 20 yards (18 m)
Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $20,000
County: Morrow County
Touchdown point: 45.830, -119.680
Lift-off point: 45.830, -119.670
Record number: 552

What the Weather Service recorded

Swirling ground debris beneath funnel cloud. Tractor trailer rig blown off Interstate 84.

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

The warnings

14 minutes of warning. NWS PDT issued a tornado warning for this county at 22:51 UTC, 14 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 23:30 UTC.

The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 20:33 UTC and running to 02:57 UTC.

Issued (UTC)	Expired	Product	Office
20:33 UTC	02:57 UTC	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	PDT
22:40 UTC	23:45 UTC	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PDT
22:51 UTC	23:30 UTC	Tornado Warning	PDT

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 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 19:57 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.

Salem/Mcnary, OR (KSLE), 12:00Z

11.1 hours before the tornado, 279 km from the path. May 19, 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -90423 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1086 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 40 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 12 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 75 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 185 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0
0-3 km lapse rate: 3.3 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Salem/Mcnary, OR (KSLE), 00:00Z

0.9 hours after it, 279 km from the path. May 20, 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -26971 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 769 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 42 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 15 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -88 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: -43 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

The surface observations

Hermiston (HRI), 32 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)	Temp (°F)	Dew point (°F)	Wind	Gust (kt)	Pressure (mb)	Weather
21:53 UTC	92	52	50° 8 kt		1005.4
22:53 UTC	92	52	40° 11 kt	18	1003.7
23:29 UTC	73.4	53.6	260° 18 kt	35	1005.8	HZ SQ
23:41 UTC	66.2	57.2	300° 21 kt	33	1005.4	-RA
23:53 UTC	66	59	270° 10 kt		1007.1	-RA
00:53 UTC	70	59	270° 9 kt		1007.1

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

The radar

The Pendleton radar (KPDT), 66 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 23:05 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
22:14 UTC	HAIL 0.25	4 S Olex	Gilliam, OR
22:15 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	15 N Condon	Gilliam, OR	POWERLINES DOWN SCATTERED THROUGHT THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE COUNTY BETWEEN CONDON AND ARLINGTON.
22:54 UTC	HAIL 0.75	Boardman	Morrow, OR	PENNY SIZED HAIL REPORTED.
23:00 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	10 Sw Boardman	Morrow, OR	DOWNBURST SNAPPED 31 POWER POLES OVERTURNED 12 CIRCLE IRRIGATION SYSTEMS AND THREW SEVERAL 1300 LB HAY BAILS 80 FEET. HAIL DESTROYED 3000 ACRES OF CROPS. OWNER OF FARM ESTIMATES DAMAGE AT 1 MILLION. NATIONAL WEATHER SERV
23:00 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	10 Sw Boardman	Morrow, OR	POSSIBLE TORNADO SNAPPED 31 POWER POLES OVERTURNED 12 CIRCLE IRRIGATION SYSTEMS AND THREW SEVERAL 1300 LB HAY BAILS 80 FEET. HAIL DESTROYED 3000 ACRES OF CROPS. OWNER OF FARM ESTIMATES DAMAGE AT 1 MILLION.
23:00 UTC	TSTM WND GST 117	10 Sw Boardman	Morrow, OR	MEASURED AT COAL PLANT 102G117 MPH. EXTENSIVE DAMAGE AROUND PLANT.
23:00 UTC	TSTM WND GST 117	Boardman	Morrow, OR	MEASURED AT COAL PLANT 102G117 MPH. EXTENSIVE DAMAGE AROUND PLANT.
23:00 UTC	HAIL 1.75	10 Sw Boardman	Morrow, OR	AT COAL PLANT
23:00 UTC	TORNADO	10 Sw Boardman	Morrow, OR	POSSIBLE TORNADO SNAPPED 31 POWER POLES OVERTURNED 12 CIRCLE IRRIGATION SYSTEMS AND THREW SEVERAL 1300 LB HAY BAILS 80 FEET. HAIL DESTROYED 3000 ACRES OF CROPS. OWNER OF FARM ESTIMATES DAMAGE AT 1 MILLION.
23:05 UTC	HEAVY RAIN 0	8 Sw Boardman	Morrow, OR	VERY HEAVY RAIN REPORTED ALONG WITH DIME SIZED HAIL AND WINDS IN EXCESS OF 40 MPH.
23:05 UTC	HEAVY RAIN 0	N Boardman	Morrow, OR	VERY HEAVY RAIN WITH VISIBILITY DOWN TO 1/8 MI. NO RAINGAGE. PEA SIZED HAIL AND WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH.
23:05 UTC	TORNADO	2 E Boardman	Morrow, OR	POSSIBLE TORNADO WITNESSED BY TRAVELER. FUNNEL CAME HALF WAY TO THE GROUND WITH DEBRIS. TRACTOR TRAILER BLOWN OFF I-84.
23:10 UTC	TSTM WND GST 69	2 Sw Irrigon	Morrow, OR	SUSTAINED WIND 36 MPH WITH GUST TO 69 MPH.
23:10 UTC	TSTM WND GST 69	2 W Hermiston	Umatilla, OR	SUSTAINED WIND 36 MPH WITH GUST TO 69 MPH.
23:14 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	6 Nw Hermiston	Umatilla, OR	DOWNBURST DAMAGE TO BUILDINGS AND TREES DOWN AT UMATILLA CHEMICAL DEPOT. CAPTURED ON VIDEO BY SECURITY CAMERAS. DAMAGE MAY HAVE OCCURRED IN BOTH MORROW AND UMATILLA COUNTIES.
23:14 UTC	TORNADO	6 Nw Hermiston	Umatilla, OR	POSSIBLE TORNADO AT THE UMATILLA DEPOT. DAMAGE TO BUILDINGS AND TREES DOWN. CAPTURED ON VIDEO BY SECURITY CAMERAS. POSSIBLE TORNADO MAY HAVE OCCURRED IN BOTH MORROW AND UMATILLA COUNTIES.
23:15 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	15 Sw Hermiston	Morrow, OR	10,000 TREES DOWN AT THE POTLACH TREE FARM ALONG MILE MARKER 171 ON I-84. WINDS ESTIMATED AT 70-80 MPH.
23:15 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	8 W Hermiston	Morrow, OR	HUNDREDS OF TREES DOWNED AT TREE FARM.
23:15 UTC	TSTM WND GST 73	2 S Irrigon	Morrow, OR	SUSTAINED WIND 35 MPH WITH A GUST TO 73 MPH
23:15 UTC	HEAVY RAIN 0	1 N Boardman	Morrow, OR	VERY HEAVY RAIN REPORTED WITH FREQUENT LIGHTNING. YARD HAS STANDING WATER ABOUT 1 INCH DEEP.
23:15 UTC	HEAVY RAIN 0	2 Ssw Irrigon	Morrow, OR	VERY HEAVY RAIN REDUCED VISIBILITY TO LESS THAN 150 FEET AT TIMES. STRONG WINDS BLEW DOWN SEVERAL 1 TO 1.5 INCH TREE LIMBS.
23:25 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	2 W Irrigon	Benton, WA	TREES DOWN
23:25 UTC	TSTM WND GST 60	Umatilla	Umatilla, OR	MEASURED 60 MPH WIND GUST.
23:25 UTC	TSTM WND GST 70	2 W Hermiston	Umatilla, OR	SUSTAINED WIND 35 MPH WITH GUST TO 70 MPH.
23:25 UTC	TSTM WND GST 70	5 Nw Hermiston	Umatilla, OR	MEASURED WIND GUST OF 70 MPH.
23:25 UTC	TSTM WND GST 73	1 Sw Irrigon	Morrow, OR	MEASURED WIND GUST OF 73 MPH.
23:25 UTC	TSTM WND GST 86	5 Sw Umatilla	Umatilla, OR	MEASURED AT THE UMATILLA CHEMICAL DEPOT. ANOTHER SENSOR MEASURED 82 MPH.
23:30 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	Umatilla	Umatilla, OR	NUMEROUS TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN.
23:30 UTC	TSTM WND GST 40	N Boardman	Morrow, OR
23:30 UTC	HAIL 0.25	N Boardman	Morrow, OR
23:50 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	N Boardman	Morrow, OR	TIN ROOFING RIPPED OFF OF SMALL EXTENSION OF BUILDING. LARGE TREES DOWN.

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

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.