Tornadoes · United States · Tennessee · 2006

F1 tornado, Mc Minnville, Tennessee, April 7, 2006

This F1 tornado ran 4.0 miles across Warren County on April 7, 2006, touching down at 6:28 PM CDT and reaching 100 yards wide. It killed 1 person, 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.

  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
6:28 PM CDT (23:28 UTC)
Path length
4.0 miles (6.4 km)
Path width
100 yards (91 m)
Deaths
1
Injuries
0
Property damage
$100,000
County
Warren County
Touchdown point
35.580, -85.920
Lift-off point
35.580, -85.920
Record number
316

What the Weather Service recorded

Warren County had 10 homes, farms or businesses with major damage. 19 homes, farms or businesses had moderate damage.

A second F1 tornado hit Warren County almost two hours later from the first tornado. The tornado touched down near Morrison, TN along Caney Branch Road. This storm complex came out of Coffee County. There was extensive damage to a barn. A cinder block building was badly damaged. Numerous trees were down. The third fatality in Warren County occuured in a trailer home on Bonner Road to a 48 year-old female nurse. The trailer was destroyed. The tornado continued slightly south of east in the Country Club Subdivision. Several houses had roof damage, outbuildings were destroyed and a wooden shed was on its side. Three Weather Channel reporters were arrested for trespassing for being on the property where this fatality occurred.

The deaths

1 direct deaths are recorded for this tornado, each with what Storm Data knows of it.

AgeSexWhereKind
48FMobile/Trailer HomeDirect

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

The warnings

6 minutes of warning. NWS OHX issued a tornado warning for this county at 23:22 UTC, 6 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 00:00 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 15:24 UTC and running to 00:49 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
15:24 UTC00:49 UTCTornado WatchOHX
21:35 UTC22:00 UTCTornado WarningOHX
23:09 UTC23:45 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningOHX
23:22 UTC00:00 UTCTornado WarningOHX
00:36 UTC01:15 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningOHX
00:42 UTC01:15 UTCTornado WarningOHX
00:49 UTC06:57 UTCTornado WatchOHX

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 High Risk, with a 0.30 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), 12:00Z

11.5 hours before the tornado, 87 km from the path. April 7, 2006.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Nashville Metro, TN at 12:00Z on 2006-04-07Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 1 joules per kilogram, CIN -263, lifted condensation level 1050 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 2006-04-07The 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 174 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 54 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
1 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-263 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1050 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
54 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
174 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
241 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
-0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
5.3 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

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

0.5 hours after it, 87 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

The radar

The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 74 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 23:27 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
21:00 UTCHAIL 22 E MurfreesboroRutherford, TN*** 1 INJ ***
21:00 UTCTORNADO3 Se MurfreesboroRutherford, TNTORNADO REPORTED BY PUBLIC 3 SE MURFREESBORO
21:00 UTCTORNADOMurfreesboroRutherford, TNTORNADO TOUCH DOWN NEAR OLD SALEM HIGHWAY
21:01 UTCHAIL 0.88MurfreesboroRutherford, TNNICKEL SIZE HAIL IN MURFREESBORO ALONG I-24
21:06 UTCHAIL 12 W MurfreesboroRutherford, TNI-24 NEAR MURFREESBORO
21:08 UTCHAIL 1.751 E MurfreesboroRutherford, TN1 - 1 3/4 INCH ON 70S
21:10 UTCHAIL 1MurfreesboroRutherford, TNQUARTER SIZE HAIL AT MTSU
21:32 UTCHAIL 1.755 N WoodburyCannon, TNGOLF BALL SIZE HAIL NEAR RITAVILLE
21:34 UTCHAIL 2.75WoodburyCannon, TNBASEBALL SIZE HAIL IN WOODBURY
21:35 UTCHAIL 2.75WoodburyCannon, TNBASEBALL SIZE HAIL IN WOODBURY
21:35 UTCTORNADOWoodburyCannon, TN2 TORNADO TOUCH DOWNS IN WOODBURY
21:45 UTCTORNADO 111 Nw McminnvilleWarren, TN*** 2 FATAL, 15 INJ *** F1 TORNADO KILLED 2 PEOPLE IN A MOBILE HOME ON FOSTER RD. SHINGLES WERE TORN OFF ROOFS. LARGE TREES WERE UPROOTED, SNAPPED AND BLOWN DOWN.THE TORNADO OCCURRED FROM 14.6 MILES NW OF MCMINNVILLE TO
21:55 UTCTSTM WND DMG5 S SmithvilleDe Kalb, TNTREES AND LARGE LIMBS DOWN ALONG HWY 56
21:55 UTCHAIL 1.755 S SmithvilleDe Kalb, TNGOLF BALL SIZE HAIL ALONG HWY 56
21:56 UTCTORNADO7 N McminnvilleWarren, TNTORNADO ALONG GREENHILL ROAD IN NORTHERN WARREN COUNTY
22:00 UTCTSTM WND DMG6 Sse SmithvilleDe Kalb, TNSHED BLOWN OVER AND PARTIAL ROOF BLOWN OFF HOUSE
22:04 UTCHAIL 17 Se SmithvilleDe Kalb, TNHWY 288 SE OF SMITHVILLE
22:05 UTCTORNADO8 Ne SmithvilleDe Kalb, TNLARGE TREES DOWN AND DEBRIS SCATTERED ALONG HWY 287, EAST OF HWY 56
22:54 UTCHAIL 1.75MurfreesboroRutherford, TNGOLF BALL SIZE HAIL AT VA HOSPITAL
23:21 UTCHAIL 1.7510 S WoodburyCannon, TNGOLF BALL SIZE HAIL NEAR HOLLOW SPRINGS ALONG HWY 53
23:28 UTCTORNADO 110 Sw McminnvilleWarren, TN*** 1 FATAL *** F1 TORNADO STRUCK FROM 10.3 MILES SW MCMINNVILLE TO 7.8 SW MCMINNVILLE WITH A PATH LENGTH OF 4 MILES AND PATH WIDTH OF 100 YDS. ONE FATALITY OCCURRED IN A TRAILER AT BONNER RD. THERE WAS ROOF DAMAGE TO HO
23:30 UTCHAIL 14 Sw SmithvilleDe Kalb, TNQUARTER SIZE HAIL ON CECIL HILL ROAD IN SW DEKALB COUNTY ALONG HWY 146
23:34 UTCTORNADO2 Sw McminnvilleWarren, TNTORNADO IN SMART STATION, SW OF MCMINNVILLE
23:37 UTCTORNADO8 Sw McminnvilleWarren, TNTORNADO ALONG HWY 55 JUST WEST OF MORRISON
00:05 UTCTSTM WND DMG9 Se LynchburgFranklin, TNTREE REPORTED DOWN 8 TO 10 MILES SOUTHEAST OF LYNCHBURG.
00:13 UTCHAIL 1.752 E SpencerVan Buren, TNGOLF BALL SIZE HAIL 2 MILES EAST OF SPENCER
00:15 UTCTSTM WND GST 70Estill SpringsFranklin, TNPUCLIC REPORTED A ESTIMATED 70 MPH WINDS IN THE ESTILL SPRINGS AREA.
00:25 UTCHAIL 0.757 Wnw PikevilleBledsoe, TNPENNY SIZED HAIL AT FALL CREEK FALLS STATE PARK. REPORTED BY PARK RANGER.
00:26 UTCHAIL 0.75ManchesterCoffee, TNIN MANCHESTER
01:11 UTCHAIL 0.758 Nw DunlapSequatchie, TNDIME TO PENNY HAIL ON CAGLE MTN. REPORTED BY SHERIFFS OFFICE.
01:35 UTCTSTM WND DMG7 Wnw PikevilleBledsoe, TNSEVERAL TREES DOWN IN FALL CREEK FALLS STATE PARK. REPORTED BY STATE PARK OFFICIAL.
01:35 UTCHAIL 1.758 Nw PikevilleBledsoe, TNPENNY TO GOLF BALL SIZED HAIL ON AND ALONG HIGHWAY 30. REPORTED BY FALL CREEK FALLS STATE PARK OFFICIAL.
02:00 UTCHAIL 0.889 E MonteagleMarion, TNNICKEL SIZED HAIL ON HIGHWAY 41 NEAR OAK GROVE. REPORTED BY EMERGENCY MANAGER.
02:16 UTCHAIL 1.756 Sw DunlapSequatchie, TNGOLF BALL SIZE HAIL ON DAUS MTN. REPORTED BY SHERIFFS OFFICE.

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 TennesseeEvery tornado in Tennessee since 1950Warnings in force in Tennessee 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 76:30 PM CDTF0Lincoln, TN0.550$1,000
April 76:55 PM CDTF1Colbert, AL10.0100$70,000
April 77:02 PM CDTF1Muhlenberg, KY1.7150$40,000
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.