OCTOBER 2010 VOLUME 52 NUMBER 10 STORM DATA AND UNUSUAL WEATHER PHENOMENA WITH LATE REPORTS AND CORRECTIONS NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION noaa NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL SATELLITE, DATA AND INFORMATION SERVICE NATIONAL CLIMATIC DATA CENTER, ASHEVILLE, NC Cover: Twenty-eight freight containers were blown off a train just 400 yards west of the Flagstaff WFO by a tornado early on the 6th of October. About an hour earlier a tornado had passed just east of the office. (Photo courtesy: Flagstaff NWS Weather Forecast Office) TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Outstanding Storm of the Month…....………………..........……..…………..…….……...….............4 Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena......…….…....…………...…...........….........................6 Reference Notes.............……...........................……….........…..….….............................................266 STORM DATA (ISSN 0039-1972) National Climatic Data Center Editor: Joseph E. Kraft Assistant Editor: Rhonda Herndon STORM DATA is prepared, and distributed by the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service (NESDIS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena narratives and Hurricane/Tropical Storm summaries are prepared by the National Weather Service. Monthly and annual statistics and summaries of tornado and lightning events resulting in deaths, injuries, and damage are compiled by the National Climatic Data Center and the National Weather Service’s (NWS) Storm Prediction Center. STORM DATA contains all confirmed information on storms available to our staff at the time of publication. Late reports and corrections will be printed in each edition. Except for limited editing to correct grammatical errors, the data in Storm Data are published as received. Note: “None Reported” means that no severe weather occurred and “Not Received” means that no reports were received for this region at the time of printing. Subscription, pricing, and ordering information is available from: NCDC Subscription Services 310 State Route 956 Building 300 Rocket Center, WV 26726 (866) 742-3322 Toll Free The editor of STORM DATA solicit your help in acquiring photographs (prints or slides; black and white, or color), maps, clippings, etc. of significant or severe weather events (past or present) for use in the “Outstanding Storms of the Month’’ section of STORM DATA. We request our subscribers or other interested persons to mail such items to: Storm Data National Climatic Data Center 151 Patton Avenue Asheville, NC 28801 e-mail: [email protected] Any such items received by the editor will be for use in STORM DATA only. Any other use will be with the permission of the owner of said items. Materials will be returned if requested. This is an official publication of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and is compiled from information received at the National Climatic Data Center Asheville, North Carolina 28801-5001. Thomas R. Karl Director, National Climatic Data Center 2 October 2010 - Confirmed Tornadoes ® EF SCALE EF0 EF1 EF2 EF3 Number of Tornadoes EF4 EF5 EF0 EF1 EF2 EF3 EF4 EF5 Total 63 32 12 1 0 0 108 Miles 3 0100 200 400 600 800 1,000 OUTSTANDING STORM OF THE MONTH Multiple Tornadoes Track Across Coconino County Arizona on the 6th On October 6 th between 4: 53 - 5:44 A M a n E F2 t ornado c aused c onsiderable s tructural damage i n a nd a round t he c ommunity o f B ellemont, A rizona. A erial a nd g round s urveys verified a semicontinuous tornado path from at least 15 miles south of Bellemont, extending northward crossing H ighway 180 t hree t imes n orthwest of Flagstaff. T he t ornado crossed Highway 180 ne ar m ile pos ts 230, 234, a nd 240. The t otal di scontinuous pa th l ength measured at l east 3 4 m iles. T he d amage s urvey s trongly s uggests t ornadic c ycling w ith a t least 2 t ornadoes l ikely. The first t ornado pa ssed t wo-thirds of a mile e ast o f th e NWS Bellemont Weather Forecast Office. This tornado caused 7 minor injuries and damaged 100 homes i n B ellemont, a nd 21 of t hose hous es sustained da mage significant enough t o be deemed uninhabitable. At least one business (RV Sales) sustained damage with 30+ RV units demolished and tossed onto Interstate 40. The Interstate was closed for several hours; at least one truck overturned on it during this event. Numerous Forest Service roads were blocked by fallen trees, leaving campers stranded. Around 75 power poles were knocked down. Above: An aerial view of tornado tracks looking north. The tornado that made track on the right crossed Interstate 40 in Bellmont at around 5:22 AM. The track on the left crossed Interstate 40 at around 6:20 AM. NWS WFO Flagstaff is located between the two tracks. Photo courtesy: NWS WFO Bellemont, AZ. The second Bellemont tornado occurred between 5:54 - 6:50 AM. This tornado caused EF-2, very wide, severe forest damage along a discontinuous track which extended from 15 m iles south of Bellemont, to eventually crossing Hwy 180 northwest of Flagstaff. This tornado was visually sighted by NWS staff as it passed one third of a mile west of the Bellemont Weather Forecast Office. Additional damage included 28 rail cars derailed in Bellemont, semi trucks and trailers overturned on I-40, power poles snapped at Camp Navajo, and numerous Forest Service roads blocked. 4 Left: USFS crews clean cl ear p onderosa trees that were snapped off by a t ornado n ear Blue R idge. Photo courtesy: NWS WFO Flagstaff, AZ. US Forest Service and NWS reported an EF1 tornado damage path near Blue Ridge Ranger Station. Between 1:58-2:12 PM, hundreds of ponderosa pines were blown over or snapped off. A t l east o ne alligator j uniper of 2½ foot thickness was s napped of f. Trees w ere d own across Highway 87 between mile markers 296 and 298 with a path length of 14.06 miles and a path width of 400 yards. A little earlier --between 12: 05-12:20 P M-- a tornado c ollapsed t hree 500 K V e lectrical transmission to wers 19 m iles s outheast of T uba C ity. T he t owers w ere o f metal tr uss construction. O ne t ower w as completely flattened. P hotographic ev idence an d first-hand reports were provided by Arizona Public Service. Tornado damage intensity was rated at EF- 3, the damage path length was indeterminable (0.01 mile) and the path width was 1100 yards. Right: A tornado knocked over t his 500 KV power line tower 1 9 m iles southeast of Tuba C ity. Photo courtesy: Arizona Public Service. 5 Time Path Path Number of Estimated October 2010 Local/ Length Width Persons Damage Location Date Standard (Miles) (Yards) Killed Injured Property Crops Character of Storm ALABAMA, Central ALZ027>029-035> Autauga - Chambers - Chilton - Clay - Coosa - Elmore - Lee - Lowndes - Macon - Montgomery - Randolph 038-041>045-047> - Russell - Talladega - Tallapoosa 048 01 0000CST 31 2359CST 0 0 0.00K 0.00K Drought Although beneficial rain fell across central Alabama during the month, drought conditions persisted. Severe drought conditions were found to the right of a line from near Ft. Deposit to Autaugaville to Billingsley to Sylacauga to Heflin to Roanoke to Bleeker to Grady. Severe drought conditions were also found over most of Walker and Winston counties. ALZ011-013>015- Fayette - Jefferson - Marengo - Marion - Walker - Winston 024-039 12 0000CST 31 2359CST 0 0 0.00K 0.00K Drought Although some rain fell across Central Alabama early this month drought conditions became more widespread and worsened. Severe drought conditions were found to the right of a line from near Ft. Deposit to Autaugaville to Billingsley to Sylacauga to Wedowee to Bleeker to Hardaway. Severe drought conditions were also noted over most of Walker and Winston counties. Jefferson County 1 E Patton Chaple 12 1435CST 0 0 0.00K 0.00K Hail (1.00) One inch hail reported at Hoover High School. Jefferson County 1 N Center Pt 12 1530CST 0 2 0.00K 0.00K Lightning Two children were rendered unconscious after being in close proximity to a lightning strike. The boys were transported to the hospital with no apparent lingering injuries. Blount County 2 NNW Remlap 12 1612CST 0 0 0.00K 0.00K Hail (1.00) One inch hail reported. Blount County Oneonta 12 1655CST 0 0 5.00K 0.00K Thunderstorm Wind (60EG) Trees and power lines reported down in the city resulting in power outages. Note: The estimated wind gust of 60 knots is equivalent to 69 mph. Lamar County 2 SSE Vernon 12 1710CST 0 0 7.00K 0.00K Thunderstorm Wind (55EG) Numerous trees and power lines down along county road 9 and highway 17. Note: The estimated wind gust of 55 knots is equivalent to 63 mph. Tuscaloosa County 2 NNE River View 12 1820CST 0 0 6.00K 0.00K Thunderstorm Wind (55EG) Several trees and power lines toppled in the city and to the south along hwy 82. A slow moving upper level low over northern Arkansas helped to steepen lapse rates across the Southeast. A moderately unstable air mass with modest vertical shear resulted in the development of a mesoscale convective system producing damaging thunderstorm winds and hail across central and northwestern portions of central Alabama. Note: The estimated wind gust of 55 knots is equivalent to 63 mph. ALZ019>021 Calhoun - Cherokee - Cleburne 19 0000CST 31 2359CST 0 0 0.00K 0.00K Drought Although beneficial rain fell across central Alabama during the month, drought conditions became more widespread and worsened.