MARCH 2006 VOLUME 48 NUMBER 3 SSTORMTORM DDATAATA 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: Hay bales next to I-40 burn and smolder. More than a million acres of land were burned by several fires! Severe drought conditions and high winds which downed power lines were the leading cause of the fires. (Photo courtesy: Texas Forest Service.) TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Outstanding Storm of the Month …..…………….….........……..…………..…….…..…..... 4 Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena ....…….…....……………...........…............ 8 Additions/Corrections.......................................................................................................................... 268 Reference Notes .............……...........................……….........…..…….............................................. 280 STORM DATA (ISSN 0039-1972) National Climatic Data Center Editor: William Angel Assistant Editors: Stuart Hinson and 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 re- sulting 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 confi rmed 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 re- ceived 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 signifi cant 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 permis- sion of the owner of said items. Materials will be returned if requested. This is an of cial publication of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and is compiled from information received at the National Climatic Data Center Asheville, North Carolina 28801-2733. Thomas R. Karl Director, National Climatic Data Center 2 March 2006 Confirmed Tornadoes 3 F Scale F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F Scale F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 Total Number 79 29 23 11 1 0 143 Two F0 tornadoes in Hawaii OUTSTANDING STORMS OF THE MONTH A. Record Wildfires in the Southern High Plains Severe drought conditions, persisting since September 2005, led to a prolonged fire season which continued well into March 2006. Above normal temperatures for the winter and early spring season contributed to relative humidities remaining below normal. A surface low pressure system over the central Plains states deepened in response to a jet streak approaching from the southern Rockies. The surface pressure gradient tightened across the southern High Plains resulting in strong west to southwest downsloping winds of 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 50 mph or higher. To exacerbate the wind situation, a cold front moved through the southern High Plains late on March 12 into early March 13. This caused a wind shift to the north and northwest with continued strong winds. The explosive potential for wildfires was forecasted well in advance with Fire Weather Watches being issued the day before. Also, the favorable conditions for large fire growth were highlighted in the Hazardous Weather Outlook product days in advance. In addition, a Wind Advisory was issued for the area for the strong winds expected. The first wildfire occurred in the Texas panhandle in extreme northeast Oldham County on Friday March 10. The wildfire broke out around 2:20 PM CST about four miles north of Boys Ranch along U.S. Highway 385 when a car caught fire. Southwesterly winds of around 25 mph spread the wildfire across Moore and Hartley Counties with the wildfire edging within seven miles of Dumas and burned 13,000 acres. Flame lengths were reported to be 11 feet. Residents southwest of Dumas were under a voluntary evacuation. However, the largest outbreak of wildfires occurred on March 12. On March 12, more than a dozen large wildfires burned over one million acres across the southern High Plains that lasted for nearly a week. The wildfires accounted for eleven civilian deaths in the Texas panhandle and at least nine injuries to firefighters and one civilian injury. One of those injured firefighters later died. The wildfires burned over 1,700 square miles and eight towns were evacuated. Over 40 structures were destroyed including 32 homes. Cattle ranchers lost approximately four to six thousand head of cattle. The smoke from the Groom wildfire and blowing dust caused havoc along Interstate 40 between Groom and McLean. A nine-car accident near Groom resulted in four deaths and six injuries. The Interstate was shut down for several hours causing major traffic delays and detours. More than 1,040 electrical poles were destroyed leaving at least 80 homes without power. The largest wildfire in the Texas panhandle started between 11:00 AM and 12:00 PM and began as two separate fires four miles southeast of Borger and nine miles south of Borger on the Burnett (6666) Ranch. High winds downed power lines which sparked the wildfires. These two fires merged into the large wildfire known as the Borger fire. This fire burned into southeast Hutchinson County, northwest Gray County, through central Roberts County and finally into western Hemphill County. The Borger fire consumed roughly 479,549 acres. Multiple small fires combined to create the other large wildfire, known as the I-40 wildfire, which began around 11:00 AM CST in Gray County. The I-40 wildfire was also caused by downed power lines due the high winds. The origins of the small fires were just east of Groom, near Jericho, and just west of Lefors. 4 The I-40 wildfire burned approximately 427,696 acres. Together, the Borger and I-40 wildfires were named the East Amarillo Complex and consumed 907,245 acres. The wildfires also destroyed about 700 miles of fencing which may cost as much as $5,000. The Texas Forest Service said the wildfires moved 45 miles in just 9 hours with a spread rate of 5 miles per hour and flame lengths of 11 feet. Above: (Map courtesy: Texas Forest Service.) Other large wildfires occurred in the Texas panhandle on March 12. These include: A 2,000-acre fire 14 miles south-southwest of Canyon at 8:20 AM CST. Two outbuildings were lost. A 1,800-acre fire 4 miles southeast of Lelia Lake at 3:00 PM CST. Eight outbuildings were destroyed. A 1,600-acre fire 6 miles southeast of Canyon at 8:30 AM CST. A 1,000-acre fire 7 miles southwest of Canyon at 11:55 AM CST. A 800-acre fire 9 miles west-northwest of Channing at 12:00 PM CST. A 500-acre fire 6 miles west-southwest of Cactus at 11:45 AM CST. A 450-acre fire 7 miles southeast of Amarillo at 12:40 PM CST. 5 Significant public impacts of the March 12 winds and fires are described below by the three other National Weather Service Forecast Offices in the affected region. West Texas South Plains and Extreme Southern Panhandle: (WFO Lubbock) High winds were accompanied by blowing dust and smoke over the South Plains region of west Texas on March 12th, as large wind-driven wildfires burned tens of thousands of acres and destroyed property. By midday, strong westerly winds occasionally gusted up to 62 mph. The winds downed power lines over parts of the region and caused minor roof damage to several homes in Lubbock. At least half a dozen wildfires were sparked during the wind event. Four of these fires rapidly grew into significant wind-driven wildfires. A fire that ignited west of Abernathy (Hale County) destroyed a rural residence shortly after noon. A second wildfire grew to over 8,000 acres in southern Cochran County. Two homes were destroyed in the fire fifteen miles south of Morton. Above: Fire burns through a fence. (Photo courtesy: Texas Forest Service.) Major wildfires charred tens of thousands of acres over the extreme southeastern Texas Panhandle and the northern rolling plains. A massive fire burned a six mile wide swath over fifteen miles long through grasslands in southern Childress County. No significant damage was reported. Weather conditions that favored explosive fire behavior persisted through the much of the nighttime hours. A cold front that swept south across the area maintained strong northwesterly winds into the early morning hours on March 13th as very dry air remained in place. Shortly after midnight, another major wildfire developed near U.S. Highway 62/83 just north of Paducah in Cottle County. The Cottle and Childress County fires combined to burn more than 40,000 acres of open rangeland before they were extinguished by rain on March 17. Fire crews were successful in saving several rural structures, and no injuries were reported.