Storm Chase Almanac

[Tim Vasquez]

I thought it would be worthwhile to maintain a list of significant chase events. I've often wanted to refer to such a list for forecast study examples, but have found the information on the Internet to be rather piecemeal. Stormtrack should have such an almanac anyway. So I'll start the list.

Criteria: This is a chase almanac, not a storm almanac. The storms should be significant to the chase community: either (1) chased by a diverse and large number of chasers (i.e. no 1997 Miami tornado) or (2) a very unique or newsworthy event on the Great Plains. Individual chasers may be noted if they have a noteworthy association with the storm. Please use good judgment.

To add your contribution, please follow the format shown and reply. Either myself or the moderators will periodically "scoop" up listings and insert them into the almanac and then delete your original post. If you wish, you may put your initials or last name in parentheses to acknowledge your contribution. Links to significant, information-rich pages on the event will be accepted as a unique numeral within parentheses that links to the page, i.e. (1). Also corrections are welcome.

Tim

Storm Chase Almanac

1982
* May 19, 1982 - Major tornadic storm develops near Pampa, TX and is chased by Texas Tech team.

1986
* May 8, 1986 - Tornadic storms develop near Canadian, Texas.

1990
* August 28, 1990 - Plainfield, Illinois hit southwest of Chicago; DuPage chasers possibly on this storm.

1991
* May 15, 1991 - Laverne, Oklahoma tornado.

1993
* May 7, 1993 - Tornado outbreak in northwest Oklahoma with isolated occurrences further south through Wellington, TX.
* July 21, 1993 - Last Chance, CO. The most majestic, ominous tornado probably ever videographed on the High Plains by Bill Reid and Charles Bustamante

1994
* May 29, 1994 - Significant tornadoes in northwest flow affect Newcastle TX; Gene Rhoden pulls up to a random house and seeks shelter with a family.
* August 17, 1994 - The Lahoma "pakwash" storm brings 113 mph winds to the Lahoma mesonet. Nearly all chasers miss this event.

1995
* June 8, 1995 - Major tornado outbreak in central and eastern Texas Panhandle; significant tornadoes near Pampa and Clarendon

1997
* May 1, 1997 - First classic chase event for 1997 following cool April, with nontornadic supercells in southwest Oklahoma.
* May 7, 1997 - Strong HP supercells develop north of Amarillo and move southeastward.
* May 25, 1997 - Storms develop along dryline in central Oklahoma with tornadoes north of Duncan eastward.
* May 26, 1997 - Rapid supercell development brings tornadic activity to area northeast and east of Oklahoma City.
* May 27, 1997 - A violent tornado develops near Temple, TX and moves southwestward through Jarrell, TX

1998
* May 8, 1998 - Severe hailstorm develops north of ABI and moves eastward through Graham; numerous chaser windshields damaged
* May 24, 1998 - Numerous tornadoes develop in the Enid-Blackwell OK region; storms obscured by severe haze
* May 30, 1998 - Spencer, SD significant deadly tornado well-documented by a number of chasers, including motion-picture documentation by Martin Lisius.
1999
* April 8, 1999 - Tornadoes in southwest Iowa; date of Carbon-Bridgewater mile-wide F4 tornado with 40-mile track
* May 3, 1999 - Very large tornado outbreak in central Oklahoma; Moore and Dover OK are hard-hit.
* May 31, 1999 - Sitka, KS tornadic supercell chased by a very large number of storm chasers...however a relatively small percentage of chasers actually documented the tornado itself due to road logistics, resulting in the genesis of the infamous "Sitka Bust Club".
* June 3, 1999 - Almena, KS long-lived significant tornado documented by many chasers. This was the only storm in the region and was extremely well-documented.

2000
* May 17, 2000 - Major tornado hits Brady, Nebraska; the footage by Jeff Piotrowski was widely circulated.

2001
* May 29, 2001 - Texas supercells(including the wedding cake of wedding cakes) and White Deer tornado
* June 13, 2001 - Seward Nebraska tornadic supercell and the other beast in ne KS...forget that town name.
* September 22, 2001 - Edgar, Nebraska tornado
* October 9, 2001 - Oklahoma tornado outbreak and Nebraska tornado outbreak

2003
* May 4, 2003 - Tornado outbreak in southwest Missouri
* May 10, 2003 - Large tornado outbreak in MO/IL

* June 22, 2003 - The two beasts in se NE including the Aurora storm producing the record hail(other to the south was the tornado producer, and record mesocyclone and first killer NE tornado in many years.....only to follow up the next night with another tornado death in NE)
* June 24, 2003 - South Dakota Tornado Outbreak,Well documented outbreak, Many chasers, some with 10+ tornadoes in one day caught significant tornadoes. Day of Tim Samaras' lowest direct pressure reading in a tornado, Manchester, SD. (JM)

2004
* May 12, 2004 - Attica, KS tornado day documented by many chasers. (TL)
* May 15th, 2003 Texas panhandle record outbreak. Biggest tornado outbreak in panhandle history.
* May 22nd, 2004 Nebraska outbreak including the largest recorded tornado that hit Hallam, NE. 86 tornados reported that day.
* May 24th, 2004 southern Nebraska/Norhtern Kansa outbreak with 53 tornados reported.
* May 29, 2004 - North central Kansas tornadoes. Also tornadoes in south-central Kansas (Conway Springs, etc) (TL).
* May 30, 2004 - Low-topped supercells form in the northern Midwest, F2 goes through southeast Indianapolis during the Indianapolis 500. WSFO IND watched tornado go by outside the office. (TC)
* June 10, 2004 - Storms in southwest Nebraska.
* September 15 - 17, 2004 - 117 tornadoes over 3 days. Most a result of the remnants of Hurricane Ivan, 8 fatalities.

2005
* April 21, 2005 - Tornadoes in Neosho County, Kansas

 

[Rob Satkus]

May 11, 1982 - numerous tornadoes across SW Ok and portions of the Texas panhandle, Altus AFB hit.

March 3, 1983 - Donley county Tx. tornadoes, well documented by Tim Marshall.

April 26, 1984 - Numerous tornadoes from central Ok into the upper midwest.

May 10, 1985 - Large tornadoes across portions of Ks & Ne.

May 14, 1986 - SW Ok. tornadoes, Windthorst Tx tornado.

May 7, 1988 - If busts are included, this was one of the biggest in the late 80's, lots of chasers burned.

March 13, 1990 - Hesston F5, tornadoes from Ok into Ia.

May 15, 1990 - Ok tornadoes, Stillwater F3

March 26, 1991 - Ok/Ks tornadoes

April 12, 1991 - NC Ok tornadoes

May 26, 1991 - Woodward Ok, Wichita Ks area tornadoes

May 11, 1992 - SE Ok tornadoes

May 5, 1993 - Ok panhandle, Sw Ks tornadoes

April 26, 1994 - Southern Ok/North Tx outbreak, Gainesville tornado.

May 7, 1995 - Ardmore Ok tornado, north Tx tornadoes...many chasers suckered further west to squall line.

June 13, 1998 - OKC area tornadoes others along the Ks/Ne border

October 4, 1998 - Numerous tornadoes across Ok.

May 7, 2002 - Sw Ks tornadoes

RS

 

[Nick Parker]

May 6th, 2003

Multiple tornados in the KPAH warning area including a F-3 and a F-4.

My farm happened to be in the path of the F-4.

Link to event from NWS PAH
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/pah/storm/May.6.2003/index.php

 

[Mark Farnik]

A few noteworthy High Plains events:

June 6, 1990: A half mile wide, highly visible F4 wipes out 80% of the town of Limon, CO. Several chasers observed this storm and collected amazing video, I don't remember who it was, I think Tim Samaras *may* have been on this one.

May 30, 1996: A mini-outbreak strikes northeastern Colorado. The Channel 9 KUSA news team out of Denver films the life cycle of two tornadoes from a supercell in Morgan County which were on the ground at the same time just after 4 p.m. One of them strikes a farmstead just southwest of Fort Morgan, inflicting F2 damage. Forty miles to the southeast in Washington County, several chasers document a spectacular, quarter mile wide F3 stovepipe that severely damages a farmstead near the tiny crossroads of Elba.

May 17, 2000: While better known for the spectacular F3 that was filmed by many chasers near Brady, Nebraska, this day also produced over two dozen tornadoes in northeastern Colorado from supercells rotating around a deep low pressure system centered over the Palmer Divide. Despite the high number of tornadoes, only a few caused damage and no injuries occurred. Not noteworthy as a chase event because all the supercells were rain-wrapped non-chaseable HP beasts, but noteworthy as probably the largest tornado outbreak to ever affect eastern Colorado.

July 5, 2000: A strong, quarter mile wide F3 tornado touched down just north of the town of Dailey, Colorado just after dark and devastated six farmsteads, causing over $2 million in damage and several injuries. Several chasers were on the storm, but did not observe the tornado due to darkness and rain wrapping around the mesocyclone.

July 21, 2000: A classic 'wedding cake' LP supercell develops east of Greeley and drops a spectacular, highly visible F2 tornado which tracks over mostly open country for over fifteen miles and twenty minutes before dissipating northwest of the town of Wiggins. Well documented by several chasers as well as the general public.

 

[Danny Neal]

April 20th, 2004, "Surprise" tornado outbreak in IL and IN.

November 10th, 2002 tornado outbreak in the Ohio Valley and places south

 

[MatthewCarman]

Bradgate Iowa F2 tornado that moved through the valley and destroyed or damged almost every house in the town. This event happened 1-2 days before the May 22 of 2004 event explained below.

May 22 of 2004 a total of 36 tornadoes across IA making it one of the largest outbreaks in Iowa. Event started around 4-5:00 PM. Also a Bow Echo with a 106 MPH wind gust in Warren County I think it was and knocked a DOT truck off the raod. The Bow Echo formed into tornadic storms I think instead of staying a Bow Echo and moved through Warren and Jasper Counties with reported tornadoes on the ground through midnight. Also tornadic storms in NE and MO with this event I think.


November of 2005 the Woodward and Ames tornadoes. I think this event was on stormsof2006. I forget the exact day sorry.

May of 2006 the 17th I think but I could be wrong. 17 tornadoes including one that hit Iowa City and three reported on the ground at the same time near Muscatine.

 

[MatthewCarman]

are you guys going to update this soon? I could find lots of events on wiki if you would like?

 

[Jack Corso]

Storm Almanac

May 14, 1986 Snyder Okla. F-2

May 24 1989 Iowa/Mo. Bi-State F-4

May 15, 1991 Laverne Okla. F-4

May 25.1997 Tornado at Middleberg, Okla.F-1

May 26 1997 Tornadoes near Tulsa, Okla. F-2

May 29, 2001 Lamar Colo. Tornado Outbreak F-3

May 15, 2005 Stratford, Tx. Tornado Wedge F-1 (Should B at least F-3)
May 22, 2004 Tornadoes S Cental Nebraska F-2

June 9, 2006 Hill City, Kansas Tornadoes F-1

 

[Shane Adams]

May 31, 1999 - Multiple tornadoes in SW Oklahoma near Erick and Brinkman (the other event from that day)

June 12, 2004 - Multiple tornadoes (including the infamous "glowing" Mulvane tornado) in SC Kansas

May 12, 2005 - Large tornadoes and famous hail that crippled several chasers near South Plains, TX

April 15, 2006 - Large, high-contrast tornado near Beatrice, NE

 

[MatthewCarman]

Now that Tim is back I thought this may be updated. It has not been updated since it was started. I am going to add alot of info I had compiled and added to a wiki at another site. Feel free to use it. Sorry for spelling errors. Alot of these days were not chased by lot of people or big events but still nice to have the info.

1810
December 14, 1810- United Kingdom Area affected: Portsmouth Portsmouth Tornado possible the strongest in Great Britan's history rated at T8 on the Torro scale and F4 on Fujita scale. Wind speeds were 213-240 MPH.
1840
May 7, 1840 Nachez tornado LA and MS are hit hard this day by a killer tornado but the intensity of the tornado is unknown. 317 dead and 119 people injured. This tornado like the Comanche IA tornado moved across the Missisipi river and the death told could have been worse then listed. A piece of a steamboat window was carried 30 miles. Reports that "hundreds" of people were killed on plantations in Louisiana were never confirmed, but it is quite possible that there were many more deaths in areas away from Natchez. This was the pre-Civil War era of slavery, and slave deaths were not always counted. This tornado is ranked #2 in the top ten killer tornadoes for the US.
1860
1860 Comanche IA tornado This tornado moved across the Missisipi river like the Nachez tornado and killed over 100 people.
1883
1883 August 21, 1883 States affected: MN On August 21, 1883, Rochester MN was hit by a tornado that killed 37 and injured many others.
1886
1886 April 14, 1886 States affected: MN The deadliest tornado in Minnesota history razed parts of St.Cloud and Sauk Rapids, leaving 72 dead and 213 injured. At a wedding party 11 members were killed including the bride and groom.
1896
May 27, 1896 St. Louis tornado 255 people died and 1000 more were injured. This was rated as a F4 tornado. The death total probably does not include the loss of life to people living on shanty boats, whose bodies were washed down river. This tornado is ranked #3 in the top ten killer tornadoes for the US.


1917
May 26, 1917- States affected: IL/IN IL 1917 tornado A strong tornado would touch down this day. This tornado was believed to be on the ground from IL to IN and had a possible record 7 hours and 20 minutes life span. The tornado traveled for 293 miles. Now remember this is 1917 so we cannot confirm if this was one tornado or if this was multiple tornadoes from the same storm or multiple storms.
1918
August 21, 1918 States affected: MN Tyler MN is hit by a tornado with 36 dead.
1919
June 22, 1919 States affected: MN Fergus Falls was hit by a tornado with 59 dead making this the second deadliest tornado for the state.
1925
March 18, 1925- States affected: MO/IL/IN Tri-State tornado. Missouri, Illinois and Indiana tornado. One of the very few tornadoes to ever move across 3 different states. This is possibly one of the strongest tornadoes ever recorded and was on the ground for 3.5 hours. This tornado formed in MO and then traveled to IN injuring 2000 people and killing a total of 695 people a possible record for a single tornado. It traveled 219 miles, destroyed 4 towns completely and left 6 more severely damaged and destroyed 15,000 homes. Annapolis MO 90% destroyed. Gorham IL was 100% destroyed. Murphysboro IL was 40% destroyed. Desoto IL was 30% destroyed. West Frankfurt IL was 20% destroyed. Parrish IL 90% destroyed. Griffin IN 100% destroyed. 85 farms destroyed after this in IN. The tornado finally dissipated near Princeton IN. Over 15,000 people injured or killed in just 40 minutes. The town of Parrish was never rebuilt and in Murphysboro one witness said he saw the tornado pick a house up and then watched it explode and others had similar stories. Reasons why this could be the worst tornado in history for the US: longest continuous contact on the ground, third fastest traveling speed, continuous exertion of force resulting in damage throughout most of its lifespan, a 3.5-hour duration giving the tornado of May 26, 1917 a run for it's money. This tornado is ranked #1 in the top ten killer tornadoes for the US.
1936
April 6, 1936 Gainesville tornado A pair of massive tornadoes moved east-northeast through downtown Gainesville at the start of the work day at 8:27 AM. Earlier a smaller tornado hit north of town and now two large tornadoes were moving through the town causing destructive damage. The tornadoes came in from the west and southwest and came together west of Grove Street, and a four-block-wide area was laid waste across the entire city, beyond which separate courses of destruction appeared again. The wreckage was astonishing, with debris filling the streets up to 10 feet deep. Around 750 houses were destroyed and 254 were badly damaged. Damage totalled $12,500,000. Cooper Pants Factory collapsed and caught fire killing around 70 people. At the Pacolet Mill, the funnel was seen in the southwest, and the 550 workers ran to the northeast corner of the building, adverting what could have been a even greater tradgedy. Newnan's department store collapsed killing around 20 people. The wreckage was so deep and so extensive and swept by fires that it was inpossible to determine how many people were killed in which buildings. At the time that the 203 person death toll was listed, 40 people were still missing. In the downtown area of Gainesville, most of the multi-story businesses and factories were blown over or collapsed. Letters from Gainesville, Georgia were dropped as far as Anderson, South Carolina. The tornado was rated a F4 on the Fujita scale and 203 people died with 1600 injured. Ranked as the fifth deadliest tornado in American history.
1939
June 18, 1939 States affected: MN More than 220 people were injured and nine killed in the Champlin area from a tornado.
1946
August 17, 1946 States affected: MN About an hour apart, tornadoes slashed through the cities of Mankato and North Mankato leaving 11 dead and 60 injured, and Wells where some 200 people were injured.
1947
April 9, 1947- States affected: TX/OK/KS White Deer and Woodward tornadoes Possibly the second Tri-State tornado or a family of tornadoes. A supercell formed in the texas panhandel during the afternoon and traveled 220 miles from White Deer, TX (northeast of Amarillo) to St. Leo, KS (west of Wichita). A tornado formed near canadian TX and would later strike Woodward OK and it travled 100 miles. The towns of Glazier and Higgins in TX were both devestated by the tornado as it moved at 50 MPH. 69 fatalities in TX. In Ellis County, Oklahoma, the tornado did not strike any towns, passing to the southeast of Shattuck, Gage, and Fargo. Even though no towns were struck, nearly 60 farms and ranches were destroyed and 8 people were killed with 42 more injured. In Woodward county 1 death was reported. This violent F5 tornado then hit Woodward destroying alot of the town and over 100 city blocks were destroyed. Atleast 107 people killed and another 1000 injured. The bodies of three children were never identified, and one child who survived the tornado was lost and never reunited with her family. 36 homes were destroyed in Woods County with 30 people injured. Althought people believed the tornado continued into KS later study showed this could have been a differint tornado in a family of 5-6 tornadoes that occured with this storm. This was considered to be a family of tornadoes and the Woodward tornado which is believed to haved occured after the White Deer tornado is ranked as the sixth deadliest tornado in American History. Sixth ranked killer tornado in American history.

1953
May 10, 1953 States affected: MN On May 10, there was three tornadoes in southeast Minnesota that killed 7 and injured 19.
1956
April 3, 1956 States affected: MI A large tornado moves through GrandRapids MI. Footage is in Black and White.
1957
April 2, 1957 States affected: TX A multivortex tornado touches down outside of Dallas TX.
June 20, 1957 States affected: MN June 20, 1957 The Fargo, ND/Moorhead, MN tornado of June 20, 1957 left 10 people dead and more than 100 people injured.

 

[MatthewCarman]

1967
April 30, 1967 States affected: MN,IA Tornado outbreak with 9 confirmed tornadoes and three of them being rated F4. NW of Alden MN a F3 tornado confirmed. A F1 in Steele County MN. A F4 near Hartland MN. A F2 east of Hartland. SE of Manly IA a confirmed F4 that did near F5 damage. SW of Twin Lakes MN a F4 tornado. A F3 tornado W of Carpenter IA. SE of Austin MN and Marion MN both had confirmed F2 tornadoes. 13 people died with 80 injured and 9 million $ in damage caused. Waseca MN had a 4 block wide swath of destruction.
1968
June 13, 1968 States affected: MN Tracy MN was in the path of a destrctive tornado. The result is 9 people dead and 125 people injured.
1969
August 6, 1969 States affected: MN The Outing area was struck by a killer tornado know to some as the maxi tornado which left 12 people dead and 70 more injured.

1972
April 5, 1972, Vanouver, Washington tornado, Historic tornado Wensday morning cold air began moving inland from the Pacific Ocean and collided with warm air in Oregon’s Willamette Valley and the coastal mountains. A squall line formed between Eugene and Newport, Oregon, and moved north-northeast, gaining strength as it did so. By noon the sqaull line had southerly 50 MPH winds as it moved through Portland. A unofficial wind gust to 120 MPH was recorded before the equipment was damaged and the Portland International Airport had a official wind gust to 63 MPH. No one in Vancouver had any idea of what was coming. The only warning came when the storm reached the McLoughlin Heights neighborhood, about a mile north of the river. There the storm blew down at least a half a mile of transmission lines and sent showers of blue sparks into the air, which were visible to people several miles away. Most of the people who saw this had no idea what it was. 2 homes were demolished and 25 more were damged as the tornado continued into the city. At the Peter Skene Ogden Elementary School, the children ran inside when golfball sized hail and rain began falling. None of the students or teachers had any idea what was happening as the storm struck. Although at least 70 students from the Ogden school were injured, none was killed by the tornado thankfully. The bowling alley and discount store would be hit next.The tornado continued on its north-northeast track as far as Brush Prairie. This tornado lasted for atleast 9 miles and was a qaurter mile wide. Six people were killed and at least 304 were injured. The tornado remains the deadliest in Washington state history and possible the worst tornado for 1972. This tornado was rated as a F3.





1974
April 3, 1974- States affected: Historic super tornado outbreak During the Super Outbreak of 1974 some areas that were devastated include Cincinnati (where I, Skywatch_NC was raised) and an F4 had tore through the suburbs of Bridgetown and Sayler Park in Cincy. Another F4 nearly wiped out Xenia OH northeast of Cincinnati. Not only did this outbreak feature an incredible 148 tornadoes in only 18 hours, but an unprecedented amount of them were violent; six of the tornadoes were of F5 intensity, and 24 were of F4 intensity. More than 300 people, possibly as many as 330, were killed by tornadoes during this outbreak. Eric (Skywatch) was in the basement listning to his radio when a stong destructive tornado was moving near his area and I can only imagine what was going through his head. I would have been thinking I could die right now. Thankfully the tornado did not hit his block. Thanks Eric for the above information on the outbreak. This historic event will never be forgotten.
August 30, 1974 States Affected: Kansas Large tornado near Great Bend Footage is old but in color. Very spectacular to see on footage. A classic tonado.
1976
May 30, 1976 States affected: OK A tornado touches down near Waurika OK and is photographed by David Hoadley and other chasers.
July 31, 1976- States affected: CO, Historic thunderstorm Big Thompson Thunderstorm and Big Thompson Canyon flash flood of Colorado. The supercell in just 3-4 hours grew to a height of 65,000 feet! It remained almost completely stationary dropping 14" of rain on a small area most of which feel in a 4-6 hour period. In 1 hour Glen Comfort recieved 6" of rain. When the Big Thompson river flooded it's canyon that night below Estes Park 144 people died.
1981
June 14, 1981 States affected: MN A tornado in Minnesota tore across the Twin Cities from Edina to Roseville resulting in 1 death and 83 people injured.
1982
May 3, 1982- States affected: UT President Reagan's star horse from Death Valley Days, Sinbad the Sailor, struck by lightning and killed at Kanab, UT.
May 11, 1982- States affected: TX,OK Numerous tornadoes across sw OK and part of the Texas panhandle. Altus AFB hit.
May 19, 1982- States affected:TX Intense tornadic storm develops near Pampa, TX.
May 29, 1982- States affected: IL,OH,KY Marion, IL devastated by a killer tornado. 10 deaths, 181 injured. Ping pong ball size hail fell at Louisville, KY and Columbus, OH had a wind gust to 76 mph.
1983
March 3, 1983 - States affected: Donley County TX tornadoes, well documented by Tim Marshall.
1984
April 26, 1984- States affected: Numerous tornadoes from central OK into the upper Midwest.
1985
May 10, 1985- States affected: Large tornadoes across portions of KS and NE.
1986
May 8, 1986- States affected: Tornadic storms develop near Canadian, Texas.
May 14, 1986 - States affected: Tornadoes in sw OK. Windthorst TX tornado.
1987
July 31, 1987 Country affected: Canada, Historic tornado A destructive F4 tornado hits Edmonton Canada Cuasing lots of damage and killing several people. A baby less then a year old is thrwn from her tralier and lives. This tornado may have been more deadly then the Ellie 2007 tornado but not as strong.Still the deadliest/worst tornado in Canada's history. 27 people died and 300 million dollars in damage occured. The tornado formed from a severe storm, most likely a supercell that was dropping large hail.
1990
March 13, 1990- States affected: OK to IA Hesston F5, tornadoes from OK into IA.
May 15, 1990 - States affected:OK OK tornadoes, and Stillwater F3 tornado.
June 6, 1990- States affected:CO, Historic tornado The town of Limon CO is hit by a half mile wide F4 tornado and 80% of the town is destroyed.
August 28, 1990- States affected: IL Plainfield, Illinois hit southwest of Chicago.




1991
March 26, 1991 - States affected: OK,TX Tornadoes in OK and TX.
April 12, 1991 - States affected:OK Tornadoes in north central OK.
May 15, 1991 - States affected:OK Laverne, Oklahoma tornado.
May 26, 1991- States affected:OK,KS Woodward OK and Wichita KS area tornadoes.
1992
May 11, 1992 - States affected: OK Tornadoes in sw OK.
1993
May 5, 1993 - States affected:OK,KS OK panhandle and sw KS tornadoes.
May 7, 1993 - States affected: OK,TX Tornado outbreak in northwest Oklahoma with isolated occurrences further south through Wellington, TX.
July 21, 1993 - States affected:CO Last Chance, CO tornado. This was a spectacular tornado to watch and many chasers caught this on video.
1994
April 26, 1994 - States affected: OK,TX OK and TX tornado outbreak, Gainesville tornado.
May 29, 1994 - States affected:TX Significant tornadoes affect Newcastle, TX and Gene Rhoden pulls up to a random house and seeks shelter with a family.
August 17, 1994 - States affected: The Lahoma storm brings 113 mph winds to the Lahoma mesonet.

 

[MatthewCarman]

1995
May 7, 1995 - States affected: OK,TX Ardmore OK tornado, north TX tornadoes.
June 8, 1995- States affected: TX Major tornado outbreak in central and eastern Texas Panhandle with strong tornadoes near Pampa and Clarendon TX.
1996
May 30, 1996- States affected: CO A mini-outbreak strikes northeastern Colorado. The Channel 9 KUSA news team out of Denver films the life cycle of two tornadoes from a supercell in Morgan County which were on the ground at the same time. One of them is rated a F2 tornado. Washington County, several chasers document a quarter mile wide F3 tornado.
1997
May 1, 1997 - States affected: OK Supercells in southwest Oklahoma after a cool April.
May 7, 1997 - States affected: TX Strong supercells develop by Amarillo TX.
May 25, 1997 - States affected: OK Storms develop in central Oklahoma with tornadoes north of Duncan and eastward.
May 26, 1997 - States affected: OK Supercell development brings tornadic activity to eastern OK.
May 27, 1997 - States affected: TX, Historic tornado A violent tornado develops near Temple, TX and moves southwestward through Jarrell, TX. I think this was the slow moving F3-F5 tornado that did devestating damage.
1998
March 29, 1998 States Affected: MN The greatest March tornado outbreak in Minnesota history was March 29, 1998. A family of 13 tornadoes that stuck St. Peter and Comfrey especially hard killing 2 people.
April 8, 1998 States Affected: GA, Atleast 34 people died and 250 were injured as 3 tornadoes rated from F2-F5 moved across GA with Jefferson County being the hardest hit. A school in Jefferson County was destroyed. Pickens and Tuscaloosa county also had tornadoes. Hail to the size of baseballs fell in Cullman and Marshall Counties.
April 23, 1998 States affected: NE Furnas County NE has 3 confirmed tornado touchdowns and the well known picture of Audra Thomas infront of a tornado with her farm in the backround almost taking a hit was taken by Marilee Thomas.
May 8, 1998- States affected: A severe hailstorm develops north of ABI and moves eastward through Graham with numerous chaser windshields damaged.
May 24, 1998 - States affected: OK Numerous tornadoes develop in the Enid-Blackwell OK region and the tornadoes were obscured by severe haze.
May 30, 1998 - States affected: SD Spencer, SD strong deadly tornado well- documented by a number of chasers.
June 13, 1998- States affected: OK,KS,NE OKC area tornadoes and tornadoes along the KS/NE border.
October 4, 1998- States affected: OK Numerous tornadoes across OK.
1999
April 8, 1999 - States affected: IA Tornadoes in southwest Iowa including the Carbon-Bridgewater mile-wide F4 tornado that travled for 40 miles. Vortex times was on this tornado.
May 3, 1999- States affected: OK,KS,TX Historic Tornado in Moore OK. Very large tornado outbreak in central Oklahoma and Moore and Dover OK are hit hard. A very intense F5 tornado touched down and had it's sites set on Moore OK. Many people saw this tornado and later saw it's destruction. many argued this tornado was the first and soon to be only tornado that could have been a F6! Winds peaked to 318-319 MPH! The winds were not recorded at ground level but at midlevel. Atleast 10,000 homes destroyed in Moore OK. A baby is tossed many miles but survives and is reunited with it's mother at a nearby hospital. Strong tornadoes hit Dover, Shawnee, Perry and Bridge Creek, and the Moore and southern Oklahoma City metropolitan areas. Additional tornadoes also hit areas in south central Kansas, eastern Oklahoma and northern Texas, with over 70 tornadoes being observed across the region. The total tornado count makes this tornado outbreak the largest ever recorded in Oklahoma. 40 people died and 675 injured. The damaged cost a total 1.2 billion dollars. Five deaths, 100 injuries and heavy damage also occured in the Wichita, Kansas metro area. This event will never be forgotten
May 31, 1999 - States affected: KS Sitka, KS tornadic supercell.
June 3, 1999 - States affected: KS Almena, KS long-lived significant tornado. This was the only storm in the region and was extremely well-documented by many chasers.
August 11, 1999 States affected: UT, Historic tornado Salt Lake City Utah is hit by a F2 tornado.

 

[MatthewCarman]

January 3, 2000 - 12 tornadoes touch down in AR,MS and KY. 20 injured from the tornadoes. 101 severe weather reports.
February10, 2000 - 1 tornado in NV.
February 13, 2000 - 16 tornadoes would touch down in AR,TN,AL,GA,FL with 72 wind reports and 38 hail reports. 24 dead due to three tornadoes in GA. Magor damage was reported. 1 injured in AK from a tornado. Montgomery AL had a report of downed power lines and baseball sized hail.
February 14, 2000- 1 tornado reported in SC and 25 wind reports mostly in southern ID and surrounding areas.
February 18, 2000- 15 tornadoes reported in AK,MS and TN.
February 24, 2000- 61 severe weather reports and 5 tornadoes reported from TX to KS.
March 7, 2000 - 185 severe weather reports across the plains states with 6 tornadoes in OK. Severe weather reported from TX to SD.
March 10, 2000- 89 severe weather reports with 6 tornadoes in TX and LA.
March 11, 2000- A tornado was reported in FL,GA and SC.
March 15, 2000- 31 hail reports in OK/KS and 2 tornadoes in LA.
March 22, 2000- 38 hail reports and 13 tornadoes reported across TX.
March 25, 2000- 65 severe weather reports mostly in TX. Kingston Springs reported baseball sized hail.
March 26, 2000- 180 hail reports and 87 wind reports from NE/MO to TX/LA with 6 tornadoes reported in TX/OK. NWS Springfield MO had a wind gust to 60 MPH.
March 28, 2000- 77 severe weather reports and Fort Worth TX is hit by a strong tornado resulting in 2 dead and dozens injured. Downtown Fortworth hit hard and winds blown out of skyscrapers.
April 2, 2000- 15 tornadoes reported from TX to GA with 2 injured in TX. 121 severe weather reports fro this day.
Aprl 3, 2000- 18 tornadoes from LA to GA with 1 of the tornadoes in OH. 32 wind reports and 8 hail reports.
Aril 7, 2000- 73 hail reports from TX to IN and 18 wind reports. Hail was to the size of golfballs in some areas.
April 8, 2000- Wind event mostly for the Carolina's and 1 tornado reported in NC.
April 17, 2000- 66 severe weather reports mostly from SC to VA with 1 tornado reported in VA. Hail was the main threat.
April 19, 2000- 8 tornadoes in KS resulting in 2 injured and big wind event from OK to IL.
April 20, 2000- 189 severe weather reports for the lower great lakes and Ohio valley including KY and TN. 16 tornadoes reported in IL,IN and TN. 1 dead in TN. Mostly a wind event.
April 23, 2000- 138 severe weather reports with 8 torndoes reported. OK,TX,LA had most of the reports. Hartshorne OK 4 injured by tornado. Mostly a hail event.
April 24, 2000- 70 severe weather reports in TX,OK,KS,CO with hail the main threat.
April 29, 2000- 84 severe weather reports from TX to NE with a few in NC. Hail event. 69 hail reports with 15 wind reports.
April 30, 2000- TX/OK Event. 6 tornadoes in TX. 60 hail reports and 14 wind reports.
May 3, 2000- 99 severe weather reports mostly in TX/LA and TN/GA. 74 hail reports and 25 wind reports.
May 7, 2000- 6 tornaodes in MN with 73 total severe weather reports from SD,NE,MN,IA.
May 9, 2000- 10 tornadoes from MO to MI. 192 severe weather reports including 101 wind reports and 81 hail reports.
May 10, 2000- Waterspout in VA and a possible weak tornado in PA. Mostly hail reports for this day with a total of 134 hail reports.
May 11, 2000- 26 tornadoes reported in KS,MO and IA.Most of them in ne IA. 1 injured in BlackHawk county IA. Severe storms from KS to MI.
May 12, 2000- 1 dead from a ornado in Hill TX. 20 tornadoes from TX to MI.282 severe weather reports total. Hail and wind storms from TX to PA.
May 13, 2000- 105 severe weather reports mostly in the eastern states.4 possible tornadoes, 2 in PA and 2 in GA.
May 17, 2000 - States affected: CO,NE to WIMajor tornado hits Brady, Nebraska. Also over two dozen tornadoes in eastern CO but most did very little damage. 36 tornadoes in all and hail/wind storms from CO to WI. 183 severe weather reports.
May 18, 2000- States affected: IA,IL 22 tornadoes mostly from central IA to central IL. Hail storms from TX to OH and Windstorms for the northeast. 379 severe weather reports.
May 20, 2000- Isolated severe storms and 2 possible tornadoes. Local wind event in NC. 36 wind reports from central NC.
May 23, 2000- 26 tornadoes but the intensity is unknown for most of these tornadoes. A few were rated as F1 tornadoes. MO,KY,TN,OH,WV had the reported tornadoes.Knox County TN 1 injured.148 severe weather reports. Mostly hail storms.
May 24, 2000- 17 tornadoes reported mostly from OK to NC with the TN/KY boarder having several reported. 186 hail/windstorms reported from CO to CT.
July 5, 2000- States affected:CO A strong, quarter mile wide F3 tornado touched down just north of the town of Dailey, Colorado just after dark and devastated six farmsteads, causing over $2 million in damage.
July 21, 2000- States affected: LP supercell develops east of Greely and drops a F2 tornado documented by alot of storm chasers. This tornado travled 15 miles and was on the ground for around 20 minutes.
July 25, 2000- States affected: MN A tornado strikes Granite Falls causing one death and 15 injuries.

 

[MatthewCarman]

May 1, 2001 - States affected: NE,IA,MN Severe storms from NE to MN with 13 tornadoes in IA/MN.
May 4, 2001 - States affected: TX,OK,NE,MO 18 tornadoes in TX,OK,NE,MO. Mostly brief touchdowns but multi-vortex tornado reported 4 SW Pumpkin Center by Broadcast media(OKC).
May 5, 2001 - States affected: TX,OK,KS 6 tornadoes mostly brief reported in TX,OK,KS.
May 6, 2001 - States affected: TX,OK,IN (other states) 198 severe weather reports. Mostly hail but 13 tornadoes reported in TX/OK and 1 of them reported in IN.
May 9, 2001 - Severe storms from TX to WI with 11 tornadoes reported in NE,MN,WI.Appears the number could be smaller due to possible repeat of same report.
May 10, 2001 - States affected: IA (other states) 132 severe weather reports with IA getting hit the worst. 12 tornadoes reported in IA.
May 13, 2001 States affected: IA Hail storms across IA.
May 14, 2001 States affected: WI,MI Hail/Windstorms across WI/MI.
May 17, 2001 States affected: NM to OH Hail/Windstorms from NM to OH.
May 20, 2001 - 25 tornadoes reported across KS,MO,OK,AK,TX. Windstorms from CO to MS. 115 hail reports and 112 severe wind reports.
May 21, 2001 - Hail/Wind Storms from TX to KY/TN. 21 tornadoes reported in MI/OH.
May 22, 2001 States affected: VA,NC;IL Hail storms in VA/NC and IL. 4 tornadoes reported in IL.
May 24, 2001 - Hail/Windstorms from TX to TN/GA with 2 tornadoes reported in AL.
May 26, 2001 - Isolated hail storms across the US with TX and NC getting lots of reorts of large hail. Wind storms in IL and IN with 11 tornadoes reported in IN/OH and 1 of them in TX.
May 27, 2001 States affected: TX,OK,KS,MD Big severe weather day with 134 hail reports and 179 wind reports. Most reports in TX,OK and KS. 9 tornadoes reported in KS and MD.
May 28, 2001 - Isolated severe storms across the US with 6 tornadoes in CO and 1 tornado in NC.CO and Southeast had the most reports.
May 29, 2001 States affected: CO,KS,OK,TX Texas supercells and White Deer tornado. Lots of tornado reports from CO into KS and a few in TX and OK.170 total severe weather reports.
May 30, 2001 - Hail/Windstorms in TX,OK,AK,LA and 8 tornadoes reported in KS,NE and MO.
May 31, 2001 - Hail storms from CO to ND with Windstorms in the southeast. 6 weak tornadoes reported. 1 in KS,NE,IL,KY,CO and TX.
June 13, 2001 - States affected: NE,KS Seward Nebraska tornadic supercell and another intense supercell in ne KS.
September 22, 2001- States affected: NE Edgar, Nebraska tornado.
October 9, 2001- States affected: OK,NE (KS?) Oklahoma tornado outbreak and Nebraska tornado outbreak.
October 24, 2001 States affected: MI,IN,OH,Surrounding areas 25 tornadoes touched down in southern MI,northern IN and nw OH. A F3 tornado struck Saint Joseph County Indiana

 

[MatthewCarman]

May 7, 2002 - States affected: KS Tornadoes in sw Kansas.
November 10, 2002- States affected: OH,Areas south Tornado outbreak in the Ohio Valley and South. A F4 tornado touches down in Van Wert County OH

May 4, 2003 - States affected: KS,MO Tornado outbreak in southwest Missouri and a F3 tornado near Columbus KS.
May 6, 2003- States affected: MO,IL,KY Tornado outbreak for MO/IL/KY with several tornadoes reported. The strongest tornado was in southern IL and rated a F4. This tornado tracked 33 miles with peak winds at 210 MPH. 2 people died and a dozen more injured. A F3 tore through the town of Jackson MO causing over 10 million dollars in damage to this city. The rest of the tornadoes were rated as F2 or lower.
May 10, 2003 - States affected: MO,IL Large tornado outbreak in MO/IL.
June 22, 2003 Record Hail- States affected: NE Hail to the size of volleyballs fell in Aroura NE on this day with another storm to the south producing tornadoes. 1 person died from a tornado and another died the next night due to a tornado. The largest hailstone ever measured, 17.8 cm (7.0 in) in diameter with a 47.6 cm (18.75 in) circumference.
June 24, 2003- States affected: SD Many tornadoes touched down in SD this day with some very big tornadoes. Day of Tim Samaras lowest direct pressure reading in a tornado, Manchester, SD.

March 27, 2004- States affected: OK to WI Big hail event for OK and KS with severe weather as far north as MN/WI this day. Hail was golfball-baseball size in Custer County KS. 7 Tornadoes were reported in OK/KS this day with with a F3 wedge near Kinsley KS.
April 4, 2004- States affected: TX Tornadoes reported in TX this day and a storm in Seminole TX dropped Golfball sized hail for almost an hour with the hail being reported as 1 foot deep.
April 8, 2004- States affected: NM New Mexico event. Tornadoes reported in NM this day but the intensity and the number of tornadoes in unknown. TWC has a picture on their site of a tornado near Roswell NM this day.
April 16, 2004- States affected: IA A bow echo forms and races through central Iowa. Wind speeds were at least 60 MPH with this bow echo.
April 17, 2004- States affected: IA,MN,WI Severe storms in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin on this day. Mostly a hail event but a few tornadoes were reported in ne IA, ne of Mason City. Also a report of strong winds blowing vehichles over on I-35.
April 18, 2004- States affected: SD,NE,MN,IA 10 tornadoes were reported on this day in NE,SD,IA and MN. Intensity is unknown. A mean squall line formed from MN into NE and moved south east. 224 severe weather reports from this day.
April 19, 2004- States affected: TX,NM TX storms including a wedge tornado reported near Peyton and baseball sized hail and another wedge reported near Pampa. Storms also formed on the NM/TX boarder this day.
April 20, 2004- States affected: ND,SD,NE(2 t),KS,OK(2 t),IA(3 t),MO,AK,IL(31 t),IN(14 t),MI IL/IN outbreak. Dozens of tornadoes were reported this day mostly in IL and IN. Utica IL 8 people died in a tavern basement with only a 3 minute warning by the sirens.
May 12, 2004- States affected: KS Attica KS tornado.
May 15, 2004- States affected: TX Biggest tornado outbreak the TX panhandle has ever seen.
May 19, 2004- States affected: Mostly ND Could only find storm reports from this day with 15-16 tornadoes reported mostly in ND and severe storms from the central plains to the east coast.
May 20, 2004- States affected: IL,IN IL/IN outbreak. SPC had OK/KS to be the main show this day but the big tornado outbreak occured north of the area in IL and IN. Many people were surprised. Over 40 tornadoes touched down this day causing lots of damage. Des Moines IA also had a strong storm with rotation move over the city this day but thankfully no tornado reports with this storm. This outbreak is remembered as the IL and IN "suprise" outbreak.
May 21, 2004- States affected: IA A tornado hits Bradgate IA rated as a F2 destroying or damaging all but one building. Chris Rozoff and Erin Norris witness this tornado and another tornado estimated around 100 yards wide. The sirens did not sound until after the tornado hit because the sheriff was hurt by debris.
May 22nd, 2004- States affected: NE,IA,MO Nebraska and Iowa outbreak and possibly the largest recorded tornado ever that hit Hallam, NE that was reportedly around 2.4 miles wide (could have been multiple tornadoes) and a bow echo in Warren County IA with a wind gust to 106 MPH. 86 tornadoes reported that day with 36 of them in IA making this possibly the biggest outbreak for the state. Tornadic storms (strong rotation) also hit MO with this outbreak but unsure if any confirmed tornadoes with these storms.

May 24, 2004- States affected: NE,KS 53 tornadoes were reported in Southern NE and Northern KS.
May 29, 2004- States affected: KS Central and Southern KS tornado outbreak.
May 30, 2004- States affected: IL,IN,OH Big severe weather day with almost 100 tornadoes reported and almost 900 severe weather reports. Low-topped supercells form in IL along a intense sqaull line and move east. A F2 tornado goes through southeast Indianapolis during the Indianapolis 500. This was a holiday weekened and many tornado warnings were issued for Miami Vallley of Ohio, possibly the most for any one day.
88 tornadoes, 235 hail reports (max 4.5" diameter), 516 wind reports (max 104 kt) occured with this event.