This page documents the tornado

Tornado

A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...

es and tornado outbreak

Tornado outbreak

While there is no single agreed upon definition, generally at least 6-10 tornadoes produced by the same synoptic scale weather system is considered a tornado outbreak. The tornadoes usually occur within the same day, or continue into the early morning hours of the succeeding day, and within the...

s of 1996, primarily in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Most tornadoes form in the U.S., although some events may take place internationally. Tornado statistics for older years like this often appear significantly lower than modern years due to fewer reports or confirmed tornadoes, however by the 1990s tornado statistics were coming closer to the numbers we see today.

Synopsis

The 1996 tornado season saw fairly average numbers across the board, though fatalities were lower than average at just 25. There were a few notable outbreaks, but most were outside the main "tornado alley" of the midwestern United States. The July F5 tornado that struck Oakfield, Wisconsin was the first F5 tornado since 1992.

Events

Confirmed tornado total for the entire year 1996 in the United States.

March

There were 71 tornadoes confirmed in the US in March. On March 6, six people were killed in Alabama by two tornadoes. One F3 tornado killed four in Dallas County, while another F2 killed two in Montgomery County.

April

There were 177 tornadoes confirmed in the US in April. On April 14, and F4 tornado killed seven people in Stone and Izard counties in Arkansas. The seven fatalities from this tornado were the most killed by one tornado in 1996.

April 19–21

The April 1996 Tornado Outbreak Sequence was a series of tornado outbreaks that occurred over a three-day period between April 19 to April 21, 1996 across a large area of eastern North America. It was the most notable outbreak of the year; the 19th was the most prolific tornado outbreak in Illinois history. Six people were killed in the outbreak, and 11 tornadoes were rated as high as F3.

Thirty-three tornadoes hit Illinois. It broke the old record of 25 set on August 10, 1974. This outbreak can also be compared to the May 2004 tornado outbreak sequence as it was a very huge, deep and vigorous system. The same system produced tornadoes in Ontario on the 20th; and destructive tornadoes also occurred in Arkansas and Texas on the 21st.

May 28

The May 1996 Kentucky tornado outbreak was a small outbreak of tornadoes that occurred in Central and northern Kentucky on May 28, 1996. The tornado resulted in over $100 million in damages. One tornado was rated as high as F4. The outbreak resulted in no fatalities.

July 18

The 1996 Oakfield Tornado is the name of an F5 tornado which destroyed Oakfield, Wisconsin on July 18, 1996. The violent tornado developed outside of town and moved southeastward across Wisconsin taking direct aim at Oakfield. At 7:15 p.m. the large tornado struck the 1,012 person town, injuring 17 people but killing none. It would be the only F5 tornado to hit the United States that year. The tornado width when it reached its maximum strength was about 100 yards (92m) wide, making it one of the narrowest F5's on record. There were eleven other tornadoes in Wisconsin from this storm complex, with one death at Marytown, Wisconsin.

October 26

The Late-October 1996 tornado outbreak was an unusual tornadic event that affected Nebraska, South Dakota and Minnesota on October 26, 1996. Twenty-six tornadoes touched down (max F2 rating) on what turned out to be a record breaking late-season tornado outbreak. This outbreak fortunately saw no fatalities.

External links

• U.S. tornadoes in 1996 - Tornado History Project
• Storm Data "1996 Annual Summaries" (NCDC)
• Tornado deaths monthly (University of Nebraska, Lincoln)