- Source: Tornado outbreak sequence of April 1996
The Tornado outbreak sequence of April 1996 was a series of tornado outbreaks that occurred across a large area of eastern North America over a three-day period between April 19 and April 21, 1996. A total of 118 tornadoes touched down in the Great Lakes, Midwest and Southeast region over the three-day period, killing six people and becoming the most notable outbreaks of the year.
The 19th was the most prolific tornado outbreak in Illinois history with 33 tornadoes touching down across the state, breaking 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 large, deep, and vigorous system. The same system produced tornadoes in Ontario on the 20th and destructive tornadoes in Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas on the 21st.
Meteorological synopsis
= April 19
=The outbreak occurred when the warm front of a deep storm system moved north and east out of Missouri. April 19 started off cool and skies were overcast ahead of the warm front. Meteorologists were trying to figure out if the warm front would move into Illinois that afternoon. As the day wore on, temperatures warmed, dew points rose, and thunderstorms started to explode in Iowa during the mid-afternoon hours. Although there were some doubts on specifics, the potential significance of the outbreak was rather foreseeable, with storm chasers traveling from the Great Plains and the Storm Prediction Center issuing a high risk early on.
Illinois
A total of 33 tornadoes hit Illinois before spreading west and south into Missouri, and Iowa and east and north into Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana on Friday, April 19. The town of Decatur was hit by a large F3 tornado, as were the towns of Urbana and Ogden. Major damage and injuries occurred in all three locations, and one person was killed in Ogden.
Indiana
In Indiana, 21 tornadoes were produced as the cold front moved into the area during the evening hours. Temperatures had warmed well into the 70's and lower 80's (20 to 26 °C) before the storms hit. Five people were injured in Morgan County.
= April 20
=One of Canada's most prolific tornado events struck Ontario.
A vigorous branch of the jet stream from the Pacific Ocean combined with rich low-level moisture kept the storm system rolling, spinning off more tornadoes in the Southeast. One tornado hit Carroll County, Mississippi, killing teenager Dexter Forman when a tree fell on his mobile home. Another tornado did massive damage to Berea, Kentucky, but no one was killed.
= April 21
=The outbreak across the south-central U.S. on the 21st was produced by a different weather system.
A final tornado was produced by the first system in southern Quebec, more tornadoes raked through eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas, killing a father and son in St. Paul and two other children in Fort Smith. Shortly after the outbreak, the local CBS affiliate in Fort Smith, Arkansas, KFSM-TV, produced Sunday's Fury, a video production outlining the sequence of events that surrounded the Fort Smith tornado that day.
Confirmed tornadoes
= April 19 event
== April 20 event
== April 21 event
=See also
List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
Tornado outbreak sequence of April 19–24, 2011
References
External links
A wild weekend across the USA (USA Today)
Overview of the April 19 - 22, 1996 outbreak (USA Today)
Violent storms lash South, Midwest (CNN)
Galva, IL Tornado (NWS Quad Cities, IA/IL)
The Central Illinois Severe Weather Outbreak of April 19, 1996 (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
April 19, 1996 - Illinois Tornado Outbreak (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
NWS Service Assessment (Ft. Smith and Van Buren, AR)
Numerical Study of Severe Convection on April 19, 1996 (Proceedings, 19th Conference on Severe Local Storms, American Meteorological Society)
Initiation and Evolution of Severe Convection in the 19 April 1996 Illinois Tornado Outbreak (Proceedings, 20th Conference on Severe Local Storms, American Meteorological Society)
The 19 April 1996 Central Illinois Severe/Tornado Event: A WSR-88D Perspective (National Severe Storms Laboratory)
Federal Disaster Declaration (Federal Emergency Management Agency)
1900 UTC (2:00 p.m. CDT) Day 1 Outlook Text from April 19, 1996 (incomplete)
1500 UTC (10:00 a.m. CDT) Day 1 Outlook Text (incomplete)
PDS Tornado Watch #190
Kata Kunci Pencarian:
- Tornado outbreak sequence of April 1996
- Tornado outbreak of March 31 – April 1, 2023
- Outline of tornadoes
- Tornado records
- List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
- 1974 Super Outbreak
- List of tornado outbreaks by outbreak intensity score
- Tornadoes of 2011
- List of Asian tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
- List of F5, EF5, and IF5 tornadoes
