Tornado outbreak of November 2004

On November 22–24, 2004, a major tornado outbreak took place in the Southern United States.

November 2004 tornado outbreak

Type	Tornado outbreak
Duration	November 22–24, 2004
Lowest pressure	997
Tornadoes confirmed	104 confirmed (Record for a continuous outbreak in November)
Max. rating^1	F3 tornado
Duration of tornado outbreak^2	~3 Days 16 hours
Damage	$13.7 billion
Casualties	4
Areas affected	Southern United States
^1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale ^2Time from first tornado to last tornado

Meteorological synopsis

The outbreak began on the 22nd, producing six weak F0 tornadoes in Louisiana and Texas, three of which occurred in the Houston area. The tornadoes caused very minimal damage and no injuries.[1]

Tornado activity continued in the same general area on the 23rd. Early on, most of the touchdowns were weak, though an F2 tornado near Kountze, Texas damaged between 10 and 20 houses and killed a woman when trees crushed her mobile home.[2] Several other tornadoes occurred in Texas throughout the afternoon, and soon began touch down in Louisiana as well. An F2 struck the town of Hutton, damaging about 15 houses and injuring 3 people. Further north, an F3 touched down and ripped directly through the town of Olla, where major damage occurred. A high school in town sustained significant damage, along with 106 homes. Some of the homes only had interior rooms left. A pickup truck outside of town was thrown 200 feet, and in the nearby town of Standard, four homes and a store were destroyed. Overall, the Olla/Standard tornado killed one person and injured 20 others.[3] Another F3 touched down near Fayette, Mississippi, destroying a steel-frame shed, damaging several homes, and flattening large swaths of trees.[4]

Vigorous tornado activity continued on the 24th, mainly across Mississippi and Alabama. However, an F2 tornado tore though the northwest side of Slidell, Louisiana, damaging 152 homes in a single subdivision and injuring 4 people. Numerous tornadoes touched down in Mississippi, with the strongest being an F3 that passed near Noxapater. The Noxapater tornado downed hundreds of trees, tossed vehicles, and destroyed chicken houses. A house was completely destroyed, resulting in a fatality and two injuries.[5] In Alabama, a large F2 tracked across Autauga, Chilton, and Coosa counties. The tornado struck the Cooper community, resulting in major structural damage.[6] Another F2 touched down and struck the Talladega Superspeedway, where two concession stands within the infield area of the race track had their roofs blown off. The Bush Garage area received building damage and the garage doors were bowed out. Debris was scattered between the garage area and Victory Lane. One digital leader board was completely destroyed and another one sustained major damage. The Talladega tornado continued east through Eastaboga and Bynum. In Eastaboga, two homes suffered major roof damage, two porches were destroyed and many trees were blown down. In Bynum, two mobile homes were heavily damaged by fallen trees. One of the trees smashed a mobile home, killing a 75-year-old woman. The tornado caused roof and structural damage in southern Anniston before dissipating.[7] No tornadoes occurred on the 25th. Overall, the outbreak produced 98 tornadoes and killed four people.[8]

Confirmed tornadoes

Confirmed tornadoes by Fujita rating

FU	F0	F1	F2	F3	F4	F5	Total
0	61	25	15	3	0	0	104

November 22 event

FU	F0	F1	F2	F3	F4	F5	Total
0	6	0	0	0	0	0	6

List of confirmed tornadoes - Monday, November 22, 2004
F#	Location	County/Parish	Time (UTC)	Path length	Damage	Refs.
Texas
F0	Pasadena area	Harris	1730–?	0.1 miles (0.16 km)	A power pole was reportedly downed. This was also the second tornado to strike Pasadena within a week.	[9]
F0	Jersey Village area	Harris	1942–?	0.2 miles (0.32 km)	A tornado was briefly spotted.	[9]
F0	Houston area	Harris	2053–?	0.5 miles (0.80 km)		[9]
Louisiana
F0	Iowa area	Calcasieu	1830–1835	1 mile (1.6 km)	A small, narrow tornado touched down briefly, destroying a brick dugout, damaging a shed, a porch, and a trampoline at nearby buildings.	[9]
F0	SW of Fenton	Jefferson Davis	1905–?	1 mile (1.6 km)	Two doors and a roof were ripped off a home near Woodlawn.	[9]
F0	NW of Iota	Acadia	2142–?	1 mile (1.6 km)	A roof was blown off of a tin building.	[9]

November 23 event

FU	F0	F1	F2	F3	F4	F5	Total
0	30	10	6	2	0	0	48

List of confirmed tornadoes - Tuesday, November 23, 2004
F#	Location	County/Parish	Time (UTC)	Path length	Damage	Refs.
Texas
F0	NW of Taylor	Williamson	1540–1541	0.1 miles (0.16 km)		[9]
F0	NW of Round Rock	Williamson	1551–1552	0.1 miles (0.16 km)		[9]
F0	SSW of Jonah	Williamson	1605–1606	0.3 miles (0.48 km)		[9]
F0	E of Cut and Shoot	Montgomery	1810–?	0.2 miles (0.32 km)	Roof damage occurred to a flea market and several nearby homes.	[9]
F0	La Grange area	Fayette	1834–1836	0.1 miles (0.16 km)	A small structure was knocked over, and several cars and buildings sustained damage.	[9]
F0	Lake Livingston area	Polk	1849–?	0.1 miles (0.16 km)	A waterspout came ashore from Lake Livingston, crossing over the Lake Livingston Dam.	[9]
F0	S of West Livingston	San Jacinto	1855–?	0.1 miles (0.16 km)	A tornado was spotted north of Lake Livingston Dam.	[9]
F0	Brenham area	Washington	1920–?	0.1 miles (0.16 km)	A tornado downed trees, along with residential and vehicle damage.	[9]
F0	ESE of Stilson	Liberty	1952–?	0.1 miles (0.16 km)		[9]
F0	Todd Mission area	Grimes	2025–?	0.2 miles (0.32 km)		[9]
F0	N of Elm Creek	Maverick	2035–2036	0.1 miles (0.16 km)		[9]
F0	Willis area	Montgomery	2050–?	0.1 miles (0.16 km)	A tree was downed onto a road.	[9]
F1	NE of Honey Island to SSE of Fred	Hardin	2108–2128	16 miles (26 km)	Many trees were downed, of which several fell on homes.	[9]
F2	S of Fred	Hardin, Tyler	2127–2130	8 miles (13 km)	1 death – A 75-year-old woman was killed when several trees smashed a mobile home. Between 10 and 20 homes were also damaged or destroyed.	[9]
F0	WNW of La Pryor	Zavala	2138–2139	0.1 miles (0.16 km)		[9]
F0	NE of Elm Creek (First tornado)	Maverick	2140–2141	0.3 miles (0.48 km)	No damage was indicated.	[9]
F2	W of Kirbyville to SSE of Newton	Jasper, Newton	2155–2203	15 miles (24 km)	A tornado struck the community of Bon Ami, damaging or destroying 10 to 15 homes and downing numerous trees.	[9]
F0	NE of Elm Creek (Second tornado)	Maverick	2212–2214	0.5 miles (0.80 km)	A second tornado was spotted near Elm Creek.	[9]
F1	NE of Bon Wier	Newton	2212–2220	3 miles (4.8 km)	A tornado damaged several homes before dissipating near a high school.	[9]
F0	SE of Bertram	Burnet	2308–2309	0.1 miles (0.16 km)	No damage was reported.	[9]
F0	W of Jarrell	Williamson	2308–2310	0.3 miles (0.48 km)	Minor vegetation damage occurred.	[9]
F1	WSW of Jamestown	Jasper, Newton	2310–2313	1 mile (1.6 km)	Trees and power lines were reportedly blown down.	[9]
F1	SSW of Burkeville, TX to Evans, LA	Newton (TX), Vernon (LA)	2330–2350	10 miles (16 km)	A tornado damaged or destroyed 5 to 10 homes and knocked down trees and power lines. The tornado moved through Evans, damaging or destroying several homes, before dissipating.	[9]
F0	NW of Davilla	Bell	0032–?	0.1 miles (0.16 km)		[10]
F0	Kenedy area	Karnes	0046–0047	0.1 miles (0.16 km)	No damage was reported.	[9]
F0	Yorktown area	De Witt	0100–0101	0.1 miles (0.16 km)	No damage was reported.	[9]
F1	N of Cuero	De Witt	0113–0115	0.5 miles (0.80 km)	Skywarn-trained radio operators spotted a tornado north of Cuero.	[9]
F0	Sublime area	Lavaca	0158–0159	0.1 miles (0.16 km)		[9]
F0	NE of Glen Flora	Wharton	0220–?	0.4 miles (0.64 km)	Four homes were damaged in the Spanish Camp area.	[9]
F2	SE of Apple Springs	Trinity	0300–?	2 miles (3.2 km)	A tornado touched down, stranding several hunters in severely damaged vehicles. The path mainly consisted of downed or snapped trees.	[9]
F0	W of Pecan Grove	Fort Bend	0305–?	0.1 miles (0.16 km)	A tree was downed.	[9]
Arkansas
F0	W of Portland	Chicot	2210–?	1 mile (1.6 km)	A tornado downed power lines.	[9]
Louisiana
F0	S of Start	Richland	2224–2225	0.5 miles (0.80 km)	A trained spotter spotted a weak tornado as it moved briefly across an open field.	[9]
F0	WSW of Natchez	Natchitoches	0000–0005	1 mile (1.6 km)	A weak tornado caused some isolated, minimal damage to structures in Natchez.	[9]
F1	Leesville area	Natchitoches	0008–0009	1 mile (1.6 km)	A tornado touched down in a subdivision in Leesville, damaging several homes.	[9]
F2	NW of Simpson	Vernon	0035–0042	10 miles (16 km)	A tornado struck the town of Hutton, damaging about 15 houses and injuring 3 people.	[9]
F2	S of Mora to SW of Chopin	Natchitoches	0049–0120	20 miles (32 km)	Extensive tree damage occurred, along with minor damage to farm outbuildings. Many other trees were either snapped or uprooted on a stretch of over two miles. Several homes sustained moderate to major damage, including two frame homes were destroyed. Two mobile homes were also destroyed, and one woman suffered broken ribs and a punctured lung.	[9]
F1	Burr Ferry to SW of Leesville	Vernon	0050–0105	14 miles (23 km)	A tornado tore down many trees, power lines, and damaged several homes near the southwestern side of Anacoco Lake.	[9]
F0	N of Colfax to Williana	Grant	0120–0200	12 miles (19 km)	A small tornado downed trees.	[9]
F1	Fort Polk South area	Vernon	0120–0125	3 miles (4.8 km)	A small tornado downed trees.	[9]
F3	SW of Olla to E of Copenhagen	La Salle, Caldwell	0205–0230	15 miles (24 km)	1 death – A high school sustained significant roof damage, where the tornado was rated a low end F2. The damage path extended into the middle of Olla where numerous homes sustained severe damage. Some homes lost the roof, exterior walls, and a few interior walls. Across the northeast part of town, five mobile homes were completely destroyed and a pickup was launched 200 feet and smashed upside down. In the community of Standard, four homes and a store were destroyed. Total damage consisted of minor to major damage to 106 homes and the high school. The tornado continued into Caldwell Parish, where numerous trees were blown over and snapped off at the parish line. The tornado then tracked northeast to the community of Spaulding where a few homes sustained roof damage. Three miles northeast of Spaulding, hundreds of trees were snapped off in a ravine. In Holum, several homes were heavily damaged, including a home that was unroofed, warranting an F2 rating. Before lifting, numerous trees were snapped and a home sustained roof damage near Copenhagen.	[9]
F0	NNE of Rapides	Grant	0230–0250	3 miles (4.8 km)	Damage occurred to trees and a home that was not built yet, which collapsed.	[9]
Mississippi
F0	SSE of Beechwood	Warren	0431–0433	1 mile (1.6 km)	Several large trees were downed.	[9]
F3	E of Church Hill to WSW of Pattison	Jefferson, Claiborne	0440–0504	18 miles (29 km)	One mobile home and two sheds sustained minor damage and caused major roof damage to four homes off of a highway. one of these homes lost almost the entirety roof and every window was blown out. Numerous trees were snapped or uprooted near the end of the path.	[9]

November 24 event

FU	F0	F1	F2	F3	F4	F5	Total
0	25	15	9	1	0	0	50

List of confirmed tornadoes - Tuesday, November 23, 2004
F#	Location	County/Parish	Time (UTC)	Path length	Damage	Refs.
Louisiana
F2	NW of Slidell	St. Tammany	0630–0645	4 miles (6.4 km)	A tornado damaged 152 homes near Slidell, with nine of the homes being declared uninhabitable. Four people sustained injuries and were treated by a local hospital and were released soon after.	[9]
F1	Westwego to Harvey	Jefferson	1050–1100	4.5 miles (7.2 km)	Several law enforcement officers reported visually spotting a tornado. The tornado caused significant damage in Westwego, where 25 to 30 commercial buildings sustained primarily minor damage to roofs and plate glass windows. In Harvey, an air conditioning unit was ripped off of a school building and several trees were downed.	[9]

See also

• November 1992 tornado outbreak
• Tornadoes of 2004

References

1. "Storm Events Database". ncdc.noaa.gov. NCDC. Retrieved January 12, 2014.
2. "Storm Events Database". ncdc.noaa.gov. NCDC. Retrieved January 12, 2014.
3. "Storm Events Database". ncdc.noaa.gov. NCDC. Retrieved January 12, 2014.
4. "Storm Events Database". ncdc.noaa.gov. NCDC. Retrieved January 12, 2014.
5. "Storm Events Database". ncdc.noaa.gov. NCDC. Retrieved January 12, 2014.
6. Westland, Jim (November 23, 2011). "Cooper-Lake Mitchell-Hanover Tornado". NWS Birmingham. NOAA. Retrieved January 12, 2014.
7. Westland, Jim (November 23, 2011). "Eastaboga-Bynum Tornado". NWS Birmingham. NOAA. Retrieved January 12, 2014.
8. "Storm Events Database". ncdc.noaa.gov. NCDC. Retrieved January 12, 2014.
9. http://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/orders/IPS/IPS-579317B7-2B95-49CC-80A3-666E8D6AE993.pdf
10. http://www.tornadohistoryproject.com/tornado/20041123.48.170