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
TypeTornado outbreak
DurationNovember 22–24, 2004
Lowest pressure997
Tornadoes confirmed104 confirmed
(Record for a continuous outbreak in November)
Max. rating1F3 tornado
Duration of tornado outbreak2~3 Days 16 hours
Damage$13.7 billion
Casualties4
Areas affectedSouthern 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

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
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