Late-October 1996 tornado outbreak

The Late-October 1996 tornado outbreak was an unusual tornadic event that affected Nebraska, South Dakota and Minnesota on October 26, 1996. A total of 26 tornadoes would touch down on what turned out to be a record breaking late-season tornado outbreak.

Late-October 1996 tornado outbreak
F2 tornado damage near Albany, Minnesota.
TypeTornado outbreak
DurationOctober 26, 1996
Tornadoes
confirmed		26 (Largest October tornado outbreak in Minnesota history)
Max. rating1F2 tornado
Duration of
tornado outbreak2		~11 hours
Fatalities15 injuries
Damage$1.4 million (1996 USD)
Areas affectedNebraska, South Dakota and Minnesota

1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale
2Time from first tornado to last tornado

Outbreak description

The outbreak started in Nebraska as three tornadoes touched down from 7:23 am - 9:00 am. The favorable dynamics then shifted northward to South Dakota, where nine tornadoes touched down from 11:30 am – 12:30 pm. Finally, 14 more tornadoes touched down in Minnesota during the middle and late afternoon hours. Of the 26 tornadoes that touched down that day, five of them were rated as F2, with the rest being F0 and F1. Because these tornadoes formed from low-topped supercells, the tornadoes that formed were relatively weak.[1] There were no fatalities, fifteen were injured and there was $1.4 million in damage; most of which occurred in rural areas of west-central Minnesota[2]

What makes this outbreak notable is the time of year that it took place. Typically early fall is a very quiet time of the year for tornadoes in the United States, and the ones that do form usually touch down in the Southern United States. In Minnesota, prior to this outbreak there had been only ten tornadoes ever recorded during the month of October, so the fourteen tornadoes on this day easily eclipsed most late season outbreak records.[3]

Tornadoes
Confirmed tornadoes by Fujita rating
FU F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 Total
0 8 13 5 0 0 0 26

Confirmed tornadoes
F# Location County Time (UTC) Path length Damage
Nebraska
F1 SE of Bassett Rock 1323 0.8 miles
(1.3 km)		 A pickup truck was rolled 138 feet (42 m), with the occupant being injured.
F1 N of Midway Holt 1350 1 miles
(1.6 km)		 Two houses sustained roof loss/damage, and a building, four trailer homes, and several campers were destroyed. Several trees were uprooted as well. Three people were injured.
F0 SE of Verdigre Knox 1500 0.2 miles
(0.32 km)		 No damage was reported.
South Dakota
F1 E of Castlewood Hamlin 1830 1 miles
(1.6 km)
F0 E of Dempster Deuel 1835 1 miles
(1.6 km)
F1 NE of Altamont Deuel 1845 1 miles
(1.6 km)
F1 N of Altamont Deuel 1850 0.5 miles
(0.8 km)
F1 E of La Bolt Grant 1905 1 miles
(1.6 km)
F0 SE of Milbank Grant 1920 0.5 miles
(0.8 km)
F0 NE of Milbank Grant 1924 0.5 miles
(0.8 km)
F0 NW of Milbank Grant 1924 0.5 miles
(0.8 km)
F0 E of Wilmot Roberts 1934 0.5 miles
(0.8 km)
Minnesota
F0 NW of Barry Big Stone 2001 1 miles
(1.6 km)
F1 S of Wheaton Traverse 2023 1 miles
(1.6 km)
F1 SW of Benson Swift 2059 4 miles
(6.4 km)		 Tornado damaged several farms outside of Benson. A pipeline facility was impacted and grain bins were destroyed.[4]
F1 SE of Cyrus Pope 2115 2 miles
(3.2 km)
F1 NE of Sunburg Kandiyohi 2115 7 miles
(11.2 km)
F2 S of Garfield Douglas 2115 9 miles
(14.4 km)		 Worst damage was in the Lobster Lake area. Homes and cabins were destroyed, some of which were pushed from their foundations. Four people were injured.[5]
F1 NE of Garfield Douglas 2125 8 miles
(12.8 km)		 Lake homes, cabins, and trailers were damaged at Lake Miltona. Two people were injured.[6]
F2 NE of Henning Otter Tail 2210 17 miles
(27.2 km)		 Several farm buildings were destroyed, with 21 dairy cows being killed in one, a man was injured when his car was spun around, and many trees were downed.
F1 NW of Clearwater Stearns 2214 1 miles
(1.6 km)
F2 SW of Albany Stearns 2217 5 miles
(8 km)		 Major damage near Albany, with several unanchored homes destroyed. Three people were injured.[7]
F2 SW of Sebeka Wadena 2230 4 miles
(6.4 km)
F1 Stanchfield area Isanti 2312 12 miles
(18.4 km)		 Numerous barns and garages were destroyed, several businesses were damaged in Stanchfield, and a camper was destroyed, with the occupant being thrown clear of the camper, resulting in minor injuries.[8]
F0 N of Dorset Hubbard 2314 0.5 miles
(0.8 km)		 No damage was reported.
F2 NE of Wolford Crow Wing 0000 0.7 miles
(1.1 km)		 Intermittent tornado near the Mississippi River caused structural damage at a few farms, including about ten buildings on one farm sustaining extensive damage: the roof and doors were torn off a hay barn, and a dump truck was pushed about 6 feet (1.8 m) into the side of a shed. Other outbuildings were knocked down, and a garage was shifted on its foundation. There was some structural damage and many uprooted trees on two nearby farms.
Source: Tornado History Project - October 26, 1996 Storm Data, NCDC Storm Events Database

See also

References
  1. "26 October 1996 Minnesota Low-Topped Supercells". National Severe Storms Lab. Retrieved 2007-03-12.
  2. "Storm Events". National Climatic Data Center. Archived from the original on 2010-05-06. Retrieved 2007-03-12.
  3. "The October 26, 1996 Minnesota Tornado Outbreak". National Weather Service. 2006-10-25. Retrieved 2007-03-12.
  4. "The October 26, 1996 Minnesota Tornado Outbreak". NWS Twin Cities. NOAA. October 10, 2012. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  5. "The October 26, 1996 Minnesota Tornado Outbreak". NWS Twin Cities. NOAA. October 10, 2012. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  6. "The October 26, 1996 Minnesota Tornado Outbreak". NWS Twin Cities. NOAA. October 10, 2012. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  7. "The October 26, 1996 Minnesota Tornado Outbreak". NWS Twin Cities. NOAA. October 10, 2012. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  8. "The October 26, 1996 Minnesota Tornado Outbreak". NWS Twin Cities. NOAA. October 10, 2012. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
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