TIME: Almanac 1993/TIME Almanac 1993.iso/time/charts/envi/wx92.005

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                                                                                The WEATHER of 1992

Highlights: Tornadoes Hit New Heights

Weatherwise Magazine - February-March  1993

By Hugh G. Crowther


  [HUGH G. CROWTHER is a meteorologist with the National Severe
Storms Forecast Center in Kansas City, Missouri.]


   Severe weather in 1992 -- on the strength of two huge
outbreaks -- racked up a total of 1,293 tornadoes, far more than
the old record of 1,133 set in 1990.

   The amazing total was largely the work of a record summer
launched by a June 15-16 outbreak of 123 tornadoes -- second only
to the Super Outbreak of April 3-4, 1974. The June total of 399
was the most tornadoes ever recorded in a single month.

   Despite the busy summer, however, the deadliest outbreak came
the weekend before Thanksgiving, when 93 twisters in the Gulf and
Southeast states claimed 25 of 39 lives lost to tornadoes in
1992.

   The bumper crop of tornadoes included 14 violent twisters (F4
and F5 -- see Fujita scale) that killed 19 people and injured 364
more, causing more than $160 million damage.

   Not surprisingly for a year of abundant severe weather,
devastating hail also plagued the South and Central states in
1992. Two record hailstorms struck central Florida in March, the
first causing $25 million in damage, only to be outdone three
weeks later by a storm with a $60 million price tag. Kansas City,
Wichita, and Dallas also had devastating hailstorms.

January

   Three states -- Arizona, Nebraska and Pennsylvania -- set
monthly records in January. The 15 tornadoes reported nationwide
hit on six days, affecting six states.

   On the 6th, a strong Pacific low-pressure system moved into
Arizona. Several storms developed over the desert and dropped
large hail on Phoenix.

   Shortly after 2 p.m., eyewitnesses saw a funnel cloud. A
second, weaker tornado overturned two trailer homes near Mesa
about 20 minutes later. It was the first time more than one
tornado had been reported in Arizona in January.

   The same storm system brought a record six tornadoes to
central Nebraska in the late afternoon and early evening of the
7th. All were weak except an F2 that struck northeast of
Rockville.

   On the 14th, strong thunderstorms associated with a fast-
moving, rapidly deepening low-pressure center spawned two late-
morning tornadoes in eastern Pennsylvania. The pair (at Moosic
and Lumberville) set a state record for the month. There were
also nearly 50 reports of damaging winds in eastern Pennsylvania
that morning, including gusts to 87 m.p.h. at Gettysburg.
Straight-line winds over western Pennsylvania hit 63 m.p.h. at
Bradford.

February

   Tornado activity increased in February, as 29 twisters struck
on nine days. Arizona again set a record (with three), and Ohio
tied its 1971 record of three.

   Six of the 10 tornadoes sighted in Florida struck on the 5th.
Pre-dawn thunderstorms along a stationary front spawned two weak
tornadoes (F0) in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area. Thunderstorms
redeveloped over central Florida late in the day, creating four
more weak twisters.

   Thunderstorms associated with a cold front crossing Arizona
spawned weak tornadoes in Phoenix, Tempe, and Apache Junction
during the early afternoon of the 13th. The tornado at Apache
Junction damaged 15 mobile homes.

   On the 18th, early-evening thunderstorms ahead of a slow-
moving cold front spawned an F4 three miles southeast of Ohio
City, Ohio. The twister injured six, and property damage exceeded
$500,000.

   On the 25th, late-afternoon thunderstorms associated with a
warm front over Florida spawned two tornadoes -- one west of
Orlando injured 11 people, and another north of Jacksonville
injured four. Strong downburst winds in the Lakeland area injured
one person and destroyed 26 houses and seven apartment complexes.

March

   Just 55 tornadoes were reported on 17 days in 17 states, but
one was the first killer tornado of the year. There were 13
twisters in Texas, seven in Kansas, and six in Louisiana. Two in
Nevada were the first ever reported in the state in March.

   The 8th was the busiest day of the month, as 11 twisters
formed with a cold front moving across the south and central
Plains. There were 59 reports of large hail in Oklahoma and 31 in
Texas, including three-inch hailstones south of Holliday, Texas.
Late-evening thunderstorms over south-central Oklahoma produced
softball-size hail east of Ratliff City.

   Thunderstorms developing in the warm, moist air ahead of an
arctic cold front produced severe weather the afternoon and
evening of the 9th over east-central Mississippi. During the late
evening, an F4 touched down near Panther Burn in west-central
Mississippi and traveled 20 miles northeast. The tornado
destroyed eight houses in Murphy, removing five completely from
their foundations. One brick house apparently exploded, and its
roof was later found more than a block away.

   An F3 touched down in Lauderdale County south of Meridian
shortly before 1 a.m. on the 10th and traveled northeast 20
miles. Three mobile-home occupants were killed and 57 were
injured. The tornado damaged or destroyed more than 250 homes,
mostly in Zero. Property damage was estimated at $2.3 million.

   Later on the 10th, another F3 -- at times up to a half-mile
wide -- raced 18 miles across Green and Hale counties in west-
central Alabama at 50 m.p.h. The tornado struck a mobile home,
killing one woman, and destroyed a house, killing an infant boy.
Seven people were injured.

   A storm system crossing western Arizona spawned two tornadoes
in the Las Vegas area on the 8th. One cruised down Las Vegas
Boulevard South, lifting one home off its foundation, ripping the
roofs off two other houses, and tossing a horse trailer several
hundred feet.

   While 1992 started off as a slow year for tornadoes,
devastating hailstorms struck central Florida on March 6th and
25th.

   The March 6 storm remade southern Seminole County into a
winter wonderland. Marble- to golfball-size hail accumulated to a
depth of 12 inches along streets where azaleas had bloomed
minutes before. Damage estimates of $25 million made the storm
central Florida's most expensive ever. The record fell less than
three weeks later, when afternoon and evening thunderstorms
associated with an upper-level system pummeled Lake, Orange, and
Seminole counties with grapefruit-size hail, causing $60 million
in damage. Officials called it "the most economically destructive
force ever to hit the Orlando area."

April

   Surprisingly, fewer tornadoes (53) struck in April than in
March. In fact, it was the lowest April total since 1962 (with
41). After being ravaged by the Hesston tornado in March and the
Andover tornado in April 1991, Kansas saw only 12 tornadoes in
March, April, and May 1992 and only one in April. Tornadoes
struck 16 states on 11 days. Texas alone saw 22 twisters and
Oklahoma nine.

   Severe weather covered the southern Plains and lower Missouri
Valley April 9, yielding 12 tornadoes. Seven twisters struck
Woodward and Ellis counties in northwestern Oklahoma in just one
hour.

   Late-afternoon and evening thunderstorms on the 15th produced
severe weather from western Texas through south-central Kansas
and the central Mississippi Valley. Five tornadoes were reported
in northwestern Texas, one in Iowa, and one in Cedar Point,
Illinois, where baseball-size hail also fell.

   The scene repeated itself the next day as a slow-moving cold
front pushed violent weather through the central and south-
central United States. Again, northwestern Texas took the brunt
of it: a half-dozen tornadoes and 18 inches of golfball-size hail
southeast of Estelline.

   The same system brought thunderstorms to the Midwest. A
Plymouth, Michigan, tornado -- an F2 -- was the month's
strongest. It injured four people, demolished six mobile homes,
and severely damaged 14 others. Damage was estimated at more than
$1 million.

   On the 17th, coastal Texas saw five tornadoes: two east of
Corpus Christi and three northeast of Palacios. The 20th also
produced an eight-tornado outbreak.

May

   The May crop of tornadoes -- 137 in all - nearly doubled the
total for the year. Tornadoes were reported on 21 days in 23
states. Texas saw 43, Oklahoma 25, and Nebraska 18. New Mexico's
11 and California's one were both state records for the month.
Half the tornadoes hit on the 11th (33), the 15th (24), and the
16th (12).

   May 11 brought 30 tornadoes to Texas and Oklahoma. A late-
afternoon F2 plowed through Kingston in south-central Oklahoma,
injuring 13 people and destroying half of the town's businesses.

   An F3 cut a 10-mile path through Pittsburg County, seriously
injuring three people in a mobile home. The tornado pulled two
concrete, highline transmission poles from the ground and carried
a 500-gallon propane tank, which was three-quarters full, a half-
mile.

   Midafternoon thunderstorms over Coal County in southeastern
Oklahoma spawned two tornadoes that merged, forming an F3 that
injured one person. Later, in Latimer County, an F2 destroyed
three mobile homes and injured one person.

   Evening thunderstorms on the 11th generated eight tornadoes in
northeastern Texas, including three in Hunt County.

   With the tornadoes came 68 reports of dime- to baseball-size
hail in Texas and 43 in Oklahoma. Softball-size hail fell
northwest of Albany, Oklahoma. There were 42 reports of high
winds, 39 in Texas.

   A deepening low-pressure system over the North Central states
on May 15 produced 16 tornadoes in Nebraska and three in South
Dakota. Four twisters struck Knox County in northeastern
Nebraska, and seven more hit Holt County.

   The next day, afternoon and evening thunderstorms ahead of a
cold front spawned five tornadoes in Wisconsin, two in Iowa, and
two in Nebraska.

   May was unusually tranquil in some parts of the country.
Missouri had just two reports of severe weather during the entire
month.

June

   The month's 399 twisters broke the record of 329 set in June
1990 and included five violent tornadoes (four F4s and one F5)
and 58 strong tornadoes (42 F2s and 16 F3s). Only one day -- the
9th -- was tornado free.

   Thirty states reported tornadoes, led by Texas (66), then
Colorado (59), Kansas (55), Nebraska (34), Minnesota (31), and
South Dakota (27). Kansas set a new June record, and Colorado
nearly doubled its previous record for the month. For the second
consecutive month, New Mexico reported a record number of
tornadoes, this time with nine. The three in South Carolina and
one in Nevada were also state records.

   An outbreak of historic proportions hit the Plains and Midwest
June 15-16. The two-day plague of 123 tornadoes is second only to
April 3-4, 1974, and the 27 on the 17th (including 15 in
Michigan) and 22 on the 18th made a four-day total of 172.

   The rash of severe weather began in central Kansas, eastern
South Dakota, western Iowa, and northwestern Missouri on the 15th
when thunderstorms developed along and ahead of a strong cold
front. Kansas had 41 tornadoes, Nebraska 14, and South Dakota
three.

   Between 4:15 p.m. and 8:35 p.m., 39 tornadoes were reported in
north-central Kansas, including a dozen -- one an F4 -- in
Mitchell County and nine in Osborne County, where gusts to 92
m.p.h. also were reported.

   An F2 roared through a feedlot northeast of Plainville in
Rooks County, Kansas, killing 30 to 40 people, then struck a
mobile home, injuring two people. Gusts to 100 m.p.h. were
reported.

   That same evening brought 14 tornadoes to south-central and
southeastern Nebraska. An F3 tracked 21 miles across Saline and
Seward counties, causing $1.5 million in damage. Another F3 spun
across 14 miles of Seward County, derailing a train and injuring
one man as it destroyed his home. Property damage was estimated
at $5 million to $9 million, including $2 million in crop damage.
To add insult to injury, three-inch hail fell in Hildreth.

   On the 16th, the fireworks began as the rapidly deepening low-
pressure center moved out of Nebraska into west-central
Minnesota. The low fostered thunderstorms ahead of a cold front
in the central Plains and along a warm front in the upper
Mississippi Valley. Severe weather spread from South Dakota,
Nebraska, and northern Kansas to southern Wisconsin and
northwestern Illinois.

   The storms spawned 65 tornadoes on the 16th, the second
highest daily total on record. There were 27 in Minnesota, 16 in
South Dakota, 13 in Nebraska, eight in Iowa, and one in North
Dakota.

   Minnesota's 27 came between 5 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. and included
15 F2s, six F3s, one F4, and one F5. Redwood County had six;
Murray and Renville counties each had four. An F5 cut 16 miles
across Nobles and Murray counties, leveling half of Chandler,
killing one and injuring 35. Twenty minutes later, an F4 touched
down just four miles up the road, injuring three people near Lake
Wilson. The two twisters caused more than $27 million in damage
to the Chandler and Lake Wilson areas and another $17 million
across rural Murray County. An F3 in Yellow Medicine County
injured six and caused $13 million in damage, and another F3
traveled 10 miles across Wright County, injuring eight people in
Cokato.

   The 16 tornadoes reported in South Dakota on the 16th included
five F2s and three F3s. One F3 in Buffalo County injured eight
and destroyed the Lake Sharpe Visitors Center and at least 19
houses on the northwest side of Fort Thompson. Damage was
estimated at $5 million.

   Severe thunderstorms also moved across northern and central
Nebraska during the late afternoon and evening hours of the 16th,
spawning 13 tornadoes, for a total of 27 in the state in two
days. An F2 touched down in Burt County northeast of Oakland.

   The thunderstorms spread east on the 17th. A low-pressure area
moved out of Minnesota to the north of Lake Superior and, with a
cold front crossing the upper Great Lakes region and the lower
Ohio Valley, produced severe weather from northeastern Missouri
to Ohio and Michigan. Of the 25 tornadoes reported in the
Midwest, there were 15 in Michigan (five in Ionia County), five
in Illinois, three in Wisconsin, and two in Indiana.

   There were 138 reports of damaging winds associated with
thunderstorms over Michigan during the afternoon and evening.
Jenison reported gusts to 81 m.p.h., and Presque Isle reported
gusts to 78 m.p.h. Damaging wind in east-central lower Michigan
injured two people in Gladwin County and killed one person whose
airplane was buffeted by strong winds and crashed near Troy in
Oakland County.

   The rest of the month's activity was impressive in its own
right. Severe thunderstorms generated 49 tornadoes in western
Texas in June, on the 11th and another 12 on the 27th. Early
evening thunderstorms over the panhandle on the 27th produced
three tornadoes. The first was weak and short-lived. The second,
an F3, in open country, did little harm, but the third, an F4,
ripped through Fritch in Hutchinson County, injuring seven
people, destroying 360 houses, and damaging more than 1,000
others.

   Damage from this twister was estimated at more than $35
million. The tornado moved across Lake Meredith, northwest of
Fritch, and was temporarily diffused by the lake's canyon walls.
But it reformed over southeastern Fritch as a multi-vortex
tornado nearly a mile wide. Two other tornadoes were sighted in
the Fritch area at the same time, one of which was engulfed by
the main twister.

   From the same system, the Texas towns of Ector and Friona, as
well as Bellview, New Mexico, and Cimarron, Kansas, reported
softball-size hail. Hereford, Texas, reported gusts to 80 m.p.h.

July

   The record 213 tornadoes reported in July easily surpassed the
previous record of 163 set in 1987 and more than doubled the July
average of 90. The June-July total of 612 doubled the total
through May.

   Tornadoes were reported in 32 states, with only July 27
escaping tornado activity. Thirty strong tornadoes (25 F2s and
five F3s) were reported. The 12th alone saw 38 tornadoes,
including 28 in Ohio.

   The Buckeye State's July total of 44 swept away a record of 10
set in 1973. Pennsylvania doubled its 1976 record with 20, and
New York's 13 tornadoes surpassed the old mark of five set in
1989. Indiana's 14 upped the state record by one, and Illinois'
nine edged out July 1972's seven twisters. Oregon reported its
first July tornado.

   On the 2nd, low pressure tracking from Iowa to upper Michigan
and a strong cold front crossing the Central states spread severe
weather across the South and Midwest. Sixteen tornadoes were
reported, including four each in Iowa, Missouri, and Illinois.
Midafternoon thunderstorms produced 85-m.p.h. gusts at Joliet,
Illinois; early evening thunderstorms sent anemometers spinning
to 82 m.p.h. in Sedalia, Missouri; and late-evening thunderstorms
produced baseball-size hail at Knox City in north-central Texas.

   Late-afternoon and evening thunderstorms along and south of a
stationary front strung twisters across northern and west-central
Ohio on the 12th. A dozen were strong tornadoes, including two
F3s. Nineteen counties reported tornadoes, including Lorain
County, which got four.

   The storms injured 36. In Fulton County, west of Toledo on the
Michigan border, a strong twister near Pettisville injured eight.
Another 10 people were injured in Wood County by tornadoes that
hit south of Perrysburg and near Bowling Green.

   Evening thunderstorms over Lorain County, west of Cleveland,
spawned parallel tornadoes that injured five in Lagrange. Over
north-central Ohio, an F3 northwest of Medina injured four.
Thunderstorms also produced gusts to 67 m.p.h. at Cleveland and
half-dollar-size hail and gusts to 66 m.p.h. at Toledo.

   Central Indiana got six twisters on the 30th. An F3 that
touched down west of Nineveh in Johnson County injured 22
National Guard soldiers on maneuvers. Three others also were
injured and property damage exceeded $1 million.

August

   The three-month summer total rose to a record 727 tornadoes
with the 115 reported in August. The month's total was well above
the average of 62, but short of 1979's record of 126. Tornadoes
were reported on 23 days, affecting 28 states. Just five strong
tornadoes were reported, but two of them were killers.

   Mississippi's record of three in 1985 fell to the 27 sighted
this year, and Louisiana's 16 easily surpassed the old record of
seven, also set in 1985. Colorado matched its 1984 record with
six.

   Hurricane Andrew spawned 57 tornadoes. The first hit in
Louisiana, late on the 25th. The F3 killed two and injured 32 as
it cut across nine miles of St. John the Baptist Parish.
Tornadoes in Louisiana on the 27th injured three persons near
Beekman and four near Point.

   In central and southwestern Mississippi, Hurricane Andrew
spawned 27 tornadoes in less than 24 hours, between 7 a.m. on the
27th and 3 a.m. on the 28th. The first injured one person in
Topeka, and another injured two southeast of Meridian.

   On the 28th, Andrew's remnants spawned nine tornadoes in
Maryland and one in Delaware. A tornado near West Friendship,
Maryland, injured two.

   Tornadoes unrelated to Andrew hit the Midwest and Great Lakes
region on the 8th and the 29th. Evening thunderstorms associated
with a warm front crossing the lower Great Lakes region on the
8th produced severe weather from northeastern Ohio to western New
York. Two strong tornadoes were reported in western Pennsylvania.
One destroyed six mobile homes of New Castle, injuring 11 people.

   On the 29th, late-afternoon and evening thunderstorms
developing along a cold front produced severe weather in central
Wisconsin, including an F3 that touched down north of Coloma and
tracked 28 miles across Waushara County to southeast of Poy
Sippi. A woman was killed south of Wautoma when her mobile home
was hurled several hundred feet into a parking lot by the
twister. Thirty others were injured, and total damage was
estimated at more than $10 million.

September

   The 81 tornadoes in September nearly doubled the 30-year
average of 42 and was second only to the 1967 record of 139.

   Tornadoes were reported on 16 days in 18 states. Thirteen hit
on the 5th, but none after the 21st. Four F2s were reported -- in
Oklahoma on the 2nd, in Kansas on the 5th, in Missouri on the
7th, and in Wisconsin on the 7th.

   Four tornadoes in both New York and Colorado were state
records for the month, and Minnesota's nine broke a record that
had stood since 1964. Kansas reported 11.

   Late-afternoon, evening, and nighttime thunderstorms
developing along and ahead of a cold front crossing the central
United States spawned 13 tornadoes on the 5th, including seven in
Oklahoma.

   A strong tornado took a three-mile cruise along Kellogg Street
in Wichita, causing more than $5 million in damage. Softball-size
hail also was reported.

   After midnight, central Oklahoma saw three-and-a-half inch
hail in Oklahoma City and gusts to 94 m.p.h. at Norman. Northwest
winds associated with these thunderstorms raised the temperature
at Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City 12 degrees in 25
minutes.

October

   There were 33 tornadoes reported in October on nine days,
affecting nine states. Florida saw 10 on the 3rd, and 13 more on
the 6th and 7th. Five strong tornadoes were reported -- two in
Florida on the 3rd, one in Indiana on the 8th, one in Mississippi
on the 10th, and one in Arizona on the 24th.

   The first twister of the October 3 outbreak in Florida touched
down at 9:40 a.m. 15 miles west of Tampa, killing one. Less than
an hour later, an F3 touched down 13 miles southwest of Tampa,
killing three people and blowing apart many mobile homes. Another
75 were injured, and damage was estimated at $5 million.

   In Indiana, nine people suffered minor injuries on the 8th
when a tornado struck Fort Wayne Smith Airport. Planes were
grounded for several hours after the control-tower windows were
blown out.

   On the 24th, thunderstorms associated with low pressure
spawned three tornadoes at Flagstaff, Arizona. One raced five
miles through Sunset Crater National Monument, downing 260 acres
of ponderosa pine. The thunderstorms also produced golfball-size
hail around Flagstaff and drenched the city with 1.91 inches of
rain.

November

   November's 143 tornadoes surpassed the record of 121 set in
1988 and included more violent tornadoes (six) than any other
month. A 93-tornado outbreak across the South on November 21-23
was the largest and deadliest November outbreak on record.

   Twisters hit on 14 days, affecting 14 states. Louisiana
reported 30, Texas 21, North Carolina 16, Georgia and Indiana 15
each, and Alabama 12.

   Louisiana had 14 twisters on the 3rd and North Carolina 11 on
the 4th, but the weekend before Thanksgiving overshadowed these
outbreaks. Between Saturday afternoon, the 21st, and midmorning
Sunday, 48 tornadoes hit. Another 45 hit between midday on the
22nd and daybreak on the 23rd. Seven killer tornadoes claimed 25
lives as many storms struck in the middle of the night.

   Some were unusually strong and long lasting: The month's six
F4s all hit on this weekend as did 15 F3s; many were wider than a
half-mile and traveled more than 30 miles.

   Among 14 tornadoes in southeastern Texas on the 21st were
three F2s, an F3, and F4. Damage was estimated at more than $50
million, but amazingly no one died and only 34 people were
injured. One tornado about two miles south of downtown Houston
damaged 500 homes and 100 other buildings. An F4 touched down a
minute later in northwest Houston and tracked 30 miles across
Harris and Liberty counties. At times more than a mile wide, the
twister destroyed 200 homes and damaged about 1,000 others.

   That night, 15 tornadoes in Mississippi claimed 15 lives and
injured 269 others. A half-mile-wide F3 tore through Jefferson
Davis and Covington counties, injuring 105 people. Near midnight,
the year's deadliest tornado touched down in Copiah County in
southwestern Mississippi. The twister cut a 128-mile path across
seven counties, killing 12 people, -- including 10 in the Brandon
area -- and injuring 122.

   Further north, one tornado killed two people at Clarkson, and
another killed on person near Wahalak. A mile-wide F4 trekked
through mostly uninhabited areas but still injured 20 people.

   In Alabama, eight tornadoes -- four of them strong -- struck
early on the 22nd. A strong midmorning tornado traveled 40 miles
across Etowah and De Kalb counties, injuring 25 people,
destroying 17 homes, and damaging 133 others.

   The severe weather redeveloped later on Sunday, spreading 45
tornadoes from Indiana to Georgia. Indiana saw 15, Ohio two,
Kentucky four, Maryland one, North Carolina five, South Carolina
four, and Georgia 11.

   Georgia's onslaught included four F3s and two F4s that killed
six people and injured 144. An F3 killed one person and injured
seven others in Lumpkin County; one person was carried 300 yards.
An F4 touched down south of Eatonton and swept a house and
trailer into Lake Oconee, killing three. Two others died, 86 were
injured, and damage was estimated at more than $28 million; While
Plain was practically leveled.

   In North Carolina, thunderstorms spawned five tornadoes --
including two F3s -- early on the 23rd. Two people were killed
and 77 were injured. The killer was an F3 that ripped through
Hillsborough in Orange County. Although it traveled only six
miles, it reached and caused $2 million in damage. The other F3
tracked 160 miles to near Elizabeth City. Meanwhile, four
tornadoes in South Carolina included an F3 that killed a person
near Saluda.

December

   Most of the 20 tornadoes in December struck in California. In
fact, the 16 tornadoes in California surpassed the state's annual
record of 14 set in 1978. Florida added two and Oregon and
Mississippi one each.

   The California twisters -- 10 in the north and six in the
south -- struck on seven days. The last touched down near
Crescent City in the northwestern corner of the state at 1:30
a.m. (PST) on the 30th, ending a record year of devastating
severe weather.