Four rounds of severe weather and flooding occurred during the period from March 9-13, 2006. 

  • From March 9-13, there were 111 large hail, damaging wind, or tornado events in the area served by the Paducah office. Numerous flash flood events occurred. For all of these events, the Paducah office issued over 200 severe weather and flash flood warnings.
  • During this period, four fatalities occurred. Two tornado fatalities occurred in Perry County, Missouri in a long-track F3 tornado. Two flash flood fatalities occurred when motorists attempted to drive through flooded areas. One fatality was in Webster County, KY and another was near the Carter/Butler County border in southeast Missouri.
  • Photo gallery of March 9-13 Perry County Tornado, Severe Storms, and Flooding

March 9 - Widespread wind damage

  • Several rounds of severe thunderstorms occurred Thursday, March 9. Isolated severe thunderstorms began before sunrise and continued through the morning hours. The most widespread and destructive winds occurred with the early evening round of thunderstorms, especially in southeast Missouri and western Kentucky.
  • Flooding problems resulted from the widespread heavy rainfall, especially along and northwest of the Ohio River, where 3 to 6 inches of rain occurred.
  • Wind damage was most concentrated across extreme southeast Missouri and western Kentucky, where gusts from 60 to 70 MPH were common. Storm damage surveys indicated Isolated gusts to at least 90 MPH in Carlise County. Gusts at the National Weather Service office in Paducah were measured to 61 MPH, and sustained winds peaked at 48 MPH. The wind damage across western Kentucky was associated with a rapidly moving line of thunderstorms.
  • Details on Thursday, March 9 severe weather and flooding...

March 11 (Early morning) - Hail in southern IL and southwest IN

  • During the late night/early morning hours, numerous thunderstorms produced hail across southwest Indiana and southern Illinois. Several reports of nickel to half-dollar size hail were received. Marion, Illinois and Evansville, IN were among those places reporting large hail.

March 11-12 (Night/Early morning) - Long-track F3 tornado, wind damage, major flash flooding

  • An outbreak of severe thunderstorms occurred over much of our region the night of Saturday, March 11 into the early morning of March 12.  
  • A long-track tornado crossed Perry County, Missouri, causing two fatalities as it peaked at F3 intensity. 
  • The same tornado crossed into Perry County, IL within two hours, injuring two people and severely damaging dozens of homes. 
  • A high-end F1 tornado occurred in Wayne County, IL.    
  • A 14-mile long swath of wind damage occurred in the counties of Pulaski and Massac in the southern tip of Illinois. 
  • Additionally, significant flooding occurred over parts of southern Illinois and southwest Indiana as a result of widespread persistent thunderstorms.  Numerous road closures and some water rescues were conducted across southwest Indiana, including Evansville.  Water rescues were also conducted near Mount Vernon, Illinois.  
  • Details on March 11-12 severe weather outbreak..

March 12-13 (Late night/early morning) - Isolated large hail, wind in southeast Missouri

  • The fourth and final round of severe weather occurred before dawn on March 13. A supercell thunderstorm crossed parts of Carter, Wayne, and Bollinger Counties in southeast Missouri. Hail up to 3 inches in diameter fell in Piedmont, MO between 2 and 3 A.M. Numerous trees were uprooted and thrown into a creek in a remote area of Bollinger County.
  • Although relatively little severe weather was reported in our area during this episode, areas from central Illinois west across Missouri experienced considerably more widespread and destructive storms.

 

 

USA.gov is the U.S. government's official web portal to all federal, state and local government web resources and services.