TAE Apalachicola Tornado of October 27, 2006

Apalachicola Tornado of October 27, 2006

Warm moist, unstable air in advance of approaching cold front produced several tornadoes across the eastern Florida Panhandle and Big Bend on Friday afternoon and evening, October 27th. One tornado flipped a Frito-Lay truck on its side in the Winn-Dixie parking lot in the Phillips Inlet area of western Bay County.

The most significant severe weather occurred when a waterspout came ashore and produced F1 tornado damage in Apalachicola. The tornado cut a path approximately 1 mile long (see Figure 1) and more than 100 yards wide, damaging a fast food restaurant, school, hospital, electric power substation, and dozens of homes. Hundreds of trees were either uprooted or had their tops sheared off. Luckily, no one was hurt. Figures 2 and 3 shows the reflectivity and storm-relative velocity, respectively, associated with the convective cell as it moved ashore near Apalachicola. Rotational velocities were surprisingly weak, unlike other tornadoes of this magnitude. Figure 4 shows damage to a home caused by the tornado.

The SPC report archive gives additional damage reports received during this event.

Figure 1. Damage path of the tornado that hit Apalachicola, FL, on Friday, October 27, 2006.

Figure 2. Base reflectivity image from the Tallahassee, FL, (KTLH) doppler radar showing a tornadic thunderstorm as it moved ashore into Apalachicola, FL, at 2215 UTC Friday, October 27, 2006.

Figure 3. Storm relative velocity image from the Tallahassee, FL, (KTLH) doppler radar showing a tornadic thunderstorm as it moved ashore into Apalachicola, FL, at 2215 UTC Friday, October 27, 2006.

Figure 4. This image depicts a home damaged by the tornado.