Barneveld, Wisconsin tornado outbreak

Infobox tornado outbreak|name=Barneveld, Wisconsin tornado outbreak
date=June 7-8, 1984
image location=Barneveld tornado damage.jpg

Barneveld, Wisconsin (Courtesy of NWS Milwaukee)
duration=12 hours
fujitascale=F5
tornadoes=46
total damages (USD)=$40 million in Wisconsin alone(1984 USD) [ [http://www4.ncdc.noaa.gov/cgi-win/wwcgi.dll?wwevent~storms NCDC Storm Events-Select State ] ]
total fatalities=13
areas affected=Most of the north central United States

The Barneveld, Wisconsin tornado outbreak is a significant severe weather and tornado event that took place across the central United States from North Dakota to Kansas on June 7-8, 1984. The tornado outbreak produced several significant tornadoes including an F5 tornado which traveled through Barneveld, Wisconsin in the early hours of June 8, 1984. The entire outbreak killed at least 13 people across three states including 9 in Barneveld alone.

Meteorological synopsis

A low pressure system entered the Midwestern United States on June 7, 1984 and intensified while brining a surge of moist and humid air coming from the Gulf of Mexico. After most of the affected areas were hit by a Mesoscale Convective Complex earlier during the morning of June 7, the atmosphere and instability in addition of instability, wind shear and high CAPE values produced a favorable environment for the development of extensive severe weather with possible tornadoes. [http://www.aos.wisc.edu/uwaosjournal/Volume1/AOS453/FCS_Harrington.pdf] Starting at around mid-afternoon, it started to produced several tornadoes across southern Minnesota and northwestern and southern Iowa including three F3s and a long-track F4 which traveled over 130 miles from extreme northern Missouri to southwest of Iowa City. That tornado killed 3 people including one in Missouri's Harrison County. Another person was killed in Ringgold County in Iowa by an F2 tornado at around 9:00 PM CDT. Activity continued through the overnight hours as a new cluster of storms developed across Wisconsin near the Iowa and Illinois borders and produced strong tornadoes including the Barneveld tornado up until the early morning hours of June 8, 1984 before dissipating.

Tornadoes confirmed

The Barneveld Tornado

As the tornado activity calmed down across Iowa and Minnesota in which numerous strong to severe tornadoes struck those areas from mid-afternoon to mid-evening, the severe weather shifted east towards Wisconsin after dark where a tornado watch was issued at about 11:00 PM CDT. A supercell thunderstorm, which affected portions of southeastern Iowa with a few tornadoes at around 9:00 PM CDT before weakening and intensifying shortly after, entered the state from the Iowa/Illinois border at around midnight near Dubuque. Shortly after 12:30 AM CDT, it produced its first tornado near Belmont in Lafayette County and lifted near Mineral Point in Iowa County about 15 miles southwest of Barneveld.

A few minutes later, a much stronger tornado developed northeast of Mineral Point and traveled through Barneveld and up north into Columbia County before lifting shortly after 1:30 AM after traveling 36 miles (62 kilometers). Residents of Barneveld woke by a loud rumble of thunder which cut electricity off just a few minutes before the tornado struck the town. The loss of power prevented the sirens from being activated prior to its arrival. At its peak, the tornado was nearly a quarter-mile wide. Other tornadoes rated from F1 to F3 touched down from Columbia County to Dodge County until after 3:00 AM CDT when activity finally weakened.

Milwaukee)The tornado was responsible for 9 deaths and nearly 200 injuries in Barneveld while causing about $25 million in damage. In total, 3 churches and 93 homes were destroyed as well as 17 businesses out of the town's 18, including the library, municipal building, fire station, bank and post office. The village's water tower, though damaged, was not toppled by the winds. In addition, 64 other homes were badly damaged. Some of the debris including paper work were later found about 135 miles away from the village. Other tornadoes in Wisconsin caused two additional injuries and about $15 million worth of damage but no additional fatalities. [ [http://www.crh.noaa.gov/mkx/document/tor/060884.php NWS Milwaukee/Sullivan, WI ] ] [ [http://www.channel3000.com/news/3395188/detail.html Barneveld, 1984: 9 Dead, 200 Injured - News Story - WISC Madison ] ]

The Barneveld tornado was more particular as it is was one of the rare tornadoes to occur during the overnight hours well after sunset although EF5/F5 tornadoes have occurred elsewhere during night, including more recently in Greensburg, Kansas on May 4, 2007 as well as in Birmingham, Alabama in April 1998, downtown Lubbock, Texas in 1970 and Udall, Kansas in 1955, the last being the deadliest Kansas tornado ever with over 80 deaths.

The Barneveld tornado was the first F5 in Wisconsin since the Menomonie Tornado in 1958 which killed 20. 12 years later in 1996, the Oakfield Tornado, the most recent F5 in Wisconsin, did not cause any fatalities while the deadliest tornado in Wisconsin history was the 1899 in New Richmond, where 117 were killed, making it one of the 10 deadliest tornadoes in American history. In the United States, it was the first F5 tornado since 1982 where an F5 touched down near Broken Bow, Oklahoma while the next one occurred on May 31, 1985 in Wheatland, Pennsylvania during the 1985 United States-Canadian tornado outbreak.

ee also

* Barneveld, Wisconsin
* List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
* List of F5 and EF5 tornadoes

References

External links

* [http://www.crh.noaa.gov/mkx/document/tor/060884.php Summary of the Barneveld tornado and supercell] (NWS Milwaukee)
* [http://www.aos.wisc.edu/uwaosjournal/Volume1/AOS453/FCS_Harrington.pdf Analysis of the Barneveld Tornado] (by Alex Harrington)