2005 Hurricane Cindy tornado outbreak

Hurricane Cindy (2005) tornado outbreak

Collapsed building at the Atlanta Motor Speedway as a result of an F2 tornado spawned by Cindy.
Type	Tornado outbreak
Duration	July 6–8, 2005
Tornadoes confirmed	44
Max rating1	F2 tornado
Duration of tornado outbreak2	47 hours, 15 minutes
Damage	$76.8 million (2005 USD)
Casualties	No fatalities; 1 injury
Areas affected	Southeastern United States
1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale 2Time from first tornado to last tornado

The Hurricane Cindy (2005) tornado outbreak was a two-day tornado outbreak that was associated with the passage of Hurricane Cindy across the Southern United States starting on July 6, 2005 across the Gulf Coast states of Alabama and Florida as well as Georgia before ending in the Middle Atlantic Coast on early on July 8. The outbreak caused no fatalities and only one injury but was fairly strong, as there were three F2 tornadoes spawned due to Cindy. The hurricane itself killed three people, two in Georgia, one in Alabama. Cindy produced a total of 44 tornadoes across seven states in a two-day span. Just three days after Hurricane Cindy had stuck the Southeastern United States, a much stronger and deadlier storm, Hurricane Dennis, made landfall on the Florida Panhandle on July 10.

Tornado event

The outbreak began as the remnants of Cindy weakened over Louisiana. As the storm weakened, strong thunderstorms began to develop along the edges of the system in Alabama. The first tornado touched down near Semmes, Alabama at 3:00 A.M. (CST). The tornado caused roof damage to several structures as well as knocking down several trees. Over the next ten hours, several F0 and two F1 tornadoes touched down in Alabama and Florida. Later on July 6, the remnants of Cindy were moving over Alabama and the activity shifted into Georgia. At 8:45 PM (EST), a large tornado touched down near the Atlanta Motor Speedway causing severe damage to the structures in the complex. The tornado then moved into an airfield where several planes and helicopters were damaged. Numerous homes were damaged or destroyed by the tornado as well. The tornado was rated F2 by the NWS. The activity slowed for a short while before picking back up in early afternoon hours on July 7 as the remnants of Cindy moved through Georgia. At 2:10^PM (EST) an F2 tornado touched down about seven miles south of Taylorsville, North Carolina where three buildings were damaged a mobile home was destroyed. About an hour later, another F2 tornado touched down in North Carolina. It touched down about four miles north-northeast of Harmony. The tornado damaged several buildings before moving into Yadkin County where an additional 13 buildings were damaged as well as severe crop damage to the tobacco and corn farms. By the nighttime hours, the activity was shifting into Virginia. Before the remnants of Cindy moved out into the Atlantic Ocean, seven F1 tornadoes touched down in Virginia. The outbreak ended early on July 8 as Cindy began to move out over the Atlantic.

Confirmed tornadoes

Confirmed tornadoes by Fujita rating

F0	F1	F2	F3	F4	F5	Total
26	15	3	0	0	0	44

July 6 event

List of confirmed tornadoes - Wednesday, July 6, 2005
F#	Location	County	Coord.	Time (UTC)	Path length	Damage
Alabama
F0	Semmes area	Mobile		0900	1 mile (1.6 km)	The first tornado of the outbreak touched down around 3:00 a.m. CST near Semmes. Along the tornado's 1 mile (1.6 km) path, a few homes and outbuildings sustained roof damage. Several trees were also knocked down by the tornado. No injuries were reported as a result of the tornado and damages amounted to $50,000.
F0	Chunchula area	Mobile		0953	1 mile (1.6 km)	A brief tornado touched down near Chunchula, knocking down several trees and power lines. No injuries were reported as a result of the tornado and damages amounted to $20,000.
F0	Leroy area	Washington		1120	0.5 miles (0.8 km)	A brief tornado touched down near Leroy, knocking down several trees and power lines. No injuries were reported as a result of the tornado and damages amounted to $15,000.
F0	W of Walker Springs	Clarke		1125	0.5 miles (0.8 km)	Brief touchdown, tornado knocked down trees and power lines. Caused $15,000 in damages.
F0	Atmore area	Escambia		1220	0.5 miles (0.8 km)	Brief touchdown, damage was confined to trees. Caused $5,000 in damages.
F0	Watkins Bridge area	Covington		1545	0.5 miles (0.8 km)	Brief touchdown, tornado knocked down trees and power lines. Caused $15,000 in damages.
F0	Lockhart area	Covington		1557	1 mile (1.6 km)	Brief touchdown, tornado knocked down trees and power lines. Caused $15,000 in damages.
F1	N of Autaugaville	Autauga		1827	0.3 miles (0.5 km)	Brief touchdown, tornado damaged one outbuilding. Caused $14,000 in damages.
F0	NW of Vida	Autauga		1836	0.2 miles (0.3 km)	Brief touchdown, damage was confined to trees. Caused $3,000 in damages.
F0	SSW of Cecil	Montgomery		1842	7.6 miles (12.2 km)	Tornado caused damage to a baseball complex. Caused $22,000 in damages.
F0	W of Shorter	Macon, Elmore		1855	5.6 miles (9.0 km)	Tornado damaged a few structures. Caused $18,000 in damages.
F0	SSW of Tallassee	Elmore		1917	1.3 miles (2.1 km)	Brief touchdown, tornado damaged three homes and one outbuilding. Caused $38,000 in damages.
F1	NW of Tuskegee	Macon		1934	0.1 miles (0.2 km)	1 Injury Brief touchdown, tornado completely destroyed an auto body shop. Caused $48,000 in damages.
F0	SW of Prattville	Autauga		1956	0.2 miles (0.3 km)	Brief touchdown, tornado damaged a few trees. Caused $2,000 in damages.
F0	E of Camp Hill	Tallapoosa		2034	0.1 miles (0.2 km)	Brief touchdown, no damage reported.
F0	SW of Lafayette	Chambers		2034	0.1 miles (0.2 km)	Brief touchdown, no damage reported.
F0	E of Opelika	Lee		2040	1.2 miles (1.9 km)	Brief touchdown, two mobile homes were damaged. Caused $34,000 in damages.
Florida
F0	Cantonment area	Escambia		1150	1 mile (1.6 km)	Brief touchdown, tornado knocked down several trees and power lines. Caused $20,000 in damages.
F0	Bratt area	Escambia		1211	0.5 miles (0.8 km)	Brief touchdown, tornado knocked down several trees and power lines. Caused $15,000 in damages.
F0	Laurel Hill area	Okaloosa		1555	1 mile (1.6 km)	Brief touchdown, tornado knocked down several trees and power lines. Caused $15,000 in damages.
Georgia
F0	SW of Rocky Mount	Meriwether		2230	0.3 miles (0.5 km)	Brief touchdown, two mobile homes and a few vehicles were damaged. Caused $25,000 in damages.
F0	N of Haralson	Coweta		0100	0.1 miles (0.2 km)	Brief touchdown, damage was confined to trees. Caused $1,000 in damages.
F0	SE of Fayetteville	Fayette		0110	1 mile (1.6 km)	Brief touchdown, hundreds of trees were blown down, twisted, and uprooted along the path of the tornado, many causing damage to dozens of homes and vehicles. Trees fell through the roof of several homes. A couple of businesses in southeast Fayetteville reported extensive damage, with the roof blown off one building on Highway 85 Parkway. Caused $2 million in damages.
F2	Atlanta Motor Speedway to NNE of Lovejoy	Henry, Clayton		0145	9 miles (14.5 km)	See section on this tornado
F0	W of McDonough	Henry		0155	0.5 miles (0.8 km)	Brief touchdown, a church and several homes were damaged. Several trees and power lines were also knocked down. Caused $150,000 in damages.
F1	NE of McDonough	Henry		0155	7 miles (11.3 km)	Tornado tracked through mostly rural areas and damage was confined to trees and power lines. Caused $25,000 in damages.
Sources: NCDC Tornado History Project 7/6/05

July 7 event

List of confirmed tornadoes - Thursday, July 7, 2005
F#	Location	County	Coord.	Time (UTC)	Path length	Damage
South Carolina
F1	W of Anderson	Anderson		0643	0.5 miles (0.8 km)	Brief touchdown, tornado struck a dock where it damaged about twelve sailboats, one of which was thrown 100 yards. Caused $150,000 in damages.
F1	NW of Chesnee	Spartanburg, Rutherford (NC)		1451	0.2 miles (0.3 km)	Brief touchdown, one outbuilding had its roof torn off and one mobile home was picked up and dropped 50 to 100 ft from where it once stood, causing severe damage to it. Caused $50,000 in damages.
North Carolina
F2	S of Taylorsville	Alexander		1710	4 miles (6.4 km)	Tornado destroyed one mobile home and damaged several homes. Caused $150,000 in damages.
F2	NNE of Harmony	Iredell, Yadkin		1810	8.6 miles (13.8 km)	At least 13 structures were damaged or destroyed. In addition to the structural damage, damage to tobacco and corn crops was extensive. Caused $2.4 million in damages.
F1	NE of Yadkinville	Yadkin		1841	1.4 miles (2.3 km)	Brief touchdown, damage was confined to trees. No structural damage reported.
F1	E of Yadkinville	Yadkin		1853	1.1 miles (1.8 km)	Brief touchdown, damage was confined to trees. No structural damage reported.
F0	Lewisville area	Forsyth		1930	8 miles (12.9 km)	Damage was confined to trees. No structural damage reported.
F0	Ceffo area	Person		1942	1 mile (1.6 km)	Brief touchdown, no damage reported.
F0	Oak Ridge area	Guilford		2120	5 miles (8.0 km)	No damage reported.
F0	N of Olivia	Harnett		0040	12 miles (19.3 km)	No damage reported.
Virginia
F1	NW of Ararat	Patrick		1722	0.6 miles (1.0 km)	Brief touchdown, no damage reported.
F1	N of Alberta	Brunswick, Nottoway		0050	3.7 miles (6.0 km)	Damage confined to trees. Caused $10,000 in damages.
F1	Winterpock area	Chesterfield		0229	0.5 miles (0.8 km)	Brief touchdown, minor damage to one home. Caused $5,000 in damages.
F1	E of South Hill	Mecklenburg		0255	4.5 miles (7.2 km)	Tornado caused damage to several structures. Caused $5,000 in damages.
F1	S of Beach	Chesterfield		0415	0.5 miles (0.8 km)	Brief touchdown, damage was mainly confined to a small forested area. Caused $3,000 in damages.
F1	Varina area	Henrico		0515	0.1 miles (0.2 km)	Brief touchdown, tornado blew the roof off an industrial barn. Caused $5,000 in damages
Sources: NCDC Tornado History Project 7/7/05

July 8 event

List of confirmed tornadoes - Friday, July 8, 2005
F#	Location	County	Coord.	Time (UTC)	Path length	Damage
Virginia
F1	N of Capron	Southampton		0620	1 mile (1.6 km)	Brief touchdown, tornado caused minor damage. Caused $2,000 in damages.
F1	Saluda area	Middlesex		0715	3 miles (4.8 km)	Tornado blew the roof off one home. Caused $5,000 in damages.
Sources: NCDC Tornado History Project 7/8/05

Atlanta Motor Speedway tornado

On July 6 at 8:45PM (EST), a large, half-mile wide tornado touched down near the Atlanta Motor Speedway. The tornado was estimated to have had winds of 120 mph as it tore through the complex. Every building had sustained at least minor damage and some that were damaged beyond repair. On some of the condominiums, the roof had caved in. Most structures had their windows blown out. The five-story scoreboard was blown down as well. The track was not damaged, however, debris was littered all over it. The tornado continued on its path of destruction towards the Tara Field Airport, west of the speedway. There, eleven planes and five vintage helicopters were damaged. The tornado then moved towards the Edgar Blalock Raw Water Reservation. At this point, the tornado had already been weakening and shrinking. The tornado turned to the northwest and crossed into Clayton County. The tornado lifted shortly after at around 9:04 p.m. (EST).

Damage from the tornado was extensive. About $40 million in damages was caused to the Speedway as many buildings needed to be torn down and rebuilt. Nearby the airport, a Chevron Auto service station was destroyed and at least 60 homes were severely damaged and over 200 others damaged along the tornados' nine-mile track. Power to most of Henry County was out due to the damage.

Following the tornado, all races scheduled to take place for several weeks were cancelled; the first race after the repair work was finished was to take place on October 30.

In all, the tornado caused $71.5 million in damages and despite all the devastation, no one was injured by the tornado.

See also

• List of tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
  • List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
  • History of tropical cyclone-spawned tornadoes
• 2005 Atlantic Hurricane Season
• Hurricane Cindy (2005)

External links

• The NHC's Tropical Cyclone Report on Hurricane Cindy.