The severe wind outbreak of July 21, 2006
315 wind reportsArkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and 21 more states
315 damaging wind reports across 24 states between 2:00 AM and 12:51 AM the next day CDT, 21 of them 65 knots (75 mph) or stronger; the strongest measured gust was 64 mph in Daviess County, KY. 36 hail reports and 6 tornadoes the same day.
Watch the day unfoldSevere wind day · July 21, 2006
How the day unfolded
Every damaging wind report of the day at its logged time, with the day's hail reports and tornadoes, and the counties they reached.
The day in numbers
- Wind reports
- 315
- on Friday, July 21, 2006
- 75 mph or more
- 21
- 2 of 86 mph (75 knots) or more
- Strongest measured gust
- 64 mph
- 56 knots, Daviess County, KY
- Measured
- 6
- reports with an instrument reading; the rest are estimates from damage
- Killed by wind
- 1
- 8 injured
- Counties reporting
- 199
- in 24 states
Hour by hour
Damaging wind reports in each hour, Central Daylight Time.
The strongest winds
The 100 strongest reports with a speed. Measured gusts come from an instrument; estimated speeds are judged from damage.
| 2:45 AM | Clay County NE | 92 mph | Estimated |
| 12:45 PM | Jefferson County IL | 90 mph | Estimated |
| 3:20 PM | Orangeburg County SC | 81 mph | Estimated |
| 3:48 PM | Hancock County KY | 81 mph | Estimated |
| 5:25 PM | Fulton County AR | 81 mph | Estimated |
| 6:28 PM | Franklin County AL | 81 mph | Estimated |
| 3:30 AM | Webster County NE | 75 mph | Estimated |
| 11:49 AM | Clinton County IL | 75 mph | Estimated |
| 12:05 PM | Clinton County IL | 75 mph | Estimated |
| 12:10 PM | Washington County IL | 75 mph | Estimated |
| 12:45 PM | Marion County IL | 75 mph | Estimated |
| 12:45 PM | Marion County IL | 75 mph | Estimated |
| 4:55 PM | Howell County MO | 75 mph | Estimated |
| 5:00 PM | Howell County MO | 75 mph | Estimated |
| 5:45 PM | Grainger County TN | 75 mph | Estimated |
| 7:00 PM | Roane County TN | 75 mph | Estimated |
| 7:09 PM | Roane County TN | 75 mph | Estimated |
| 7:40 PM | Sequatchie County TN | 75 mph | Estimated |
| 7:45 PM | Marion County TN | 75 mph | Estimated |
| 8:00 PM | McMinn County TN | 75 mph | Estimated |
| 11:20 PM | Greenbrier County WV | 75 mph | Estimated |
| 11:50 AM | Clinton County IL | 70 mph | Estimated |
| 12:43 PM | Perry County MO | 70 mph | Estimated |
| 2:30 PM | Henderson County KY | 70 mph | Estimated |
| 3:30 PM | Carroll County AR | 70 mph | Estimated |
| 5:00 PM | Crawford County AR | 70 mph | Estimated |
| 8:00 PM | Marshall County KY | 70 mph | Estimated |
| 9:20 AM | Montgomery County MO | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 10:00 AM | Lincoln County MO | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 10:10 AM | Lincoln County MO | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 10:14 AM | Warren County MO | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 10:15 AM | Lincoln County MO | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 10:30 AM | Calhoun County IL | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 10:40 AM | St. Charles County MO | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 10:45 AM | St. Charles County MO | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 10:45 AM | St. Charles County MO | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 10:50 AM | St. Louis County MO | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 10:50 AM | St. Louis County MO | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 10:55 AM | St. Louis County MO | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 10:55 AM | St. Louis County MO | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 10:55 AM | St. Louis County MO | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 11:00 AM | St. Louis County MO | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 11:00 AM | St. Louis County MO | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 11:00 AM | St. Louis County MO | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 11:05 AM | St. Louis County MO | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 11:05 AM | St. Louis County MO | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 11:10 AM | St. Louis MO | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 11:20 AM | Madison County IL | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 11:20 AM | Madison County IL | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 11:25 AM | Madison County IL | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 11:25 AM | Madison County IL | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 11:30 AM | St. Clair County IL | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 11:30 AM | St. Clair County IL | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 11:30 AM | Madison County IL | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 11:35 AM | St. Clair County IL | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 11:39 AM | St. Clair County IL | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 11:42 AM | St. Clair County IL | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 11:55 AM | Washington County IL | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 11:55 AM | Clinton County IL | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 1:30 PM | Furnas County NE | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 1:30 PM | Dawson County NE | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 2:10 PM | Hamilton County TN | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 3:35 PM | Morgan County TN | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 3:44 PM | Breckinridge County KY | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 3:45 PM | Anderson County TN | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 3:45 PM | Scott County TN | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 3:59 PM | Campbell County TN | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 4:00 PM | Columbia County GA | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 4:00 PM | Ozark County MO | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 4:25 PM | Warren County KY | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 4:32 PM | Litchfield County CT | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 5:00 PM | Union County TN | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 5:00 PM | Grainger County TN | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 5:15 PM | Wayne County WV | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 5:22 PM | Oregon County MO | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 5:45 PM | Jefferson County TN | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 6:00 PM | Fresno County CA | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 6:00 PM | Litchfield County CT | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 6:00 PM | Cocke County TN | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 6:00 PM | Cocke County TN | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 6:23 PM | Cocke County TN | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 6:40 PM | Bledsoe County TN | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 6:40 PM | Bledsoe County TN | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 6:50 PM | Rhea County TN | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 6:50 PM | Morgan County TN | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 7:06 PM | Estill County KY | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 7:25 PM | Anderson County TN | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 7:28 PM | Leslie County KY | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 7:30 PM | Loudon County TN | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 7:35 PM | Knox County TN | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 7:35 PM | Knox County TN | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 7:40 PM | Rhea County TN | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 7:45 PM | Blount County TN | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 7:50 PM | Hamilton County TN | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 7:50 PM | Meigs County TN | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 8:00 PM | Bradley County TN | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 8:09 PM | McMinn County TN | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 8:15 PM | Monroe County TN | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 8:20 PM | Polk County TN | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 8:50 PM | Cherokee County NC | 69 mph | Estimated |
By state
| Arkansas | 68 | 58 mph |
| Kentucky | 50 | 64 mph |
| Tennessee | 39 | 60 mph |
| Missouri | 36 | — |
| Illinois | 33 | 60 mph |
| Virginia | 16 | — |
| Massachusetts | 10 | — |
| North Carolina | 8 | — |
| New Jersey | 8 | 59 mph |
| West Virginia | 7 | — |
| Nebraska | 7 | — |
| Indiana | 6 | — |
| Alabama | 5 | — |
| Georgia | 4 | — |
| Ohio | 4 | — |
| Connecticut | 2 | — |
| South Carolina | 2 | — |
| Maine | 2 | — |
| New York | 2 | — |
| Oklahoma | 2 | — |
| Arizona | 1 | 61 mph |
| California | 1 | — |
| Kansas | 1 | — |
| Pennsylvania | 1 | — |
| Colorado | 0 | — |
| Nevada | 0 | — |
Counties with the most wind reports
- St. Louis CountyMO · 10 reports
- Conway CountyAR · 9 reports
- St. Clair CountyIL · 7 reports
- Independence CountyAR · 6 reports
- Fulton CountyAR · 5 reports
- Cleburne CountyAR · 5 reports
- Baxter CountyAR · 5 reports
- Madison CountyIL · 5 reports
- Izard CountyAR · 5 reports
- Clinton CountyIL · 4 reports
Hail and tornadoes that day
36 hail reports, 0 of 2 inches or more; 6 tornadoes.
| 11:25 AM | Madison County IL | 1.75 |
| 11:42 AM | St. Clair County IL | 1.75 |
| 4:55 PM | Howell County MO | 1.75 |
| 7:05 PM | Van Buren County AR | 1.75 |
| 11:50 AM | Clinton County IL | 1.25 |
| 8:40 AM | Boone County MO | 1.00 |
| 11:30 AM | Madison County IL | 1.00 |
| 4:55 PM | Hartford County CT | 1.00 |
| 5:00 PM | — | 1.00 |
| 8:35 AM | Boone County MO | 0.88 |
| 9:20 AM | Montgomery County MO | 0.88 |
| 12:00 PM | Clinton County IL | 0.88 |
| 12:52 PM | Jefferson County IL | 0.88 |
| 2:30 PM | Pulaski County AR | 0.88 |
| 4:23 PM | Chester County SC | 0.88 |
| 4:32 PM | Litchfield County CT | 0.88 |
| 4:45 PM | Ouray County CO | 0.88 |
| 4:50 PM | Howell County MO | 0.88 |
| 6:04 PM | Rockdale County GA | 0.88 |
| 6:15 PM | Stone County AR | 0.88 |
| 6:28 PM | Magoffin County KY | 0.88 |
| 10:41 PM | Washoe County NV | 0.88 |
| 8:45 AM | Boone County MO | 0.75 |
| 11:35 AM | Madison County IL | 0.75 |
| 2:00 PM | Henderson County NC | 0.75 |
| 2:07 PM | Burlington County NJ | 0.75 |
| 4:00 PM | Union County NJ | 0.75 |
| 4:44 PM | Hampden County MA | 0.75 |
| 5:35 PM | Wayne County WV | 0.75 |
| 5:40 PM | Fresno County CA | 0.75 |
| 6:24 PM | Watauga County NC | 0.75 |
| 6:41 PM | Johnson County KY | 0.75 |
| 7:03 PM | Navajo County AZ | 0.75 |
| 7:21 PM | Lawrence County KY | 0.75 |
| 7:39 PM | Carlisle County KY | 0.75 |
| 11:53 PM | Rutherford County NC | 0.75 |
- F0 tornado11:37 AM CDT
- F0 tornado11:38 AM CDT
- F0 tornado11:42 AM CDT
- F1 tornado11:55 AM CDT
- F0 tornado12:05 PM CDT
- F0 tornado12:47 PM CDT
2006 · On this date in other years · The biggest severe wind days
- A report is a single damage or measurement report to the National Weather Service. Several reports can describe one gust front, so reports are not storms.
- Reporting has grown with population, spotter networks and the internet, so counts from different decades are not directly comparable.
- Thunderstorm wind reports start at 50 knots (58 mph). SPC began flagging measured against estimated speeds in 2006; earlier reports are shown as estimated.
Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1955 to 2025. A day is SPC’s calendar date in Central Standard Time; a severe wind day here has 300 or more damaging wind reports, or 15 or more of 75 knots (86 mph) or more.