A few strong to marginally severe thunderstorms impacted extreme southeast Kansas and far western Missouri. One storm that tracked across Barton County produced nickel size hail along with a brief tornado.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS SGF wrote it up.
A few strong to marginally severe thunderstorms impacted extreme southeast Kansas and far western Missouri. One storm that tracked across Barton County produced nickel size hail along with a brief tornado.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Springfield, MO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 13, 5:19 PM CST, 2 hours 8 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO 619 PM CDT TUE MAY 13 2008 ...UPDATE TO AVIATION... .DISCUSSION... SHORT TERM (LATE THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT)... MAIN FOCUS FOR THE NEXT 15 HOURS OR SO WILL BE ON SEVERE THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL. MOISTURE CONTINUES TO INCREASE THIS AFTERNOON AHEAD OF A SLOWLY ADVANCING COLD FRONT. AT 2PM...THE COLD FRONT EXTENDED FROM NEAR TOPEKA TO WICHITA TO OKLAHOMA CITY. MID TO UPPER 60 DEW POINTS HAD MADE IT INTO NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA AHEAD OF THIS FRONT. THE 18Z RAOB FROM KSGF CONTINUED TO REVEAL QUITE THE CAP. THE 19Z KOUN SOUNDING STILL INDICATED A CAP...BUT IT HAD SIGNIFICANTLY ERODED SINCE 12Z. RECENT ECHOES ON RADAR ACROSS NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA HAVE STRUGGLED TO GET ESTABLISHED...LIKELY DUE TO THE CAP. REGARDLESS...WILL NEED TO WATCH THIS ACTIVITY OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS IN CASE ONE CAN PUNCH THROUGH. BY EARLY THIS EVENING...SYNOPTIC SCALE LIFT WILL BEGIN TO INCREASE WITH THE APPROACH OF A WEAK SHORT WAVE TROUGH AND UPPER LEVEL JET STREAK. THIS COMBINED WITH THE APPROACHING FRONT WILL LIKELY BE ENOUGH FOR ISOLATED TO WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT ALONG THE FRONT ACROSS EASTERN KANSAS AND WESTERN MISSOURI. THE INCREASE IN BOUNDARY LAYER MOISTURE AND STEEP MID LAPSE RATES WILL RESULT IN MODERATE INSTABILITY. WIND SHEAR IN THE HAIL GROWTH LAYER WILL SUPPORT VERY LARGE HAIL WITH WHAT SHOULD INITIALLY BE SUPERCELLS. MODIFIED RAOBS AND FORECAST SOUNDINGS WOULD ALSO YIELD A DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE WIND THREAT. VEERED WINDS AT THE SURFACE MAY LIMIT THE TORNADO THREAT SOMEWHAT...BUT LOW LEVEL SHEAR WILL REMAIN SUFFICIENT FOR AN ISOLATED TORNADO THREAT. CONFIDENCE DECREASES SOMEWHAT DURING THE LATER EVENING AND OVERNIGHT HOURS WITH REGARD TO THE STORM MODE AND COVERAGE. CURRENT THINKING IS THAT WE WILL LIKELY SEE A BROKEN LINE OF STORMS GET GOING ALONG THE FRONT AND PUSH ACROSS MUCH OF THE MISSOURI OZARKS. THE PRIMARY SEVERE THREAT WITH THIS BROKEN LINE WILL BE DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE WINDS AND LARGE HAIL. THE LATEST RUC MODEL IS SOMEWHAT CONCERNING ALONG AND SOUTH OF HIGHWAY 60 AS IT INCREASES LOW LEVEL WIND SHEAR TO A POINT WHERE SPIN UPS ALONG THE LINE WOULD BE POSSIBLE. THIS MAKES SENSE GIVEN WHAT SHOULD BE A STRENGTHENING LOW LEVEL JET. WITH LCLS ALSO LOWERING DURING THIS TIME FRAME...WILL BE UPDATING THE HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK BY 4 PM TO INCLUDE PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL MISSOURI IN THE ISOLATED TORNADO RISK. SCHAUMANN WEDNESDAY...THE REGION WILL BE BETWEEN SYSTEMS. A LINGERING CHANCE FOR SHRA/TSRA EXISTS OVER THE SOUTHERNMOST CWA AS THE WEAKENING FRONT BEGINS TO SHIFT TO THE SOUTH AND FURTHER LOSE IDENTITY. MOST OF WEDNESDAY WILL LIKELY BE DRY. PRECIP WILL ONCE AGAIN GET GOING TO OUR SOUTH AND SOUTHWEST LATE IN THE DAY. WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY...STILL HAVE DIFFERENCES WITH THE SHORT RANGE MODELS DURING THIS TIME FRAME. A WEAK SFC WAVE IS PROGGED TO DEVELOP TO OUR SOUTHWEST. MODELS AGREE THAT THE CURRENT CUT OFF LOW OVER THE SOUTHWEST WILL SLOWLY APPROACH AND WEAKEN...BUT PLACING OF KEY FEATURES IS STILL IN QUESTION. THE GFS IS THE MODEL SOLUTION FARTHEST TO THE NORTH...AND STRONGEST WITH SFC LOW PRESSURE. MEANWHILE THE NAM/ECMWF/UKMET ALL AGREE ON WEAKER SFC LOW DEVELOPMENT AND A SLIGHTLY FARTHER SOUTH SFC FRONTAL BOUNDARY. HAVE SIDED WITH THE AGREEMENT OF THE NAM/ECMWF/UKMET GIVEN ECMWF CONTINUITY AS OF LATE. WILL BASICALLY SEE RAIN DEVELOP FROM THE SW TO NE AS WEDNESDAY NIGHT PROGRESSES...WITH THE BETTER CHANCES FOR RAINFALL FROM EARLY THURSDAY MORNING THROUGH MUCH OF THURSDAY. GIVEN THE PROGRESSIVE NATURE OF THIS SYSTEM...THE RISK FOR HEAVY RAIN IS LIMITED. NEVERTHELESS WITH PWS BETWEEN 1 AND 1.5 INCHES...WILL NEED TO MONITOR HEAVY RAIN POTENTIAL TOWARD THE MO/ARK BORDER. WITH THE REGION ON THE COOL SIDE OF THE BOUNDARY SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED. THURSDAY NIGHT...A SLOWER EXIT TO THIS SYSTEM IS POSSIBLE...BUT CURRENT INDICATIONS ARE FOR PRECIP TO EXIT STAGE EAST BY THIS PERIOD. HAVE KEPT A SLIGHT CHC MENTION...ESPECIALLY OVER EASTERN ZONES...AS A HOMAGE TO A SLOWER EXIT. SOME CLEARING IS POSSIBLE AS NW WINDS BEGIN TO ADVECT A DRIER AIRMASS INTO THE REGION. BELOW AVG TEMPS IN THE 40S ARE EXPECTED. GAGAN LONG TERM (FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY)... MED RANGE MODEL OUTPUT AGREES IN DEVELOPING NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT AS RIDGING AMPLIFIES OVER THE WESTERN CONUS AND TROUGHING DEEPENS IN THE NORTHEASTERN CONUS. THIS PATTERN IS PROGGED TO BEGIN BREAKING DOWN AT SOME POINT NEXT WEEK...WHICH IS WHERE MODELS BEGIN TO WAVER A BIT. THE BOTTOM LINE FOR THE EXTENDED PERIOD IS GENERALLY DRY WITH AT OR BELOW AVERAGE TEMPERATURES. THERE IS OPPORTUNITY FOR A BRIEF SHOT OR TWO AT SOME LIGHT RAIN AS SHORTWAVES ROUND THE EASTERN TROUGH...BUT TIMING SUCH FEATURES IS A RATHER MOOT EXERCISE AT THIS JUNCTURE. GAGAN && .AVIATION... FOR THE 0000 UTC KSGF/KJLN TAFS...A FEW BREAKS ARE DEVELOPING IN THE MVFR CEILINGS AHEAD OF A COLD FONT OVER SOUTHEAST KANSAS...HOWEVER...THUNDERSTORMS HAVE ALSO RECENTLY ERUPTED ALONG THIS FRONT AS WELL...AND EXPECT THEM TO MOVE EAST INTO THE KJLN AREA EARLY THIS EVENING...AND INTO KSGF MID/LATE EVENING. LOW END MVFR OR IFR CONDITIONS WILL OCCUR BEHIND THE FRONT DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS....ESPECIALLY IF CONSIDERABLE PRECIP CONTINUES TO DEVELOP WITH THE FROPA. HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS INTO THE AREA WED WITH LOWER CEILINGS EXPECTED TO SCATTER OUT. DSA && .SGF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MO...NONE. KS...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO 825 PM CDT TUE MAY 13 2008 KSZ073-097-101-MOZ055>058-066>071-077>083-088>098-101>106-150130- BOURBON-CRAWFORD-CHEROKEE-BENTON-MORGAN-MILLER-MARIES-VERNON- ST. CLAIR-HICKORY-CAMDEN-PULASKI-PHELPS-BARTON-CEDAR-POLK-DALLAS- LACLEDE-TEXAS-DENT-JASPER-DADE-GREENE-WEBSTER-WRIGHT-NEWTON- LAWRENCE-CHRISTIAN-DOUGLAS-HOWELL-SHANNON-MCDONALD-BARRY-STONE- TANEY-OZARK-OREGON- 825 PM CDT TUE MAY 13 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF THE MISSOURI OZARKS AND EXTREME SOUTHEAST KANSAS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE THIS EVENING WITH LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WIND GUSTS OF OVER 60 MPH...AND ISOLATED TORNADOES OVER SOUTHEAST KANSAS AND WESTERN MISSOURI AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT THAT EXTENDS FROM NORTHWEST MISSOURI INTO SOUTHEAST KANSAS AT 8 PM. THE MAIN STORM THREAT AREA WILL BE WHERE THE CURRENT TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT...ROUGHLY ALONG AND WEST OF A LINE FROM WARSAW TO SPRINGFIELD TO CASSVILLE. DECREASING INSTABILITY INTO THE OVERNIGHT HOURS WILL LIMIT THE SEVERE THREAT AFTER 11 PM AS THE COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH THE REST OF THE MISSOURI OZARKS. A FEW STRONG TO MARGINALLY SEVERE STORMS WILL STILL BE POSSIBLE OVERNIGHT EAST OF MISSOURI HIGHWAY 5 WITH WIND GUSTS OF 40 TO 60 MPH AND SMALL HAIL. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. A FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL STALL OUT OVER NORTHERN ARKANSAS ON WEDNESDAY BEFORE LIFTING BACK TO THE NORTH AS AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE LIFTS NORTHEAST INTO THE PLAINS WEDNESDAY NIGHT. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WITH LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL SPREAD NORTHWARD INTO SOUTHERN MISSOURI WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY. AT THIS TIME IT APPEARS AS IF THE STORMS WILL REMAIN BELOW SEVERE LIMITS...HOWEVER HEAVY RAIN MAY LEAD TO FLOODING OVER EXTREME SOUTHERN MISSOURI. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL CONTINUE TO BE NEEDED IN SOME AREAS OVERNIGHT...ESPECIALLY WHERE THE TORNADO WATCH IS CURRENTLY IN EFFECT. && THIS PRODUCT IS NOW AVAILABLE IN GRAPHICAL FORMAT...ALONG WITH OTHER WEATHER...HYDROLOGICAL AND CLIMATE INFORMATION...AT HTTP://WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/SGF(ALL LOWERCASE) DSA
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO 657 PM CDT TUE MAY 13 2008 MOZ106-140030- OREGON MO- 657 PM CDT TUE MAY 13 2008 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT FOR SOUTHEASTERN OREGON COUNTY UNTIL 730 PM CDT... AT 653 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 12 MILES SOUTHEAST OF MAMMOTH SPRING...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 42 MPH. THIS STORM WILL REMAIN OVER MAINLY RURAL AREAS OF SOUTHEASTERN OREGON COUNTY...INCLUDING THE TOWN OF MYRTLE. NICKEL SIZE HAIL...AND WINDS AROUND 50 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM. BARJENBRUCH
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO 716 PM CDT TUE MAY 13 2008 KSZ097-140045- CRAWFORD KS- 716 PM CDT TUE MAY 13 2008 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT FOR CRAWFORD COUNTY UNTIL 745 PM CDT... AT 713 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 7 MILES WEST OF MCCUNE...OR 11 MILES NORTH OF OSWEGO...MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT 41 MPH. NICKEL SIZE HAIL...AND WINDS OF UP TO 50 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM. BARJENBRUCH
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO 729 PM CDT TUE MAY 13 2008 KSZ073-140100- BOURBON KS- 729 PM CDT TUE MAY 13 2008 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT FOR BOURBON COUNTY UNTIL 800 PM CDT... AT 728 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR UNIONTOWN...OR 18 MILES WEST OF FORT SCOTT...MOVING EAST AT 29 MPH. THIS STORM WILL BE NEAR... UNIONTOWN BY 735 PM CDT. REDFIELD BY 745 PM CDT. FORT SCOTT AND 9 MILES SOUTH OF FULTON BY 800 PM CDT. THE TOWNS OF MARMATON...DEVON AND HAMMOND ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM. NICKEL SIZE HAIL...AND WINDS AROUND 50 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM. BARJENBRUCH
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO
757 PM CDT TUE MAY 13 2008
..TIME.. ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE.. ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION.. ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0736 PM FUNNEL CLOUD 1 W MCCUNE 37.35N 95.03W
05/13/2008 CRAWFORD KS EMERGENCY MNGR
FUNNEL CLOUD REPORTED AT HIGHWAY 400 NEAR CRAWFORD AND
LABETTE COUNTY LINES.
&&
AFThe Springfield radar (KSGF), 108 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:26 UTC.
1 tornado, 1 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Trained spotters in Barton County observed a brief tornado. The tornado touched down near a strip pit area, and no damage occurred.
Severe thunderstorm wind gusts downed a couple of trees near the intersection of Highway 71 and Highway 126.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Missouri in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Missouri, 2008Warnings in Missouri, May 2008
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 100157, 100155, 100158.