Tornadoes · United States · Arizona · 2003

F0 tornado, Paulden, Arizona, August 14, 2003

This F0 tornado ran 0.1 miles across Yavapai County on August 14, 2003, touching down at 9:38 PM MST and reaching 1 yards wide. It killed nobody.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F040 to 72 mphthis tornado

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. F173 to 112 mph

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. F2113 to 157 mph

    Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

  4. F3158 to 206 mph

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. F4207 to 260 mph

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. F5261 to 318 mph

    Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

  7. Unrated

    The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

The record

Rating
F0
Date
August 14, 2003
Touchdown
9:38 PM MST (04:38 UTC)
Path length
0.1 miles (0.2 km)
Path width
1 yards (1 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Yavapai County
Touchdown point
34.880, -112.470
Lift-off point
34.880, -112.470
Record number
630

What the Weather Service recorded

A tornado touched down twice in a unpopulated area near Paulden.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the tornado touched down, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Flagstaff, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Aug 14, 3:05 PM MST, 6 hours 33 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 14, 3:05 PM MST, 6 hours 33 minutes before
NORTHERN ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ
305 PM MST THU AUG 14 2003

.SYNOPSIS...A WEAK LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL GENERATE MORE
PRECIPITATION FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH MIDMORNING. AFTER ITS
PASSAGE...EXPECT CONTINUED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS EACH AFTERNOON
WITH SLIGHTLY COOLER TEMPERATURES FOR THE NEXT DAY OR TWO.

.DISCUSSION...DYNAMICS AHEAD OF THE INVERTED TROUGH APPROACHING
ARIZONA FROM THE EAST HAS PROMPTED ISSUANCE OF A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
WATCH THROUGH 900 PM MST FOR AREAS OF SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA. SOME
ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL OCCUR BEYOND THE BOUNDARIES OF
THE WATCH BOX. MOST ACTIVITY WILL OCCUR SOUTHEAST OF A LINE FROM
CANYON DE CHELLY NATIONAL MONUMENT TO PRESCOTT.

AS THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH PROGRESSES WESTWARD...PRECIPITATION WILL
DEVELOP OVER NORTHEASTERN ARIZONA AROUND MIDNIGHT...MAKING ITS WAY
SOUTHWESTWARD INTO SOUTHERN YAVAPAI COUNTY TOMORROW MORNING. WHILE
MUCH OF THE RAINFALL WILL BE SHOWERY OR EVEN STRATIFORM...EXPECTED
ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS TO OCCUR THROUGH THE NIGHT. COOL AIR NEAR THE
SURFACE TOMORROW WILL DELAY THE ONSET OF SIGNIFICANT CONVECTION
UNTIL LATER IN THE DAY...BUT PROBABILITIES FOR MORE ACTIVITY REMAIN
HIGH DUE TO DEEP MOISTURE AND COOL AIR ALOFT. EARLIEST CONVECTION
WILL BEGIN IN EASTERN ZONES AS THEY LOSE A BIT OF CLOUD COVER. WITH
SOILS IN YAVAPAI COUNTY ALREADY MOIST...WILL BE WATCHING RAINFALL
AMOUNTS CLOSELY FOR FLOODING POTENTIAL TOWARD MORNING. ON
SATURDAY...LOOK FOR POPS TO RECEDE TO MORE SEASONABLE LEVELS THOUGH
TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN RATHER COOL THROUGH THE WEEKEND.

FOR THE EXTENDED...THE UPPER LEVEL LOW WILL MOVE NORTHWARD OUT OF
THE STATE LEAVING A RATHER NONDESCRIPT PRESSURE PATTERN OVER
ARIZONA. EXPECT CONTINUED...DAILY AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS. HOWARD

.FGZ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR AZ ZONES 8/13/14/16/17/18/37
THROUGH 900 PM MST.

.CODED TEMPERATURES/POPS FOR SELECTED CITIES IN NORTHERN ARIZONA

CITY             TEMPERATURES LO/HI           PROBABILITY OF PRECIP
                 TON FRI   SAT     SUN        TON FRI   SAT     SUN
FLAGSTAFF        052/069 049/072 047/075      080 060 030 040 030 040
WINSLOW          063/081 060/083 058/087      060 050 020 020 020 020
PRESCOTT         062/079 060/079 059/082      070 060 030 030 020 020
PAGE             071/086 070/086 062/087      050 050 020 030 020 020
WINDOW ROCK      052/078 050/077 050/080      050 060 030 040 030 040
CANYON DE CHELLY 060/084 058/083 058/086      040 050 020 030 020 030
COTTONWOOD       070/093 068/094 067/098      060 050 020 020 020 020
GRAND CANYON     053/071 051/073 047/076      060 050 030 030 020 040
GREER            049/064 046/067 044/070      080 070 040 060 040 050
HEBER            054/074 051/077 049/080      080 070 040 050 030 040
JACOB LAKE       050/069 049/072 047/075      060 050 020 030 030 040
NAVAJO N.M.      064/080 063/081 062/084      060 050 020 030 030 040
PAYSON           062/083 060/083 059/086      060 060 030 030 020 020
SEDONA           067/087 065/087 064/090      060 060 020 030 020 020
SELIGMAN         062/082 060/082 058/086      040 040 020 020 020 030
SHOW LOW         059/074 056/076 054/080      060 060 030 040 030 030
ST. JOHNS        057/081 056/080 055/084      040 040 030 020 020 030
WUPATKI N.M.     064/083 061/085 059/089      060 050 020 020 020 020
Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 14, 9:25 AM MST, 12 hours 13 minutes before
AZZ004>018-037>040-150200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ
925 AM MST THU AUG 14 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR APACHE...COCONINO...NORTHERN
GILA...NAVAJO...AND YAVAPAI COUNTIES IN NORTHERN ARIZONA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

CONVECTION WILL BEGIN TO FIRE FIRST OVER EASTERN PORTIONS OF
NORTHERN ARIZONA. CONVECTION OVER CENTRAL AND WESTERN PORTIONS WILL
BE DELAYED DUE TO CLOUD COVER INHIBITING SURFACE HEATING. EXPECT
SCATTERED COVERAGE. WITH SOILS ALREADY MOIST...WATCH FOR LOCALIZED
NUISANCE FLOODING IN SOME AREAS. EXPECT MORE WIDESPREAD
PRECIPITATION BETWEEN MIDNIGHT AND MIDMORNING ON FRIDAY AS DYNAMICS
ASSOCIATED WITH APPROACHING WEAK LOW PRESSURE CONTRIBUTE TO
INCREASED RAINFALL.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY

THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.

DEFINITION OF HAZARDOUS WEATHER...A WEATHER EVENT POSING A THREAT
TO LIFE AND PROPERTY.

The air that afternoon

The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.

Flgstf/Belemont, AZ (KFGZ), 00:00Z

4.6 hours before the tornado, 72 km from the path. August 15, 2003.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Flgstf/Belemont, AZ at 00:00Z on 2003-08-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 603 joules per kilogram, CIN -34, lifted condensation level 1999 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Flgstf/Belemont, AZ at 00:00Z on 2003-08-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 46 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 28 knots.1939Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
603 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-34 J/kg
Surface CAPE
2080 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1999 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
28 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
10 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
46 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
166 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
5.3
0-3 km lapse rate
8.8 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Flgstf/Belemont, AZ (KFGZ), 12:00Z

7.4 hours after it, 72 km from the path. August 15, 2003.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Flgstf/Belemont, AZ at 12:00Z on 2003-08-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 15 joules per kilogram, CIN -189, lifted condensation level 1238 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Flgstf/Belemont, AZ at 12:00Z on 2003-08-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 3 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 24 knots.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
15 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-189 J/kg
Surface CAPE
78 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1238 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
24 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
6 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
3 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-38 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
5.3 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Prescott/Love Field (PRC), 26 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
00:00 UTC

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

The radar

The Flagstaff radar (KFSX), 121 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 04:39 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track

Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2003 tornado in ArizonaEvery tornado in Arizona since 1950Warnings in force in Arizona nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of August 14, 2003

2 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 1412:01 PM EDTF0Carteret, NC0.120
August 147:20 PM MSTF0Yavapai, AZ0.11

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.