Tornadoes · United States · Arkansas · 2014

EF1 tornado, Mc Fadden, Arkansas, June 6, 2014

Name: EF1 tornado, Mc Fadden, Arkansas, June 6, 2014
Start: 2014-06-06T20:00:00.000Z
End: 2014-06-06T20:03:00.000Z
Location: Mc Fadden, Arkansas

This EF1 tornado ran 2.0 miles across Jackson County on June 6, 2014, touching down at 3:00 PM CDT and reaching 50 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $40,000 of property damage.

The rating scale

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

EF065 to 85 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mphthis tornado
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
EF2111 to 135 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.
EF3136 to 165 mph
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
EF4166 to 200 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
EF5over 200 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.
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: EF1
Date: June 6, 2014
Touchdown: 3:00 PM CDT (20:00 UTC)
Lifted: 3:03 PM CDT (20:03 UTC)
On the ground: 3 minutes
Path length: 2.0 miles (3.3 km)
Path width: 50 yards (46 m)
Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $40,000
County: Jackson County
Touchdown point: 35.403, -91.128
Lift-off point: 35.408, -91.093
Record number: 1406061400-01

The damage survey

3 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS LZK, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 110 mph.

Aircraft hangar badly damaged, 40 x 50 shop building destroyed and spread out across a field, power pole blown down at residence and 3 poles down along Highway 37.

Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.

What the Weather Service recorded

A cold front wavered in Arkansas for several days from the 5th through the 9th. On several occasions, upper level low pressure systems moved through, sparking thunderstorms in the vicinity of the front. Some severe storms erupted each day, mainly producing damaging winds. However, there were a couple of weak tornadoes on the 6th.

An EF1 tornado badly damaged an old aircraft hangar, and destroyed a 40 ft. by 50 ft. shop building, scattering debris out across farm fields for more than a quarter mile. Several power poles were blown down.

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

The warnings

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down.

The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 15:20 UTC and running to 20:06 UTC.

Issued (UTC)	Expired	Product	Office
15:20 UTC	20:06 UTC	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	LZK
19:01 UTC	19:45 UTC	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK
19:34 UTC	20:00 UTC	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK
19:53 UTC	20:45 UTC	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK

Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.

The forecast that day

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Slight Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 20:00 UTC.

SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.

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 Little Rock, AR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Jun 6, 2:57 PM CDT, 3 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 6, 2:57 PM CDT, 3 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
257 PM CDT FRI JUN 6 2014

.SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT
OBSERVATIONAL DATA INDICATES MOST CONVECTION IS AHEAD OF A
MCV...CENTERED NEAR CONWAY ARKANSAS...MOVING TO THE EAST.  THIS
CONVECTIVE SYSTEM HAS BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH A NUMBER OF DAMAGING WIND
REPORTS.  THIS ACTIVITY SHOULD MOVE EAST OF THE FORECAST AREA BY
23Z.

SEVERAL ROUNDS OF ADDTIIONAL CONVECTIVE COMPLEX ACTIVITY ARE
EXPECTED TO AFFECT THE FORECAST AREA DURING THIS PERIOD.  NEXT
ROUND SHOULD MOVE INTO NORTHWEST SECTIONS LATE TONIGHT. OVERALL
PRECIPITATION COVERAGE AND TIMING DURING THIS PERIOD WILL RELY HEAVILY
ON MESOSCALE CONSIDERATIONS...FORECAST WILL REFLECT THE BEST
UNDERSTANDNG OF THESE FORECAST CONDITIONS.

&&

.LONG TERM...TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY
AN UPPER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL BE OVER THE PLAINS TUESDAY MORNING
WITH THE UPPER HIGH OVER NORTHERN MEXICO. THE UPPER LOW IS EXPECTED
TO MOVE INTO THE MIDWEST BY WEDNESDAY AND THROUGH THE GREAT LAKES BY
THURSDAY. THE UPPER RIDGE WILL BUILD OVER ARKANSAS THURSDAY AND
FRIDAY.

GOOD CHANCES OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TUESDAY AND
WEDNESDAY AS THE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM PASSES BY THE STATE. RAIN
CHANCES WILL DECREASE THURSDAY AND FRIDAY WITH LESS MOISTURE IN THE
AREA. TEMPERATURES WILL BE NEAR TO SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL THROUGH THE
PERIOD.
&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
BATESVILLE AR     68  85  68  83 /  40  50  50  60
CAMDEN AR         70  91  70  88 /  20  30  40  40
HARRISON AR       66  82  65  78 /  50  70  60  70
HOT SPRINGS AR    70  88  69  85 /  30  40  50  50
LITTLE ROCK   AR  71  89  71  85 /  30  40  50  60
MONTICELLO AR     71  92  71  89 /  30  30  40  50
MOUNT IDA AR      69  87  69  84 /  30  40  60  60
MOUNTAIN HOME AR  67  82  66  80 /  50  70  60  70
NEWPORT AR        69  87  69  85 /  50  50  50  60
PINE BLUFF AR     71  90  71  88 /  30  30  50  50
RUSSELLVILLE AR   69  87  69  82 /  40  50  60  70
SEARCY AR         69  87  70  84 /  40  50  50  60
STUTTGART AR      71  89  71  87 /  40  40  50  60
&&

.LZK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH SATURDAY EVENING FOR BAXTER-BOONE-
CLEBURNE-FULTON-INDEPENDENCE-IZARD-JACKSON-MARION-NEWTON-SEARCY-
SHARP-STONE-VAN BUREN-WHITE-WOODRUFF.

&&

SHORT TERM...55 / LONG TERM...51

Hazardous weather outlook, Jun 6, 10:10 AM CDT, 4 hours 50 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
1010 AM CDT FRI JUN 6 2014

ARZ003>007-012>016-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-071000-
ARKANSAS-BAXTER-BOONE-BRADLEY-CALHOUN-CLARK-CLEBURNE-CLEVELAND-
CONWAY-DALLAS-DESHA-DREW-FAULKNER-FULTON-GARLAND-GRANT-HOT SPRING-
INDEPENDENCE-IZARD-JACKSON-JEFFERSON-JOHNSON-LINCOLN-LOGAN-LONOKE-
MARION-MONROE-MONTGOMERY-NEWTON-OUACHITA-PERRY-PIKE-POLK-POPE-
PRAIRIE-PULASKI-SALINE-SCOTT-SEARCY-SHARP-STONE-VAN BUREN-WHITE-
WOODRUFF-YELL-
1010 AM CDT FRI JUN 6 2014

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR A LARGE PART OF ARKANSAS.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

A THUNDERSTORM COMPLEX...MOVING EASTWARD FROM EASTERN
OKLAHOMA...WILL AFFECT MUCH OF ARKANSAS THROUGH MID AFTERNOON. AS THE
COMPLEX MOVES EASTWARD...STORMS MEETING SEVERE CONDITIONS ARE
EXPECTED...WITH DAMAGING WIND GUSTS LIKELY.

LOCALLY HEAVY...AND POTENTIALLY EXCESSIVE RAINFALL WILL ALSO BE
POSSIBLE WITH THIS COMPLEX.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY

UNSETTLED WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE WEEKEND AND
INTO THE FIRST PART OF NEXT WEEK. THE AFOREMENTIONED FRONTAL
BOUNDARY WILL LINGER OVER THE REGION. ADDITIONAL UPPER LEVEL
IMPULSES WILL TRACK TO THE SOUTHEAST AND INTERACT WITH THE FRONT TO
PRODUCE SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS.

THE POTENTIAL FOR STRONG AND SEVERE STORMS WILL EXIST...MAINLY FOR
LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. THE MOST LIKELY TIME WOULD BE DURING
THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS. HOWEVER...SOME LATE NIGHT AND EARLY
MORNING SEVERE STORMS COULD OCCUR AS WELL. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL
WILL ALSO REMAIN A CONCERN...WITH THE THREAT OF FLASH FLOODING...
PARTICULARLY OVER NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ARKANSAS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS EXPECTED...ESPECIALLY BETWEEN NOON AND 4 PM.

&&

VISIT NWS LITTLE ROCK ON THE WEB. GO TO HTTP://WEATHER.GOV AND
CLICK ON CENTRAL ARKANSAS.

55/44

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jun 6, 2:02 PM CDT, 58 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
202 PM CDT FRI JUN 06 2014

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0158 PM     TSTM WND GST     SHERWOOD                34.83N 92.21W
06/06/2014  E65 MPH          PULASKI            AR   TRAINED SPOTTER

            WINDS ESTIMATED TO BE 65 MPH ON WARDEN ROAD IN SHERWOOD.
            BUILDING LOCATED NEXT TO RUSSELL HONDA CAR DEALERSHIP HAS
            WINDOWS BLOWN IN.

&&

56

Local storm report, Jun 6, 2:04 PM CDT, 56 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
204 PM CDT FRI JUN 06 2014

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0138 PM     TSTM WND DMG     3 NE JACKSONVILLE       34.90N 92.07W
06/06/2014                   LONOKE             AR   AMATEUR RADIO

            TREE REPORTED DOWN ALONG THE SERVICE ROAD NEAR MILE
            MARKER 12 OF US 67.

&&

226

Local storm report, Jun 6, 2:08 PM CDT, 52 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
208 PM CDT FRI JUN 06 2014

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0130 PM     TSTM WND GST     ALEXANDER               34.63N 92.44W
06/06/2014  E55 MPH          PULASKI            AR   PUBLIC

            WIND GUST OF 55 MPH ESTIMATED IN ALEXANDER WITH TREES
            BENDING OVER.

&&

56

Local storm report, Jun 6, 2:10 PM CDT, 50 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
210 PM CDT FRI JUN 06 2014

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0130 PM     TSTM WND DMG     DOWNTOWN LITTLE ROCK    34.75N 92.28W
06/06/2014                   PULASKI            AR   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            NUMEROUS TREES WERE REPORTED DOWN ACROSS LITTLE ROCK
            INCLUDING ON 8TH AND GAINES STREET, PRIDE VALLEY DRIVE,
            MARKHAM NEAR THE STATE CAPITOL, VALLEY CLUB CIRCLE, AND
            HINSON ROAD.

&&

61

Local storm report, Jun 6, 2:53 PM CDT, 7 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
253 PM CDT FRI JUN 06 2014

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0253 PM     TSTM WND GST     OIL TROUGH              35.63N 91.46W
06/06/2014  M66 MPH          INDEPENDENCE       AR   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

55

Local storm report, Jun 6, 2:58 PM CDT, 2 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
258 PM CDT FRI JUN 06 2014

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0245 PM     TSTM WND DMG     BATESVILLE              35.77N 91.62W
06/06/2014                   INDEPENDENCE       AR   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            DAMAGE TO ROOFS REPORTED IN BATESVILLE ALONG HIGHWAY 167.

&&

226

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.

Little Rock, AR (KBYH), 12:00Z

8.0 hours before the tornado, 123 km from the path. June 6, 2014.

Skew-T log-p

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.

Hodograph

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: 1935 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -27 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 1117 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 787 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 43 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 19 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 111 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 42 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.9
Supercell composite: 3.9
0-3 km lapse rate: 3.4 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Little Rock, AR (KBYH), 00:00Z

4.0 hours after it, 123 km from the path. June 7, 2014.

Skew-T log-p

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.

Hodograph

Mixed-layer CAPE: 83 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -506 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 713 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1254 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 60 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 24 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 85 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 160 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.1
0-3 km lapse rate: 5.1 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Newport (M19), 26 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)	Temp (°F)	Dew point (°F)	Wind	Gust (kt)	Pressure (mb)	Weather
18:05 UTC	80.6	75.2	40° 6 kt		1014.2
18:32 UTC	78.8	75.2	50° 7 kt		1013.5
18:56 UTC	79.88	74	6 kt		1013.9
19:23 UTC	80.6	75.2	10° 8 kt		1013.5
19:41 UTC	78.8	73.4	5 kt		1013.9
19:56 UTC	79	74	5 kt		1013.5	VCTS
20:05 UTC	78.8	75.2	60° 5 kt		1013.2	-VCTSRA
20:10 UTC	77	71.6	280° 30 kt	34	1014.9	-TSRA SQ
20:13 UTC	73.4	69.8	270° 20 kt	34	1014.6	TSRA SQ
20:22 UTC	71.6	68	300° 24 kt	33	1013.9	TSRA
20:56 UTC	70.88	68	80° 9 kt		1011.2	-VCTSRA
21:47 UTC	69.8	68	40° 16 kt		1010.2	-RA
21:56 UTC	70	68	50° 21 kt	27	1008.1	-RA

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

The radar

The Memphis radar (KNQA), 112 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 19:59 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.

What was reported nearby

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

Time (UTC)	Report	Where	County	Remark
19:53 UTC	TSTM WND GST 66	Oil Trough	Independence, AR
20:05 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	Cord	Independence, AR	NUMEROUS TREES REPORTED DOWN.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.

This ground now

The live radar over the track Every 2014 tornado in Arkansas Every tornado in Arkansas since 1950 Warnings in force in Arkansas now The forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of June 6, 2014

17 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
June 6	12:05 PM MDT	EF0	Sheridan, NE	0.2	40
June 6	1:00 PM MDT	EF0	Cherry, NE	0.2	40
June 6	2:35 PM CDT	EF1	Independence, AR	3.3	75	2	$250,000
June 6	1:51 PM MDT	EF1	Las Animas, CO	8.6	400	1	$5,000
June 6	1:55 PM MDT	EF0	Kimball, NE	0.9	25
June 6	1:56 PM MDT	EF0	Weld, CO	0.1	50
June 6	2:20 PM MDT	EF0	Weld, CO	0.5	100
June 6	2:46 PM MDT	EF1	Las Animas, CO	1.4	100		$3,000
June 6	2:53 PM MDT	EF0	Sedgwick, CO	0.1	100
June 6	4:25 PM MDT	EF0	Colfax, NM	0.8	100
June 6	5:35 PM MDT	EF0	Curry, NM	1.2	50
June 6	6:47 PM CDT	EF0	Kearny, KS	0.5	25
June 6	6:58 PM CDT	EF0	Kearny, KS	0.6	25
June 6	6:59 PM CDT	EF0	Kearny, KS	0.3	25
June 6	7:15 PM CDT	EF0	Hartley, TX	2.5	25
June 6	8:46 PM EDT	EF0	Bamberg, SC	0.8	40		$4,000
June 6	7:52 PM CDT	EF0	Ochiltree, TX	1.6	70

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.