Tornadoes · United States · Colorado · 2011

EF0 tornado, Fountain, Colorado, May 19, 2011

This EF0 tornado ran 1.0 miles across El Paso County on May 19, 2011, touching down at 4:23 PM MDT and reaching 75 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $20,000 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.

  1. EF065 to 85 mphthis tornado

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

  2. EF186 to 110 mph

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

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. EF4166 to 200 mph

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

  6. 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.

  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
EF0
Date
May 19, 2011
Touchdown
4:23 PM MDT (22:23 UTC)
Lifted
4:29 PM MDT (22:29 UTC)
On the ground
6 minutes
Path length
1.0 miles (1.6 km)
Path width
75 yards (69 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$20,000
County
El Paso County
Touchdown point
38.714, -104.653
Lift-off point
38.723, -104.638
Record number
1105191623-01

What the Weather Service recorded

A landspout tornado occurred northeast of Fountain (El Paso County). Isolated penny size hail was seen in Pueblo and El Paso Counties.

The landspout tornado did roof, window and garage door damage to a house. In addition, a shed was overturned and a camper was destroyed.

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 Pueblo, CO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at May 19, 3:31 PM MDT, 52 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 19, 3:31 PM MDT, 52 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, May 19, 12:42 PM MDT, 3 hours 41 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
1242 PM MDT THU MAY 19 2011

COZ058>089-093>099-201845-
WESTERN MOSQUITO RANGE/EAST LAKE COUNTY ABOVE 11000 FT-
LEADVILLE VICINITY/LAKE COUNTY BELOW 11000 FT-
EASTERN SAWATCH MOUNTAINS ABOVE 11000 FT-
WESTERN CHAFFEE COUNTY BETWEEN 9000 AND 11000 FT-
CENTRAL CHAFFEE COUNTY BELOW 9000 FT-
WESTERN MOSQUITO RANGE/EAST CHAFFEE COUNTY ABOVE 9000 FT-
SAGUACHE COUNTY WEST OF CONTINENTAL DIVIDE BELOW 10000 FT-
SAGUACHE COUNTY EAST OF CONTINENTAL DIVIDE BELOW 10000 FT-
LA GARITA MOUNTAINS ABOVE 10000 FT-
UPPER RIO GRANDE VALLEY/EASTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS BELOW 10000 FT-
EASTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS ABOVE 10000 FT-
DEL NORTE VICINITY/NORTHERN SAN LUIS VALLEY BELOW 8500 FT-
ALAMOSA VICINITY/CENTRAL SAN LUIS VALLEY BELOW 8500 FT-
SOUTHERN SAN LUIS VALLEY-
NORTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS BETWEEN 8500 AND 11000 FT-
NORTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS ABOVE 11000 FEET-
SOUTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS BETWEEN 7500 AND 11000 FT-
SOUTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS ABOVE 11000 FT-
NORTHWESTERN FREMONT COUNTY ABOVE 8500 FT-
WESTERN/CENTRAL FREMONT COUNTY BELOW 8500 FT-
WET MOUNTAIN VALLEY BELOW 8500 FEET-
WET MOUNTAINS BETWEEN 6300 AND 10000 FT-
WET MOUNTAINS ABOVE 10000 FT-
TELLER COUNTY/RAMPART RANGE ABOVE 7500 FT/PIKES PEAK BETWEEN
7500 AND 11000 FT-PIKES PEAK ABOVE 11000 FT-
CANON CITY VICINITY/EASTERN FREMONT COUNTY-
NORTHERN EL PASO COUNTY/MONUMENT RIDGE/RAMPART RANGE BELOW
7500 FT-
COLORADO SPRINGS VICINITY/SOUTHERN EL PASO COUNTY/RAMPART RANGE
BELOW 7400 FT-PUEBLO AND VICINITY/PUEBLO COUNTY BELOW 6300 FT-
WALSENBURG VICINITY/UPPER HUERFANO RIVER BASIN BELOW 7500 FT-
TRINIDAD VICINITY/WESTERN LAS ANIMAS COUNTY BELOW 7500 FT-
CROWLEY COUNTY-LA JUNTA VICINITY/OTERO COUNTY-
EASTERN LAS ANIMAS COUNTY-WESTERN KIOWA COUNTY-
EASTERN KIOWA COUNTY-LAS ANIMAS VICINITY/BENT COUNTY-
LAMAR VICINITY/PROWERS COUNTY-SPRINGFIELD VICINITY/BACA COUNTY-
1242 PM MDT THU MAY 19 2011

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL...EAST
CENTRAL...SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST COLORADO.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

A PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE SLOWLY ACROSS WESTERN AND
NORTHERN COLORADO THROUGH TONIGHT. NUMEROUS RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS
WILL CONTINUE ALONG THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE WITH SNOW FALLING
ABOVE 9000 FEET. AN ADDITIONAL 4 TO 8 INCHES OF ACCUMULATION WILL
BE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS THROUGH TONIGHT. ISOLATED
EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING
ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS. THESE MAY PRODUCE LOCALLY INTENSE SNOWFALL
RATES FOR ELEVATIONS ABOVE 9000 FEET...SOME SMALL HAIL OR GRAUPEL
LESS THAN 1/2 INCH IN DIAMETER...AND CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING.

A FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL LIFT BACK TO THE NORTH ACROSS THE FAR
SOUTHEAST PLAINS THIS AFTERNOON. TO THE NORTH OF THIS
BOUNDARY...SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO
DEVELOP BY AFTERNOON...MAINLY ALONG AND NORTH OF HIGHWAY 50. ONE
OR TWO STORMS COULD BECOME STRONG TO SEVERE...WITH HAIL UP TO 1
INCH IN DIAMETER AND WIND GUSTS TO AROUND 60 MPH. THE LOCATION
MOST LIKELY TO SEE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE ACROSS CROWLEY AND
KIOWA COUNTIES.

TO THE SOUTH OF THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY...STRONG SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL
SPREAD INTO THE REGION BY AFTERNOON...PARTICULARLY ACROSS EASTERN
LAS ANIMAS...BACA...AND PROWERS COUNTIES.  HUMIDITY VALUES ARE
EXPECTED TO DROP BELOW 15 PERCENT. WITH THE LACK OF RAINFALL ACROSS
THIS REGION...THIS WILL LEAD TO CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS AND
THE POTENTIAL FOR RAPID RATES OF FIRE SPREAD SHOULD ANY FIRES BE
STARTED.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY

A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL CONTINUE MOVING TO THE NORTH AND EAST
THROUGH THE FIRST HALF OF THIS WEEKEND. SNOW SHOWERS OVER THE
MOUNTAINS MAY ALLOW FOR AN INCH OR TWO OF ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATION
FRIDAY AND SATURDAY.

ANOTHER STORM WILL MOVE INTO COLORADO MONDAY AND TUESDAY. THIS
STORM COULD BRING SOME ACCUMULATING SNOW...MAINLY TO ELEVATIONS
ABOVE 10000 FEET...WITH PERSISTENT SHOWERS OVER THE MOUNTAINS
THROUGH WEDNESDAY. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE.
OVER THE PLAINS...THIS STORM SYSTEM COULD BRING THE THREAT OF
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS LATE TUESDAY AND POSSIBLY INTO WEDNESDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER CONDITIONS THAT MEET REPORTING CRITERIA FOR SPOTTERS WILL BE
LIKELY THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL AND
SOUTHEAST COLORADO.

10/27

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 19, 1:12 PM MDT, 3 hours 11 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
112 PM MDT THU MAY 19 2011

COZ086-191945-
PUEBLO AND VICINITY/PUEBLO COUNTY BELOW 6300 FT-
112 PM MDT THU MAY 19 2011

...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PUEBLO HAS ISSUED A SIGNIFICANT
WEATHER ADVISORY FOR...

  CENTRAL PUEBLO COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST COLORADO...
   THIS INCLUDES...PUEBLO.

AT 110 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
STRONG THUNDERSTORM OVER PUEBLO...WHICH WAS MOVING TOWARD THE
NORTHEAST AT 15 MPH.

LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
  PUEBLO.
  BLENDE.

PENNY TO NICKEL SIZE HAIL IS EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM.

BE PREPARED TO TAKE SHELTER IN THE EVENT THESE STORMS INTENSIFY AND
BECOME SEVERE...OR A WARNING IS ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE.
Local storm report, May 19, 1:23 PM MDT, 3 hours before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
123 PM MDT THU MAY 19 2011

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

0123 PM     HAIL             PUEBLO                  38.27N 104.61W
05/19/2011  M0.75 INCH       PUEBLO             CO   NWS EMPLOYEE

            OCCURRED AT PUEBLO RIVER WALK.

&&

MN

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.

Denver, CO (KDNR), 12:00Z

10.4 hours before the tornado, 177 km from the path. May 19, 2011.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Denver, CO at 12:00Z on 2011-05-19Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 0 joules per kilogram, CIN 0, lifted condensation level 522 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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, Denver, CO at 12:00Z on 2011-05-19The 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 59 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 39 knots.19395878Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
0 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
522 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
39 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
15 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
59 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
64 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
5.9 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Denver, CO (KDNR), 00:00Z

1.6 hours after it, 177 km from the path. May 20, 2011.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Denver, CO at 00:00Z on 2011-05-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 3 joules per kilogram, CIN 0, lifted condensation level 595 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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, Denver, CO at 00:00Z on 2011-05-20The 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 15 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 21 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
3 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
0 J/kg
Surface CAPE
115 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
595 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
21 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
5 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
15 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
32 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
6.3 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Fort Carson/Butts (FCS), 11 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 Pueblo radar (KPUX), 50 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 22:21 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 2011 tornado in ColoradoEvery tornado in Colorado since 1950Warnings in force in Colorado nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of May 19, 2011

10 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 1912:35 PM EDTEF0Queen Anne's, MD3.717$1,000
May 194:43 PM CDTEF0Russell, KS2.460$5,000
May 194:48 PM CDTEF0Russell, KS4.160$5,000
May 194:50 PM CDTEF0Kiowa, OK0.220
May 195:15 PM CDTEF0Russell, KS0.850
May 195:25 PM CDTEF0Lincoln, KS0.550
May 196:09 PM CDTEF0Caddo, OK0.240
May 196:40 PM CDTEF0Caddo, OK0.220
May 197:34 PM CDTEF0Wilbarger, TX0.575
May 198:30 PM CDTEF0Osborne, KS0.125$25,000

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.