Tornadoes · United States · Colorado · 2014

EF0 tornado, Bovina, Colorado, June 4, 2014

Name: EF0 tornado, Bovina, Colorado, June 4, 2014
Start: 2014-06-05T04:44:00.000Z
End: 2014-06-05T04:50:00.000Z
Location: Bovina, Colorado

This EF0 tornado ran 3.4 miles across Lincoln County on June 4, 2014, touching down at 10:44 PM MDT and reaching 100 yards wide. It killed nobody.

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 mphthis tornado
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mph
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: EF0
Date: June 4, 2014
Touchdown: 10:44 PM MDT (04:44 UTC)
Lifted: 10:50 PM MDT (04:50 UTC)
On the ground: 6 minutes
Path length: 3.4 miles (5.5 km)
Path width: 100 yards (91 m)
Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
County: Lincoln County
Touchdown point: 39.170, -103.320
Lift-off point: 39.140, -103.270
Record number: 1406042244-01

What the Weather Service recorded

Severe thunderstorms producing damaging straight-line winds, large hail and tornadoes moved across northern Lincoln County. The wind and large hail caused extensive damage. In Hugo, a detached garage and a small shed were blown over and a roof was blown off a trailer home. Two classic cars in the garage were damaged. Extensive tree damage occurred with large limbs broken off trees throughout town. Scattered damage to north facing windows was also observed with more isolated damage to shingles, gutters and vehicle windows. A truck was blown over just southeast of Hugo, causing minor injuries to the two occupants. Hail damage was reported in the northern part of Limon, east of Hugo and in Genoa. The majority damage to windows and siding occurred on the north facing sides of the homes and buildings. The hail also injured a number of cattle northeast of Hugo. Four tornadoes were observed but only one produced minor damage.

A tornado touched down but did no damage.

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 Denver/Boulder, CO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Jun 4, 10:02 PM MDT, 42 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 4, 10:02 PM MDT, 42 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Jun 4, 11:10 AM MDT, 11 hours 34 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER/BOULDER CO
1110 AM MDT WED JUN 4 2014

COZ030>051-051715-
JACKSON COUNTY BELOW 9000 FEET-
WEST JACKSON AND WEST GRAND COUNTIES ABOVE 9000 FEET-
GRAND AND SUMMIT COUNTIES BELOW 9000 FEET-
SOUTH AND EAST JACKSON/LARIMER/NORTH AND NORTHEAST GRAND/
NORTHWEST BOULDER COUNTIES ABOVE 9000 FEET-
SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST GRAND/WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST BOULDER/
GILPIN/CLEAR CREEK/SUMMIT/NORTH AND WEST PARK COUNTIES ABOVE
9000 FEET-LARIMER AND BOULDER COUNTIES BETWEEN 6000 AND 9000 FEET-
JEFFERSON AND WEST DOUGLAS COUNTIES ABOVE 6000 FEET/GILPIN/CLEAR
CREEK/NORTHEAST PARK COUNTIES BELOW 9000 FEET-
CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST PARK COUNTY-
LARIMER COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/NORTHWEST WELD COUNTY-
BOULDER AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES BELOW 6000 FEET/WEST BROOMFIELD
COUNTY-
NORTH DOUGLAS COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/DENVER/WEST ADAMS AND
ARAPAHOE COUNTIES/EAST BROOMFIELD COUNTY-
ELBERT/CENTRAL AND EAST DOUGLAS COUNTIES ABOVE 6000 FEET-
NORTHEAST WELD COUNTY-CENTRAL AND SOUTH WELD COUNTY-MORGAN COUNTY-
CENTRAL AND EAST ADAMS AND ARAPAHOE COUNTIES-
NORTH AND NORTHEAST ELBERT COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/NORTH LINCOLN
COUNTY-
SOUTHEAST ELBERT COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/SOUTH LINCOLN COUNTY-
LOGAN COUNTY-WASHINGTON COUNTY-SEDGWICK COUNTY-PHILLIPS COUNTY-
1110 AM MDT WED JUN 4 2014

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL
COLORADO.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP THIS
EVENING AND OVERNIGHT ON THE NORTHEAST PLAINS OF COLORADO. SOME OF
THESE STORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING
WINDS. MOST OF THE THUNDERSTORMS THIS EVENING SHOULD BE EAST OF A
LINE FROM GREELEY TO DEER TRAIL. THUNDERSTORMS THAT CONTINUE
OVERNIGHT MAY ALSO PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL...MAINLY OVER
WASHINGTON...LOGAN...SEDGWICK AND PHILLIPS COUNTIES. SHOWER
ACTIVITY OVERNIGHT SHOULD HAVE LITTLE ADDITIONAL IMPACT ON RIVER
LEVELS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

A COOLER AND UNSETTLED WEATHER PATTERN CAN BE EXPECTED THROUGH
SATURDAY. THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE NEARLY EVERY DAY...WITH
A FEW SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS LINGERING DURING THE OVERNIGHT
HOURS ON THE PLAINS. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE OVER
NORTHEAST COLORADO ON THURSDAY AND FRIDAY...WITH THE POTENTIAL
FOR LARGE HAIL AND DANGEROUS WINDS.

THE AIRMASS WILL SLOWLY DRY OUT SUNDAY AND MONDAY...WITH DRIER
AND WARMER CONDITIONS RETURNING BY TUESDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY OR TONIGHT.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jun 4, 7:50 PM MDT, 2 hours 54 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
750 PM MDT WED JUN 04 2014

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

0734 PM     TSTM WND GST     DEER TRAIL              39.62N 104.04W
06/04/2014  M71.00 MPH       ARAPAHOE           CO   MESONET

0401 PM     TORNADO          1 E BENNETT             39.76N 104.40W
06/04/2014                   ADAMS              CO   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            BRIEF TOUCHDOWN

&&

RJK

Local storm report, Jun 4, 8:48 PM MDT, 1 hour 56 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
848 PM MDT WED JUN 04 2014

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

0815 PM     TORNADO          12 S LAST CHANCE        39.56N 103.58W
06/04/2014                   LINCOLN            CO   LAW ENFORCEMENT

0734 PM     TSTM WND GST     DEER TRAIL              39.62N 104.04W
06/04/2014  M71.00 MPH       ARAPAHOE           CO   MESONET

0401 PM     TORNADO          1 E BENNETT             39.76N 104.40W
06/04/2014                   ADAMS              CO   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            BRIEF TOUCHDOWN

&&

RJK

Local storm report, Jun 4, 9:17 PM MDT, 1 hour 27 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
917 PM MDT WED JUN 04 2014

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

0903 PM     HAIL             DEER TRAIL              39.62N 104.04W
06/04/2014  M1.00 INCH       ARAPAHOE           CO   TRAINED SPOTTER

0838 PM     HAIL             N PARKER                39.51N 104.76W
06/04/2014  M1.00 INCH       DOUGLAS            CO   TRAINED SPOTTER

0815 PM     TORNADO          12 S LAST CHANCE        39.56N 103.58W
06/04/2014                   LINCOLN            CO   LAW ENFORCEMENT

0734 PM     TSTM WND GST     DEER TRAIL              39.62N 104.04W
06/04/2014  M71.00 MPH       ARAPAHOE           CO   MESONET

0401 PM     TORNADO          1 E BENNETT             39.76N 104.40W
06/04/2014                   ADAMS              CO   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            BRIEF TOUCHDOWN

&&

SENTREKI

Special weather statement, Jun 4, 9:24 PM MDT, 1 hour 20 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
924 PM MDT WED JUN 4 2014

COZ041-050415-
ELBERT/CENTRAL AND EAST DOUGLAS COUNTIES ABOVE 6000 FEET CO-
924 PM MDT WED JUN 4 2014

...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR WEST CENTRAL ELBERT AND EAST
CENTRAL DOUGLAS COUNTIES UNTIL 1015 PM MDT...

AT 924 PM MDT...DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM OVER
SOUTHERN CASTLE ROCK...OR 27 MILES SOUTH OF DENVER...MOVING EAST AT
20 MPH.

DIME SIZE HAIL AND WINDS IN EXCESS OF 40 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH
THIS STORM.

LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
CASTLE ROCK...ELIZABETH...FRANKTOWN AND PONDEROSA PARK.

LAT...LON 3930 10491 3941 10488 3942 10459 3925 10459
TIME...MOT...LOC 0324Z 272DEG 19KT 3934 10485

ENTREKIN

Local storm report, Jun 4, 10:26 PM MDT, 18 minutes before

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Local storm report, Jun 4, 10:30 PM MDT, 14 minutes before

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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 (KDEN), 00:00Z

4.7 hours before the tornado, 80 km from the path. June 5, 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: 168 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -122 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 684 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 3163 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 75 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 13 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 111 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 262 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.7
0-3 km lapse rate: 9.0 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Denver, CO (KDEN), 12:00Z

7.3 hours after it, 80 km from the path. June 5, 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -82000 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1571 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 49 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 10 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -70 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: -17 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0
0-3 km lapse rate: 5.0 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Limon Municipal (LIC), 35 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

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

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

The radar

The Pueblo radar (KPUX), 109 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 04:45 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 track Every 2014 tornado in Colorado Every tornado in Colorado since 1950 Warnings in force in Colorado now The forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of June 4, 2014

9 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
June 4	5:25 AM CDT	EF0	Jersey, IL	1.4	30
June 4	11:55 AM EDT	EF0	Scioto, OH	1.2	300	$100,000
June 4	3:40 PM EDT	EF0	Highland, OH	4.1	200	$300,000
June 4	4:01 PM MDT	EF0	Adams, CO	0.1	50
June 4	6:16 PM CDT	EF1	Union, KY	1.1	100	$20,000
June 4	6:30 PM CDT	EF1	Union, KY	1.1	75	$14,000
June 4	9:30 PM EDT	EF1	Cabell, WV	0.5	400	$30,000
June 4	8:15 PM MDT	EF0	Lincoln, CO	0.1	50
June 4	10:15 PM MDT	EF1	Lincoln, CO	5.2	200

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.