Tornadoes · United States · Colorado · 2014

EF1 tornado, (Tad)Trinidad Arpt, Colorado, June 6, 2014

Name: EF1 tornado, (Tad)Trinidad Arpt, Colorado, June 6, 2014
Start: 2014-06-06T20:46:00.000Z
End: 2014-06-06T20:52:00.000Z
Location: (Tad)Trinidad Arpt, Colorado

This EF1 tornado ran 1.4 miles across Las Animas County on June 6, 2014, touching down at 2:46 PM MDT and reaching 100 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $3,000 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: 2:46 PM MDT (20:46 UTC)
Lifted: 2:52 PM MDT (20:52 UTC)
On the ground: 6 minutes
Path length: 1.4 miles (2.2 km)
Path width: 100 yards (91 m)
Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $3,000
County: Las Animas County
Touchdown point: 37.189, -104.179
Lift-off point: 37.196, -104.156
Record number: 1406061446-01

The damage survey

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

An 18-year old male was hit by flying debris which caused bruises and scrapes.

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

Numerous severe storms occurred across the I-25 corridor and southeast plains producing hail up to two inches in diameter. Two tornadoes occurred over open country east of Trinidad, causing damage to trees, fences, power lines, and one outbuilding.

A second tornado crossed US Highway 160 and damaged some fencing and snapped a power pole.

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

The forecast that day

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Slight Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. 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 Pueblo, CO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Jun 6, 11:03 AM MDT, 3 hours 43 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 6, 11:03 AM MDT, 3 hours 43 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Jun 6, 11:02 AM MDT, 3 hours 44 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
1102 AM MDT FRI JUN 6 2014

COZ058>089-093>099-071715-
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-
1102 AM MDT FRI JUN 6 2014

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

THUNDERSTORMS ARE FORECAST TO RE-DEVELOP AROUND NOON OVER THE
EASTERN MOUNTAINS. HAIL UP TO 1 INCH IN DIAMETER AND WIND GUSTS
TO NEAR 50 MPH ARE EXPECTED INITIALLY AS STORMS DEVELOP. IN
ADDITION...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL BE POSSIBLE. IF ONE OF
THESE THUNDERSTORMS MOVES OVER THE WALDO CANYON BURN SCAR...FLASH
FLOODING WILL BE POSSIBLE.

THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE OFF THE MOUNTAINS AND SPREAD EAST ACROSS
THE EASTERN COLORADO PLAINS THROUGH THE AFTERNOON.  AS THEY MOVE
EAST...THEY WILL STRENGTHEN WITH SEVERAL STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS
LIKELY...WITH LARGE HAIL UP TO 2.5 INCHES IN DIAMETER AND
DAMAGING WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH POSSIBLE. THE
THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WILL SHIFT EAST INTO KANSAS BY MIDNIGHT.

ANOTHER ROUND OF SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORMS ACTIVITY WILL BE POSSIBLE
ALONG THE KANSAS AND NEW MEXICO BORDERS LATE TONIGHT INTO SATURDAY
MORNING. THE EXACT LOCATION OF DEVELOPMENT WILL DEPEND HIGHLY ON
WHERE OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES RESIDE...WITH SMALL HAIL AND WIND GUSTS TO
50 MPH POSSIBLE.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY

A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE WILL DROP SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE REGION
THIS WEEKEND INCREASING LOW LEVEL UPSLOPE FLOW ACROSS THE EASTERN
MOUNTAINS AND PLAINS. THIS WILL BRING INCREASING SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS TO THE REGION SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. AREAS FARTHER
WEST WILL SEE LESS ACTIVITY BUT STILL SEE SOME SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS.

PRIMARY STORM THREATS OVER THE WEEKEND WILL INCLUDE HEAVY
RAIN...FLOODING...LARGE HAIL AND LIGHTNING. THE FLOOD THREAT WILL
BE GREATEST ON AREA BURN SCARS. HOWEVER...AREA STREAMS AND RIVERS
SWOLLEN BY RECENT SNOWMELT WILL ALSO BE SUSCEPTIBLE.

AFTER A DRYING TREND MONDAY THROUGH MOST OF WEDNESDAY...THE CHANCE
FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL INCREASE AGAIN WEDNESDAY NIGHT
INTO THURSDAY AS A NEW WEATHER DISTURBANCE MOVES INTO THE REGION.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER CONDITIONS THAT MEET REPORTING CRITERIA FOR SPOTTERS WILL BE
LIKELY ACROSS ALL OF THE SOUTHEASTERN PLAINS THIS AFTERNOON AND
TONIGHT.

31/23

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jun 6, 1:33 PM MDT, 1 hour 13 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Jun 6, 1:40 PM MDT, 1 hour 6 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Jun 6, 1:55 PM MDT, 51 minutes before

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Local storm report, Jun 6, 2:00 PM MDT, 46 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Jun 6, 2:28 PM MDT, 18 minutes before

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The surface observations

Trinidad/Animas Co. (TAD), 17 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), 141 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 20:43 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 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	3:00 PM CDT	EF1	Jackson, AR	2.0	50		$40,000
June 6	2:20 PM MDT	EF0	Weld, CO	0.5	100
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.