Tornadoes · United States · Colorado · 2022

Unrated tornado, Burlington Arpt to Seibert, Colorado, July 26, 2022

From Burlington Arpt to Seibert, this Unrated tornado ran 0.5 miles across Kit Carson County on July 26, 2022, touching down at 3:51 PM MDT and reaching 75 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.

  1. EF065 to 85 mph

    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. Unratedthis tornado

    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
Unrated
Date
July 26, 2022
Touchdown
3:51 PM MDT (21:51 UTC)
Lifted
3:54 PM MDT (21:54 UTC)
On the ground
3 minutes
Path length
0.5 miles (0.8 km)
Path width
75 yards (69 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Kit Carson County
Touchdown point
39.404, -102.551
Lift-off point
39.397, -102.546
Record number
2207261551-01

The damage survey

5 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS GLD, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF0. The highest wind the damage implies is 80 mph.

  • Garage building in fair condition was shifted east 6 inches off foundation. No anchor bolts found on west side of foundation. Trampoline was flown to the northeast. Communications tower was folded in half facing the east-northeast. Metal roof panels and pieces of siding from the garage were scattered east and west. A propane tank on the west side of the property rolled slightly south off it's base. A portion of siding was ripped off the west facing of the house. A playground set on the southwest side of the house was ripped apart and scattered to the north.
  • Estimated start point of tornado according to spotter/first responder reports as well as radar imagery.
  • End point for tornado north of Stratton.
  • Brief landspout tornado southeast of Kirk, Colorado. Tornado duration was around 3 minutes. No damage. Locations and times estimated from both spotter/first responder reports and NWS Goodland radar imagery.

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

On the afternoon of July 26, 2022, strong to severe storms developed along a stationary frontal boundary across eastern Colorado. Storms initially fired across southern Yuma County, but then proceeded to build southwest along the boundary. A favorable environment for tornado development was in place and several tornadoes were able to occur in Kit Carson County, Colorado. In addition, hail up to half dollar size was received with this event.

Brief landspout tornado southeast of Kirk, Colorado in far northern Kit Carson County. Tornado duration was around 3 minutes. No damage. Locations and times estimated from both spotter/first responder reports and NWS Goodland radar imagery.

Brief landspout tornado around 9 miles north of Stratton, CO. Tornado duration was around 3 minutes. No damage. Locations and times estimated from both spotter/first responder reports and NWS Goodland radar imagery.

Garage building was shifted east 6 inches off the foundation. A communications tower just east of the garage was folded in half facing the east-northeast. Metal roof panels and pieces of siding were scattered east and west from the garage. A propane tank on the west side of the property was rolled to the south off its base. A playground set on the southwest corner of the house was ripped apart and scattered to the north. A trampoline was crumbled and blown to the northeast. Pieces of siding from the west facing side of the house were scattered across the property. The tornado then traveled west-southwest across Interstate 70 before dissipating.

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. One was issued for the county at another hour that day.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
22:03 UTC22:30 UTCTornado WarningGLD
22:26 UTC22:47 UTCTornado WarningGLD
22:31 UTC23:15 UTCTornado WarningGLD
22:38 UTC23:00 UTCTornado WarningGLD
22:58 UTC23:29 UTCTornado WarningGLD
22:59 UTC00:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningGLD
23:35 UTC00:15 UTCTornado WarningGLD

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 Marginal Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 19:38 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.

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.

N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE (KLBF), 12:00Z

9.9 hours before the tornado, 254 km from the path. July 26, 2022.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE at 12:00Z on 2022-07-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 425 joules per kilogram, CIN -259, lifted condensation level 582 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 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, N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE at 12:00Z on 2022-07-26The 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 176 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 29 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
425 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-259 J/kg
Surface CAPE
154 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
582 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
29 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
21 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
176 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
223 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.5
0-3 km lapse rate
3.9 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE (KLBF), 00:00Z

2.1 hours after it, 254 km from the path. July 27, 2022.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE at 00:00Z on 2022-07-27Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 1899 joules per kilogram, CIN -17, lifted condensation level 1119 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 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, N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE at 00:00Z on 2022-07-27The 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 -125 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
1899 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-17 J/kg
Surface CAPE
3587 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1119 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
39 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
17 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-125 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-28 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
-0.4
Supercell composite
-3.7
0-3 km lapse rate
7.3 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Burlington (ITR), 29 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
19:53 UTC8763200° 12 kt191017.6
19:55 UTC190° 9 kt1017.6
20:00 UTC190° 11 kt1017.6
20:10 UTC180° 11 kt1017.6
20:15 UTC190° 11 kt1017.6
20:20 UTC180° 10 kt161017.6
20:35 UTC200° 9 kt1017.6
20:40 UTC190° 11 kt1017.6
20:45 UTC170° 10 kt1017.6
20:50 UTC220° 7 kt1017.6
20:53 UTC8763210° 9 kt1017.6
20:55 UTC230° 11 kt1017.6
21:00 UTC220° 7 kt1017.3
21:05 UTC210° 5 kt1017.3
21:10 UTC190° 5 kt1016.9
21:15 UTC220° 8 kt1016.9
22:10 UTC130° 8 kt1016.6
22:15 UTC190° 5 kt1016.9
22:17 UTC8764210° 7 kt1017.3VCTS
22:20 UTC180° 2 kt1017.3
22:25 UTC 1017.3
22:45 UTC100° 8 kt1017.6
22:50 UTC100° 9 kt1017.3
22:53 UTC856490° 8 kt1017.3VCTS
22:55 UTC90° 7 kt1017.3
23:00 UTC90° 7 kt1017.3
23:05 UTC100° 7 kt1017.3
23:15 UTC90° 7 kt1017.3
23:17 UTC8464100° 7 kt1017.3
23:20 UTC130° 8 kt1017.3
23:25 UTC130° 10 kt1016.9
23:30 UTC130° 10 kt1016.9
23:35 UTC130° 9 kt1016.9
23:50 UTC130° 9 kt1016.6

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

The radar

The Goodland radar (KGLD), 73 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 21:51 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)ReportWhereCountyRemark
21:30 UTCFUNNEL CLOUD11 Nnw BethuneKit Carson, COREPORT OF A FUNNEL ABOUT A QUARTER OF THE WAY DOWN. LOCATION ESTIMATED.
21:51 UTCTORNADO4 Se KirkYuma, COLASTED FOR THREE MINUTES. ESTIMATED LOCATION.
21:53 UTCTORNADO11 N StrattonKit Carson, COPUBLIC REPORTED A 20-30 SECOND DURATION LANDSPOUT TORNADO BETWEEN STRATTON AND KIRK, CO. FUNNEL WAS SEEN FROM THE GROUND TO CLOSE TO OR ALL THE WAY TO THE CLOUD BASE. LOCATION AND TIMING ARE ESTIMATED.
22:00 UTCFUNNEL CLOUD7 N BethuneKit Carson, COFUNNEL CLOUD REPORTED WITH A PICTURE PROVIDED VIA SOCIAL MEDIA. LOCATION ESTIMATED.
22:02 UTCTORNADO8 N StrattonKit Carson, COTORNADO.
22:07 UTCTORNADO7 N StrattonKit Carson, COLASTED ROUGHLY 10 MINUTES. ROUGHLY NEAR CR CC AND CR 31.
22:07 UTCTORNADO7 N StrattonKit Carson, COTORNADO LASTED 10 MINUTES. FORMED AT CR CC STRAIGHT NORTH OF STRATTON.
22:07 UTCTORNADO7 N StrattonKit Carson, COTORNADO LASTED 10 MINUTES. FORMED NEAR CR CC AND CR 31 NORTH OF STRATTON.
22:08 UTCTORNADO7 N StrattonKit Carson, COTRAINED SPOTTER REPORTS TORNADO. LOCATION IS ESTIMATED. SPOTTER IS WEST OF BURLINGTON LOOKING WEST-NORTHWEST.
22:10 UTCTORNADO2 Nw StrattonKit Carson, COKIT CARSON COUNTY DEPUTIES REPORTED A TORNADO.
22:10 UTCTORNADO4 Nnw StrattonKit Carson, CODELAYED PUBLIC REPORT VIA PHOTO ON SOCIAL MEDIA OF A TORNADO 4 MILES NORTH-NORTHWEST OF STRATTON, CO. TIMING AND LOCATION ARE ESTIMATED.
22:11 UTCTORNADO2 Nne StrattonKit Carson, COPUBLIC REPORT OF A VIDEO SHOWING A TORNADO. VIDEO TAKEN FROM A VEHICLE LEAVING STRATTON HEADING EAST. LOCATION AND TIMING ARE ESTIMATED.
22:12 UTCTORNADO4 N StrattonKit Carson, COREPORTED VIA SOCIAL MEDIA.
22:13 UTCTORNADO2 Nw StrattonKit Carson, COPUBLIC REPORTED A PHOTO OF A TORNADO VIA SOCIAL MEDIA 2 MILES NORTHWEST OF STRATTON, CO. LOCATION AND TIMING ARE ESTIMATED.
22:20 UTCTORNADO2 Ene SeibertKit Carson, COPUBLIC REPORTED A TORNADO VIA THREE PICTURES ON SOCIAL MEDIA. LOCATION WAS ESTIMATED TO BE 30 MILES WEST OF BURLINGTON, CO. LOCATION AND TIMING ARE ESTIMATED.
22:32 UTCTORNADO1 W VonaKit Carson, COHALF MILE WEST OF VONA PRODUCING DEBRIS.
22:36 UTCFUNNEL CLOUD1 W VonaKit Carson, CO.5 MILE DEBRIS FLYING DEBRIS REPORTED VIA PHONE BY KIT CARSON, CO EM ABOUT TO CROSS HWY 24.
22:36 UTCTORNADO1 Sw StrattonKit Carson, COEM REPORTED VIA PHONE ROTATION AND FLYING DEBRIS WEST OF STRATTON, CO. LOCATION IS ESTIMATED.
22:36 UTCTORNADO1 W VonaKit Carson, COCORRECTS PREVIOUS FUNNEL CLOUD REPORT FROM 1 W VONA. .5 MILE DEBRIS FLYING DEBRIS REPORTED VIA PHONE BY KIT CARSON, CO EM ABOUT TO CROSS HWY 24.
22:36 UTCTORNADOVonaKit Carson, COTORNADO DAMAGE REPORTED ROUGHLY HALF A MILE WEST OF VONA. DAMAGE WAS TO A HOME AND GARAGE.
22:40 UTCTORNADO2 S VonaKit Carson, COVIDEO SHOWING TORNADO 2 MILES SOUTH OF VONA, CO. REPORT VIA SOCIAL MEDIA. LOCATION AND TIMING ARE ESTIMATED.
22:42 UTCTORNADO1 W SeibertKit Carson, COPUBLIC REPORT VIA PICTURE ON SOCIAL MEDIA OF A TORNADO 1 MILE WEST OF SEIBERT, CO.
22:45 UTCHAIL 0.253 E VonaKit Carson, COACCUMULATING PEA SIZED HAIL. A 40 MPH WIND GUST WAS ALSO REPORTED.
22:45 UTCHAIL 1.252 E VonaKit Carson, CODELAYED REPORT VIA PHONE OF HALF DOLLAR HAIL AT 4:45 (MDT) 2 MILES EAST OF VONA, CO. SIZE AND TIMING ARE ESTIMATED.
22:45 UTCTORNADO3 E SeibertKit Carson, COTORNADO OBSERVED ALONG I-70 EAST OF SIEBERT VIA COLORADO DOT CAMERA. TIME AND LOCATION ESTIMATED.
22:50 UTCHAIL 16 Ssw StrattonKit Carson, COESTIMATED TIME OF REPORT.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2022 tornado in ColoradoEvery tornado in Colorado since 1950Warnings in force in Colorado nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of July 26, 2022

3 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 263:48 PM MDTUnratedKit Carson, CO0.850
July 264:29 PM MDTEF0Kit Carson, CO3.3100
July 265:02 PM MDTUnratedKit Carson, CO1.6100

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.