Tornadoes · United States · Colorado · 2023
EF0 tornado, Washington County, Colorado, August 8, 2023
This EF0 tornado ran 0.0 miles across Washington County on August 8, 2023, touching down at 5:29 PM MDT and reaching 50 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
- August 8, 2023
- Touchdown
- 5:29 PM MDT (23:29 UTC)
- Lifted
- 5:31 PM MDT (23:31 UTC)
- On the ground
- 2 minutes
- Path length
- 0.0 miles (0.0 km)
- Path width
- 50 yards (46 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- County
- Washington County
- Touchdown point
- 40.176, -102.929
- Lift-off point
- 40.176, -102.929
- Record number
- 2308081729-01
The damage survey
32 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS BOU and NWS GLD, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF3. The highest wind the damage implies is 150 mph.
- Garage was lifted off foundation with imploded garage doors. Southwest corner of the garage lost about 10% of the roof structure. Garage is east facing and was pulled to the east off the anchoring and then to the north slightly.
- Large living softwood tree snapped near the base of the trunk. Trunk was slightly rotted.
- Metal shack had tin roof spaniels ripped off along with 3 2x4 beams. Material was tossed NW (320 degrees) to the tree line. One piece of tin went to the east.
- Tin storage container was flipped to the south.
Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.
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.
The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 20:38 UTC and running to 04:00 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20:38 UTC | 04:00 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | BOU |
| 21:53 UTC | 22:45 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU |
| 22:17 UTC | 00:48 UTC | Flood Advisory | BOU |
| 22:31 UTC | 23:00 UTC | Tornado Warning | BOU |
| 23:36 UTC | 00:03 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU |
| 23:54 UTC | 00:20 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU |
| 23:55 UTC | 00:19 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU |
| 00:06 UTC | 00:30 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU |
| 00:13 UTC | 00:44 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU |
| 04:50 UTC | 05:15 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU |
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 Enhanced Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 19:57 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
11.5 hours before the tornado, 223 km from the path. August 8, 2023.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 4 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -289 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 695 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 45 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 13 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 61 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 205 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- -0.1
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 4.0 K/km
N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE (KLBF), 00:00Z
0.5 hours after it, 223 km from the path. August 9, 2023.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1804 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -29 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 2866 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1179 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 31 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 7 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 38 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 106 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.5
- Supercell composite
- 4.6
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 7.1 K/km
The radar
The Goodland radar (KGLD), 138 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 23:30 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22:08 UTC | HAIL 1.75 | 6 S Burdett | Washington, CO | |
| 22:50 UTC | TORNADO | 2 Nw Hyde | Washington, CO | Corrects time based on radar. Report from 2 NW Hyde. WA298, seen from Yuma. |
| 22:55 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 W Hyde | Washington, CO | Small barn flipped on its side. Estimated wind gust to 90 mph per damage indicator. Also minor shingle damage to manufactured home at this location. Time estimated by other real time reports and radar data. |
| 22:57 UTC | TORNADO | 1 Ese Hyde | Washington, CO | Garage was lifted off foundation anchoring and shifted. Garage doors imploded, and about 10% of roof structure was lost. Other tree damage on farm suggested EF1 damage as well, including snapped trees and broken wood pow |
| 22:57 UTC | TORNADO | 2 Nw Hyde | Washington, CO | WA298, seen from Yuma. |
| 23:00 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Wnw Hyde | Washington, CO | Pub State patrol. |
| 23:00 UTC | HAIL 1.75 | 4 Ne Yuma | Yuma, CO | Delayed report via social media. |
| 23:00 UTC | HAIL 2.75 | 7 N Abarr | Yuma, CO | Delayed report via social media with picture. Time estimated. |
| 23:02 UTC | HAIL 3 | Hyde | Washington, CO | DE175. |
| 23:02 UTC | TORNADO | 2 Sw Yuma | Yuma, CO | Tornado on the ground estimated 3 miles west of the airport. Location estimated. |
| 23:05 UTC | HAIL 2.25 | 1 Wnw Hyde | Washington, CO | Report from mPING: Hen Egg+ (2.25 in.). |
| 23:07 UTC | HAIL 3 | Hyde | Washington, CO | Report from mPING: Tea Cup (3.00 in.). |
| 23:08 UTC | HAIL 4 | 3 W Yuma | Yuma, CO | |
| 23:13 UTC | TORNADO | 5 S Yuma | Yuma, CO | 5 power poles snapped along Hwy 59. Time estimated. |
| 23:15 UTC | HAIL 2.75 | 7 N Abarr | Yuma, CO | Corrects previous hail report from 7 N Abarr. Delayed report via social media with picture. Time estimated. |
| 23:16 UTC | HAIL 1 | 4 Se Yuma | Yuma, CO | Report from mPING: Quarter (1.00 in.). |
| 23:18 UTC | HAIL 1.75 | 4 Ese Yuma | Yuma, CO | Hail was ongoing at the location. |
| 23:20 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 S Yuma | Yuma, CO | Delayed report. Top branches of a tree snapped off and laying towards the southeast. Time estimated via radar. |
| 23:20 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 S Yuma | Yuma, CO | Corrects previous tornado report from 5 S Yuma from a NWS Storm Survey. 5 power poles snapped along Hwy 59. Time estimated. |
| 23:30 UTC | TORNADO | 7 Nnw Heartstrong | Yuma, CO | Delayed report via social media. Multi-vortex tornado reported roughly 7-8 miles southeast of Yuma. Location approximate based on radar. Tornado has lifted prior to 5:51 PM MDT. |
| 23:34 UTC | HAIL 3 | 6 Nnw Heartstrong | Yuma, CO | Delayed report via social media with photo of hailstones. Time estimated. |
| 23:40 UTC | TORNADO | 6 Nw Heartstrong | Yuma, CO | Corrects previous DELAYED REPORT tornado report from 6 NW Heartstrong. DELAYED REPORT of a tornado 1.5-2 Miles west of CR 30 and K. Videos and photos sent in via social media. |
| 23:40 UTC | TORNADO | 6 Nw Heartstrong | Yuma, CO | DELAYED REPORT of a tornado 1.5-2 Miles west of CR 30 and K. Time is estimated by reporter and radar. |
| 23:45 UTC | HAIL 1.75 | 7 Sse Hyde | Washington, CO | Lost power as well. |
| 23:45 UTC | HAIL 1.75 | 6 Ssw Yuma | Yuma, CO | Up to golf ball hail observed. Power was out at the residence. |
| 23:59 UTC | HAIL 1.25 | 7 S Yuma | Yuma, CO | Report from mPING: Half Dollar (1.25 in.). |
| 00:06 UTC | TORNADO | 2 Nne Abarr | Yuma, CO | Brief tornado lasted about 2 minutes (6:08PM) roughly 2-3 miles NW of County Rds L and and 18 intersection. |
| 00:17 UTC | HAIL 1.5 | 7 N Abarr | Yuma, CO | Report from mPING: Ping Pong Ball (1.50 in.). |
| 00:19 UTC | TSTM WND GST 60 | 1 Ese Abarr | Yuma, CO | |
| 00:19 UTC | TORNADO | 5 Sw Heartstrong | Yuma, CO | Tornado just touched down via Chaser live feed. Location estimated via radar. |
| 00:20 UTC | HAIL 2.5 | 6 N Abarr | Yuma, CO | Report from mPING: Tennis Ball (2.50 in.). |
| 00:25 UTC | TORNADO | 3 E Abarr | Yuma, CO | Storm chasers were 7 miles north of Joes looking to the northwest. They commented they saw rope tornado for about a minute and a half, emerging out of rain shaft. Position estimated by radar. |
| 00:30 UTC | HAIL 4 | 6 Wsw Heartstrong | Yuma, CO | Storm chaser reported 3.5 inch to 4 inch hail near the intersection of Highway 59 and County Road 25 at approximately 6:30 pm MDT. |
| 00:30 UTC | TORNADO | 5 Se Abarr | Yuma, CO | Ongoing tornado reported. Location roughly 10 miles NW of Kirk. Location estimated via radar and report. |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2023 tornado in ColoradoEvery tornado in Colorado since 1950Warnings in force in Colorado nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of August 8, 2023
13 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 8 | 11:20 AM EDT | EF1 | Plymouth, MA | 0.9 | 300 | $10,000 | ||
| August 8 | 11:52 AM EDT | EF0 | Barnstable, MA | 1.2 | 650 | $2,000 | ||
| August 8 | 12:50 PM MST | EF0 | Coconino, AZ | 5.0 | 10 | |||
| August 8 | 4:29 PM MDT | Unrated | Washington, CO | 0.0 | 50 | |||
| August 8 | 4:39 PM MDT | EF3 | Washington, CO | 15.7 | 212 | $1.0 million | ||
| August 8 | 4:50 PM MDT | Unrated | Morrill, NE | 0.1 | 25 | |||
| August 8 | 5:30 PM MDT | Unrated | Yuma, CO | 5.3 | 200 | |||
| August 8 | 6:04 PM MDT | EF0 | Yuma, CO | 1.7 | 193 | |||
| August 8 | 6:19 PM MDT | Unrated | Yuma, CO | 1.0 | 150 | |||
| August 8 | 6:23 PM MDT | Unrated | Yuma, CO | 0.9 | 75 | |||
| August 8 | 7:00 PM MDT | Unrated | Yuma, CO | 0.5 | 150 | |||
| August 8 | 7:25 PM MDT | EF2 | Kit Carson, CO | 5.3 | 150 | $30,000 | ||
| August 8 | 9:17 PM MDT | Unrated | Sherman, KS | 1.3 | 75 |
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.