Tornadoes · United States · Colorado · 2024
Unrated tornado, Vernon, Colorado, August 11, 2024
This Unrated tornado ran 0.5 miles across Yuma County on August 11, 2024, touching down at 4:41 PM MDT and reaching 25 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 mph
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.
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
- August 11, 2024
- Touchdown
- 4:41 PM MDT (22:41 UTC)
- Lifted
- 4:43 PM MDT (22:43 UTC)
- On the ground
- 2 minutes
- Path length
- 0.5 miles (0.7 km)
- Path width
- 25 yards (23 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- County
- Yuma County
- Touchdown point
- 39.951, -102.313
- Lift-off point
- 39.945, -102.310
- Record number
- 2408111641-01
What the Weather Service recorded
In the early afternoon of the 11th, a single thunderstorm formed in northeastern Colorado and moved southeast. As the storm moved across Yuma county, it produced winds up to 70 MPH, 3 inch hail, and a brief tornado.
Storm chaser relayed a photo to us of a shed in Vernon that appeared to be thrown to the west about 75 feet. The direction of the storms were to the southeast. Tornado rated EF-U because we were un able to determine how structurally sound the shed was before the tornado occurred.
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 Goodland, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Aug 11, 2:07 PM MDT, 2 hours 34 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
- Medium confidence for strong to severe thunderstorms this afternoon and evening. All hazards are possible including wind gusts up to 70 mph and up to 2" hail. There is low confidence for tornadoes this afternoon.
- Low confidence for severe weather occurring Monday afternoon/evening over the west half of the forecast area.
- High rainfall chances Monday night.
- Rain chances continue through most of the week and temperatures gradually warm.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 11, 2:07 PM MDT, 2 hours 34 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Goodland KS 207 PM MDT Sun Aug 11 2024 .KEY MESSAGES... - Medium confidence for strong to severe thunderstorms this afternoon and evening. All hazards are possible including wind gusts up to 70 mph and up to 2" hail. There is low confidence for tornadoes this afternoon. - Low confidence for severe weather occurring Monday afternoon/evening over the west half of the forecast area. - High rainfall chances Monday night. - Rain chances continue through most of the week and temperatures gradually warm. && .SHORT TERM /THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT/... Issued at 204 PM MDT Sun Aug 11 2024 Latest upper air analysis shows the ridge over the Great Basin. The flow over the ridge is almost zonal. Within the flow are small scale short wave troughs. The strongest of these troughs is over Eastern Wyoming. Satellite imagery shows cumulus clouds forming ahead of this trough. Further east a large area of stratus continues to be in place over the Plains. For the rest of today the current storm activity over Southeast Wyoming will continue to progress east-southeastward. As the storms move southeast they will encounter higher instability and deep layer shear. As such, am expecting the storms to increase in intensity. Models show a single supercell forming over far Northeast CO, moving southeast along the dry line into the forecast area. If this does happen there may be a potential for a tornado to occur given the source for surface vorticity along the boundary. If this does happen the supercell will be entering the forecast area during the latter half of the afternoon. This evening the supercell, assuming it does form, will continue to track southeast along the corridor of instability along the dry line. The eastern border of the instability corridor may be the west edge of the cloud cover. The storm should weaken as surface heating ends. However the supercell can overcome the increasing stability for a time, but should eventually end before late evening. Later on storm activity should continue into KS with the upper level short wave trough. As the trough moves over the central part of the forecast area it will begin to fill, which should cause storm activity to wane. Am not anticipating any severe weather during the latter half of the evening given the large dew point depressions above the inversion. Meanwhile another area of concern will be over Central CO where a cluster of thunderstorms should move through from another upper level short wave trough. This activity will be much less organized due to the upper level short wave trough being less intense. As this activity continues east it should weaken near the KS/CO border where the instability ends. Main threat with this activity will likely be damaging wind gusts. A cold front will move through behind the storm activity. Later in the night the storm activity may increase in coverage as the upper level short wave trough moves over the LLJ nose in Central KS. Toward sunrise fog will return to most of the forecast area. Locations east of the CO border will generally be favored for visibility of less than a half mile. Monday will be warmer than today despite the cold front passage. This is mainly due to no cloud cover. The afternoon looks to be a similar pattern to today; an upper level short wave trough approaches from the west bringing storm activity with it. Also like today, instability will be best over Eastern CO, but mostly west of the forecast area. If strong to severe thunderstorms form west of the forecast area, they may move into the forecast area then weaken due to the more stable environment. Monday night another strong upper level short wave trough moves over the forecast area. Models agree for the high rainfall chances. However, am concerned the is based on plentiful moisture overhead and the assumption an upper level short wave trough will move through; which has happened in this pattern already. However the ECMWF and GFS ensembles have high probability of atleast .1" and atleast .5" of rainfall occurring. Currently there is no good reason to not have high chances other than the concern that models are too high with the rainfall chances. Am thinking the rainfall activity will end up being lower in coverage than what is currently being forecast. && .LONG TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/... Issued at 106 PM MDT Sun Aug 11 2024 The long-term will start off with a high pressure system in the northern Texas/southern Oklahoma area extending a ridge over the High Plains. In the Pacific Northwest, a trough will begin cutting into the CONUS and will flatten out the ridge by the mid week, leaving us under fairly zonal flow for a couple of days before the ridge builds back in. As the leading edge of the upper-level trough pushes over the Rockies, a mid-level shortwave is expected to form and impact the CWA. Current guidance is suggesting around Wednesday 3-6Z is when the trough will force a cold front into the area. Around the same time, the 850mb LLJ looks to kick up over the eastern half of the CWA from the south-southwest at 40-50kts. The LLJ will bring in some more moisture for the storms to work with and increase forcing. Storms will generally be focused on the northern 2/3 of the CWA. There is a Marginal outlook for severe weather along and west of KS highway 27, where the best storm parameter will likely meet. Storms will then decay and weaken farther to the east, but there is a chance these storms will still be severe in nature as they move on to the east. High temperatures will once again play a large role in how likely severe weather will be. Maximum temperatures Tuesday look to warm into the upper 80s in the southwestern CWA and upper 70s in the northeastern CWA. The farther east the warm temperatures, the farther east the severe weather. Through Thursday or Friday, we look to be heavily influenced by the upper-level trough, which will either provide northwesterly or zonal flow during this time. This will allow for persistent, but low, chances at precipitation and temperatures in the 80s and low 90s. Around Friday, the trough moves off and the ridge builds back into the region. This will lower precipitation chances even more and increase temperatures over the weekend. Highs look to warm into the upper 80s to mid 90s Friday onward. Overnight temperatures will cool into the mid 50s to mid 60s throughout the period. && .AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z MONDAY/... Issued at 1146 AM MDT Sun Aug 11 2024 IFR to VFR conditions forecast for the TAFs. Main focus continues to be timing the increasing ceiling height. Model data is performing a bit better today with the ceiling trends compared to yesterday, giving more confidence in the forecast. Ceilings will be VFR by mid afternoon then below VFR ceiling will return later tonight. Fog is also expected to occur again tonight. KGLD may have a thunderstorm move within the vicinity of the site, so added a mention for the best timeframe for that to occur. At this point am not anticipating winds over 50kts with any storms that approach. && .GLD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... KS...None. CO...None. NE...None. && SHORT TERM...JTL LONG TERM... AVIATION...JTL
Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 11, 2:48 PM MDT, 1 hour 53 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Goodland KS 248 PM MDT Sun Aug 11 2024 KSZ003-004-015-016-029-041-042-NEZ081-122100- Decatur-Norton-Sheridan-Graham-Gove-Greeley-Wichita-Red Willow- 248 PM MDT Sun Aug 11 2024 /348 PM CDT Sun Aug 11 2024/ This hazardous weather outlook is for extreme southwest Nebraska and northwest Kansas. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT... Visibility will likely fall to a half mile or less for most of the Tri-State Area late tonight into Monday morning. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SUNDAY... Visibility will likely fall to a half mile or less for most of the area for the first half of Monday morning. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will not be needed. COZ090>092-KSZ001-002-013-014-027-028-NEZ079-080-122100- Yuma-Kit Carson-Cheyenne-Rawlins-Sherman-Thomas-Wallace-Logan-Dundy- Hitchcock- 248 PM MDT Sun Aug 11 2024 /348 PM CDT Sun Aug 11 2024/ This hazardous weather outlook is for extreme southwest Nebraska... northwest Kansas and east central Colorado. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT... Visibility will likely fall to a half mile or less for most of the Tri-State Area late tonight into Monday morning. Strong to severe storms may move into the northwest part of the Tri- State Area from 3 PM to 9 PM MDT. Damaging wind gusts up to 70 mph and up to 2 inch hail are the main threats. There is low confidence a tornado or two may develop during the afternoon hours. A Severe Thunderstorm Watch has been issued for this threat. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SUNDAY... Visibility will likely fall to a half mile or less for most of the area for the first half of Monday morning. There is a Marginal outlook for severe storms Monday and Tuesday during the afternoon and evening hours. Locations generally along and west of the eastern Colorado border could see storms that produce 60 MPH winds and 1 inch diameter hail. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation may be needed. JTL
In the hours before
Local storm report, Aug 11, 4:19 PM MDT, 22 minutes before
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</html>Local storm report, Aug 11, 4:27 PM MDT, 14 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Goodland KS
427 PM MDT Sun Aug 11 2024
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0400 PM Tstm Wnd Gst 9 N Eckley 40.24N 102.51W
08/11/2024 E60 MPH Yuma CO Storm Chaser
estimated 50-60 MPH gusts at this location
as storm moved through.
&&
JTLLocal storm report, Aug 11, 4:28 PM MDT, 13 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Goodland KS
428 PM MDT Sun Aug 11 2024
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0404 PM Hail 6 N Eckley 40.20N 102.49W
08/11/2024 M0.88 Inch Yuma CO Storm Chaser
Road covered in nickel sized hail. Near
intersection of CR T and 44.
&&
JTLLocal storm report, Aug 11, 4:34 PM MDT, 7 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Goodland KS
434 PM MDT Sun Aug 11 2024
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0427 PM Tstm Wnd Gst 5 SE Eckley 40.06N 102.42W
08/11/2024 E54 MPH Yuma CO Mesonet
GPACO on Weather Link.
&&
JTLLocal storm report, Aug 11, 4:35 PM MDT, 6 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Goodland KS
435 PM MDT Sun Aug 11 2024
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0423 PM Hail 4 N Eckley 40.16N 102.49W
08/11/2024 E1.50 Inch Yuma CO Storm Chaser
reported near CR T and 41.
&&
JTLLocal storm report, Aug 11, 4:37 PM MDT, 4 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Goodland KS
437 PM MDT Sun Aug 11 2024
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0420 PM Tstm Wnd Gst 1 SSE Eckley 40.10N 102.48W
08/11/2024 M50 MPH Yuma CO Mesonet
Precision Ag Office.
&&
JTLThe 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
10.7 hours before the tornado, 195 km from the path. August 11, 2024.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -93465 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 5 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 952 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 27 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 12 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 94 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 249 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 3.4 K/km
The surface observations
Wray (RYA), 18 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 Goodland radar (KGLD), 83 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 22:39 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 2024 tornado in ColoradoEvery tornado in Colorado since 1950Warnings in force in Colorado nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of August 11, 2024
1 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 11 | 2:18 PM EDT | EF0 | St. Lawrence, NY | 0.1 | 20 |
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.