Tornadoes · United States · Colorado · 2025

Unrated tornado, Kit Carson, Colorado, May 23, 2025

This Unrated tornado ran 0.5 miles across Cheyenne County on May 23, 2025, touching down at 7:27 PM MDT and reaching 15 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
May 23, 2025
Touchdown
7:27 PM MDT (01:27 UTC)
Lifted
7:33 PM MDT (01:33 UTC)
On the ground
6 minutes
Path length
0.5 miles (0.8 km)
Path width
15 yards (14 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Cheyenne County
Touchdown point
38.761, -102.787
Lift-off point
38.759, -102.778
Record number
2505231927-01

What the Weather Service recorded

On the afternoon of the 23rd, a few low precipitation supercells form in eastern Colorado and proceeded to the east, before turning to the southeast. As these storms turned to the southeast, they quickly intensified and began producing hail up to 2.75 inches. A brief tornado was also reported south of Kit Carson.

Off duty NWS employee and other storm chaser live stream shows tornado ongoing. EM called and confirmed tornado just south of town.

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 May 23, 5:23 PM MDT, 2 hours 4 minutes earlier. Its key messages:

  • Severe thunderstorms are possible across western part of the area Friday afternoon and early evening. Thunderstorms capable of producing very large hail, damaging winds and perhaps a tornado are expected.
  • Another round of severe weather is forecast after midnight into early Saturday morning, primarily over NW KS. Main threat will be very large hail.
  • Areas of fog will likely develop late Friday night and persist through Saturday morning. The fog may be dense at times.
  • Thunderstorm chances continue through the weekend. Some severe storms will be possible, but confidence in details such as location, intensity and timing are low at this time.
Area forecast discussion, May 23, 5:23 PM MDT, 2 hours 4 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Goodland KS
523 PM MDT Fri May 23 2025

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Severe thunderstorms are possible across western part of the
  area Friday afternoon and early evening. Thunderstorms
  capable of producing very large hail, damaging winds and
  perhaps a tornado are expected.

- Another round of severe weather is forecast after midnight
  into early Saturday morning, primarily over NW KS. Main threat
  will be very large hail.

- Areas of fog will likely develop late Friday night and persist
  through Saturday morning. The fog may be dense at times.

- Thunderstorm chances continue through the weekend. Some severe
  storms will be possible, but confidence in details such as
  location, intensity and timing are low at this time.

&&

.SHORT TERM /THROUGH SATURDAY/...
Issued at 229 PM MDT Fri May 23 2025

Latest satellite data shows clearing over far East CO, with
overcast sky to the east. Overhead an upper level short wave
trough was over the western cloud edge. This temperature
difference should serve to enhance the temperature gradient
along the frontal boundary. Surface winds also show some
convergence along the western cloud edge.

For the afternoon am anticipating storms forming along the
western edge of the clouds, the question is where will the cloud
edge be. During the latter half of the afternoon low level and
mid level helicity increase over Yuma County, extending
southeast along the frontal boundary. Meanwhile an upper level
short wave trough deepens over the boundary. The risk for
tornadoes increases into the evening. Wind gusts to around 70
MPH may occur with any storm too. By mid evening or so storms
should become more elevated. The first round of storms should
move southeast of the forecast area around midnight, if not
before.

Overnight the low level jet nose strengthens over the forecast area.
Elevated CAPE forms along this feature after midnight, along with
low CINH.  RAP and NAM models disagree with the placement of the
elevated CAPE.  Current forecast is a mixture of the two.  Storm
chances may be on the high side, however wherever storms form am
thinking there should be a group/line of them.  These storms may
produce hail up to baseball size, however two inch hail would seem
more likely for a maximum size.  These storms should shift out of
the forecast area by 7 AM CT.  Have moderate confidence these storms
will form.

Fog will form overnight, lasting into Saturday morning, with
visibility improving toward late morning.

Saturday the forecast area will be in the cooler air behind the cold
front.  This will be a similar pattern to tonight, with elevated
thunderstorms being a possibility.  The upper level pattern is not
as favorable during the morning as Friday night will be for elevated
storms. Therefore, confidence is on the low side.  If storms do form
overnight they should be east of the forecast area by 10 AM CT.
Toward late afternoon a deeper upper level short wave trough should
move in from the west. This may allow for more elevated storms to
form over the forecast area.

&&

.LONG TERM /SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY/...
Issued at 229 PM MDT Fri May 23 2025

Saturday night a low level jet nose forms over the forecast area.
Elevated CAPE looks to still be in place, and there this rather deep
saturated layer in place.  Am thinking the models are a bit high
with the precipitation chances due to accounting for drizzle instead
of rain.  However, the broad lift over the forecast area does give
more confidence in higher chances for precipitation actually
happening.

Active weather pattern continues into the workweek as a long wave
trough moves onto the Plains.  Toward mid week the long wave trough
turns into a closed low over the Northern Plains.  South of the
closed low, the westerly flow is in a favorable position to send
upper level short wave troughs over the forecast area.

&&

.AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z SATURDAY/...
Issued at 523 PM MDT Fri May 23 2025

Showers and thunderstorms will be in the vicinity of KGLD this
evening. Current thinking is that the storms will not go
directly over the airport but lightning would be in the
vicinity. During the overnight fog is expected to develop over
both KGLD and KMCK. Data suggests that KGLD will be in fog
throughout the day, so at this point we'll keep fog in the TAF.
KMCK does look to mix during the early afternoon dissipating the
fog, but the low clouds are expected to persist. IFR and MVFR
conditions are expected during the forecast period.

&&

.GLD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
KS...None.
CO...None.
NE...None.

&&

SHORT TERM...JTL
LONG TERM...JTL
AVIATION...PUB
Hazardous weather outlook, May 23, 2:37 PM MDT, 4 hours 50 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Goodland KS
237 PM MDT Fri May 23 2025

COZ090>092-KSZ001>004-013>016-027>029-041-042-NEZ079>081-242045-
Yuma-Kit Carson-Cheyenne-Rawlins-Decatur-Norton-Sherman-Thomas-
Sheridan-Graham-Wallace-Logan-Gove-Greeley-Wichita-Dundy-Hitchcock-
Red Willow-
237 PM MDT Fri May 23 2025 /337 PM CDT Fri May 23 2025/

This hazardous weather outlook is for extreme southwest Nebraska...
northwest Kansas and east central Colorado.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT...

There is a slight risk for severe thunderstorms across the area
beginning this afternoon and continuing tonight. Storms are expected
to develop after 3 PM MT in Northeast Colorado and the Tri-border
area, then move southeast into Northwest Kansas between 4 and 8 PM
MT. Any storm that develops during this time will be capable of
producing hail up to baseball size, damaging winds around 70 MPH,
and perhaps a tornado or two. The favorable area for tornadoes to
form will be Yuma County area from 5 to 7 PM MT.

Overnight, a few severe storms will be possible, mainly over
Northwest Kansas, which could produce large hail. There is low
confidence for the strongest storms to produce hail up to baseball
size overnight.

Areas of fog will likely develop late tonight. The fog may be dense
at times.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH FRIDAY...

Areas of fog will persist into Saturday morning with dense fog
possible.

Thunderstorm chances continue through the weekend. Some severe
storms will be possible, but confidence in details such as location,
intensity and timing are low at this time.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotter activation will be needed this afternoon and tonight.

JTL

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 23, 6:25 PM MDT, 1 hour 2 minutes before
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Local storm report, May 23, 6:27 PM MDT, 1 hour before
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Local storm report, May 23, 6:41 PM MDT, 46 minutes before
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Local storm report, May 23, 7:02 PM MDT, 25 minutes before
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Local storm report, May 23, 7:06 PM MDT, 21 minutes before
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Local storm report, May 23, 7:27 PM MDT, 0 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Goodland KS
727 PM MDT Fri May 23 2025

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

0726 PM     Funnel Cloud     1 E Kit Carson          38.76N 102.78W
05/23/2025                   Cheyenne           CO   Storm Chaser

            funnel cloud seen on chasers live stream.

&&

Trigg

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.

Dodge City, (KDDC), 00:00Z

1.5 hours before the tornado, 275 km from the path. May 24, 2025.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Dodge City, at 00:00Z on 2025-05-24Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 1054 joules per kilogram, CIN -196, lifted condensation level 1070 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, Dodge City, at 00:00Z on 2025-05-24The 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 104 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 45 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
1054 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-196 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1366 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1070 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
45 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
11 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
104 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
194 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.1
0-3 km lapse rate
6.0 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Dodge City, (KDDC), 12:00Z

10.5 hours after it, 275 km from the path. May 24, 2025.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Dodge City, at 12:00Z on 2025-05-24Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 444 joules per kilogram, CIN -376, lifted condensation level 1500 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, Dodge City, at 12:00Z on 2025-05-24The 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 -6 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 26 knots.193958Sfc1 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
444 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-376 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1500 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
26 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
5 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-6 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
187 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.7
0-3 km lapse rate
2.6 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Burlington (ITR), 69 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

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

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

The radar

The Goodland radar (KGLD), 115 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 01:25 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 2025 tornado in ColoradoEvery tornado in Colorado since 1950Warnings in force in Colorado nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of May 23, 2025

2 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 235:09 PM MDTEF1Logan, CO11.2100
May 235:37 PM MDTEF2Washington, CO8.4400

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.