Tornadoes · United States · Florida · 2007

EF0 tornado, Saint Johns County, Florida, June 12, 2007

This EF0 tornado ran 1.0 miles across Saint Johns County on June 12, 2007, touching down at 11:24 AM EDT 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.

  1. EF065 to 85 mphthis tornado

    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. 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
June 12, 2007
Touchdown
11:24 AM EDT (15:24 UTC)
Lifted
11:25 AM EDT (15:25 UTC)
On the ground
1 minutes
Path length
1.0 miles (1.6 km)
Path width
50 yards (46 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Saint Johns County
Touchdown point
29.710, -81.232
Lift-off point
29.700, -81.220
Record number
0706120924-01

The warnings

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down.

The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 12:25 UTC and running to 17:05 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
11:12 UTC13:15 UTCMarine WarningJAX
12:25 UTC17:05 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WatchJAX
14:23 UTC16:30 UTCMarine WarningJAX

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 Slight Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 12:28 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.

Jacksonville, FL (KJAX), 12:00Z

3.4 hours before the tornado, 99 km from the path. June 12, 2007.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Jacksonville, FL at 12:00Z on 2007-06-12Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 1068 joules per kilogram, CIN -73, lifted condensation level 674 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, Jacksonville, FL at 12:00Z on 2007-06-12The 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 8 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 34 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
1068 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-73 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1223 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
674 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
34 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
3 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
8 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
98 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.3
Supercell composite
3.4
0-3 km lapse rate
5.6 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Jacksonville, FL (KJAX), 00:00Z

8.6 hours after it, 99 km from the path. June 13, 2007.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Jacksonville, FL at 00:00Z on 2007-06-13Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 173 joules per kilogram, CIN -69, lifted condensation level 988 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, Jacksonville, FL at 00:00Z on 2007-06-13The 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 16 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 26 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
173 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-69 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1295 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
988 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
26 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
4 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
16 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
48 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1
0-3 km lapse rate
6.5 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

St Augustine Airpt (SGJ), 30 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
13:50 UTC78.871.6130° 7 kt1014.9HZ
14:50 UTC7769.8120° 11 kt1014.9TS HZ
15:02 UTC75.269.8340° 21 kt321015.6+TSRA
15:22 UTC6866.210° 9 kt1016.9TSRA
15:35 UTC6866.2340° 11 kt1017.3-TSRA
15:50 UTC6866.2330° 9 kt1017.6-TSRA
16:23 UTC69.866.220° 6 kt1017.3-TSRA
16:50 UTC69.86840° 3 kt1016.6-TSRA

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

The radar

The Jacksonville radar (KJAX), 98 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 15:23 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
14:30 UTCWATER SPOUTN MarinelandSt. Johns, FLRED CHANNEL MARKER TAKEN OUT ABOUT 1/2 MILE NORTH OF THE FIRST BRIDGE ON THE INTRA COASTAL WATERWAY NORTH OF MARINELAND.
14:45 UTCTSTM WND DMGBayardDuval, FLTREES AND BRANCHES DOWN.
15:05 UTCTSTM WND DMGSt. AugustineSt. Johns, FLNUMEROUS TREES DOWN ACROSS THE NORTHERN PORTION OF THE COUNTY AND ST AUGUSTINE. U.S. HIGHWAY ONE CLOSED NEAR RACETRACK ROAD DUE TO TREES DOWN. EVENT IS ONGOING IN THE ST. AUGUSTINE AREA AT THIS TIME.
15:10 UTCTSTM WND DMGSt. AugustineSt. Johns, FLTREES DOWN ON POWER LINES AT PATTEN CHASE AREA. THE POWER IS OUT IN THIS AREA.
15:13 UTCTSTM WND DMGEast PalatkaPutnam, FLTWO 60 FOOT TREES UPROOTED.
15:15 UTCTSTM WND DMGHastingsSt. Johns, FLLARGE TREE DOWN
15:15 UTCTSTM WND GST 60St. AugustineSt. Johns, FLNEAR THE 1400 BLOCK OF U.S. 1 SOUTH. BRANCHES DOWN.
15:24 UTCTSTM WND DMGSt. AugustineSt. Johns, FLSEVERAL LARGE TREES UPROOTED. ONE FELL ON SIDE OF HOME AND DID DAMAGE TO ROOF. GERONA RD IN SOUTH ST AUGUSTINE.
15:24 UTCTORNADO1 S Crescent BeachSt. Johns, FLSHERIFFS OFFICER REPORT OF A WATERSPOUT/TORNADO ALONG THE MARSHES OF THE INTRACOASTAL WATERWAY NEAR MATANZAS INLET. NO INDICATIONS IT MOVED INTO POPULATED AREAS AT THIS TIME.
15:24 UTCTORNADOAnastasiaSt. Johns, FLPUBLIC REPORT OF A TORNADO. WITNESS REPORTS IT BLEW A PORT-O-LET SEVERAL YARDS AND INTO HER DRIVEWAY.
15:30 UTCTSTM WND DMG5 S St. AugustineSt. Johns, FLNUMEROUS TREES DOWN ALONG VAIL POINT RD IN MOULTRIE SUBDIVISION.
15:35 UTCTSTM WND GST 554 S MarinelandFlagler, FLTRAINED SPOTTER REPORT FROM PALM COAST VIA AMATEUR RADIO. NO DAMAGE REPORTED.
15:45 UTCFUNNEL CLOUDPalatkaPutnam, FLFIREMAN REPORTED FUNNEL CLOUD 3 MILES NORTH OF THE MARION PUTNAM COUNTY BORDER EAST OF STATE ROAD 19.
16:20 UTCTSTM WND DMG5 Nnw Flagler BeachFlagler, FLWIRES DOWN IN BEVERLY BEACH. LARGE TREE DOWN NEAR STATE ROAD 100 IN SHELL BLUFF
16:45 UTCFUNNEL CLOUDPalatkaPutnam, FLFUNNEL CLOUD NEAR U.S. 19 AND FOREST RD. REPORTED BY STATE WARNING PONT.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2007 tornado in FloridaEvery tornado in Florida since 1950Warnings in force in Florida nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of June 12, 2007

2 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 122:43 PM CDTEF0McLean, ND6.250
June 123:30 PM CDTEF0Ward, ND4.350

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.