Tornadoes · United States · Florida · 2011
EF0 tornado, Saint Lucie County, Florida, April 26, 2011
This EF0 tornado ran 0.1 miles across Saint Lucie County on April 26, 2011, touching down at 7:05 PM EDT 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.
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
- April 26, 2011
- Touchdown
- 7:05 PM EDT (23:05 UTC)
- Path length
- 0.1 miles (0.1 km)
- Path width
- 15 yards (14 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- County
- Saint Lucie County
- Touchdown point
- 27.307, -80.420
- Lift-off point
- 27.307, -80.420
- Record number
- 1104261705-01
The warnings
No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21:11 UTC | 22:15 UTC | Flood Advisory | MLB |
| 22:27 UTC | 00:00 UTC | Flood Advisory | MLB |
| 23:13 UTC | 23:33 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MLB |
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 General Thunderstorms Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 19:47 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.
Cape Canaveral, FL (KXMR), 12:00Z
11.1 hours before the tornado, 130 km from the path. April 26, 2011.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1618 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -6 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 2576 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 736 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 15 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 6 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -8 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 34 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 5.8 K/km
Cape Canaveral, FL (KXMR), 00:00Z
0.9 hours after it, 130 km from the path. April 27, 2011.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 2078 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -50 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 4652 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1051 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 24 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 13 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 37 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 25 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.2
- Supercell composite
- 2.4
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 6.2 K/km
The surface observations
Ft Pierce/St Lucie (FPR), 22 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21:53 UTC | 83 | 69 | 110° 16 kt | 1012.2 | TS | |
| 22:53 UTC | 80 | 69 | 120° 17 kt | 25 | 1012.5 | TS |
| 23:53 UTC | 75 | 66 | 170° 5 kt | 1013.5 | ||
| 00:53 UTC | 76 | 68 | 140° 4 kt | 1013.9 |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Melbourne radar (KMLB), 93 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 23:03 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22:55 UTC | FUNNEL CLOUD | Port Saint Lucie | St. Lucie, FL | |
| 22:58 UTC | FLOOD | Port Saint Lucie | St. Lucie, FL | PONDING ON ROADWAYS 2 MILES EAST OF INTERSTATE 95. ALSO 1 INCH OF RAIN IN 20 MINUTES. |
| 23:00 UTC | HAIL 0.25 | Port Saint Lucie | St. Lucie, FL | |
| 23:17 UTC | HAIL 0.88 | Port Saint Lucie | St. Lucie, FL |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2011 tornado in FloridaEvery tornado in Florida since 1950Warnings in force in Florida nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of April 26, 2011
58 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 26 | 1:05 AM CDT | EF3 | Christian, KY | 2.6 | 300 | $1.0 million | ||
| April 26 | 2:02 AM CDT | EF2 | Warrick, IN | 4.5 | 300 | $90,000 | ||
| April 26 | 3:09 AM EDT | EF1 | Pike, IN | 0.5 | 225 | $110,000 | ||
| April 26 | 6:41 AM CDT | EF1 | Covington, MS | 0.3 | 50 | $45,000 | ||
| April 26 | 7:12 AM CDT | EF1 | Jones, MS | 1.2 | 100 | $180,000 | ||
| April 26 | 2:15 PM EDT | EF0 | Martin, NC | 0.1 | 30 | $500 | ||
| April 26 | 1:40 PM CDT | EF0 | Bailey, TX | 0.8 | 50 | |||
| April 26 | 4:20 PM EDT | EF1 | Oneida, NY | 0.9 | 65 | $5,000 | ||
| April 26 | 5:44 PM EDT | EF0 | Allegan, MI | 3.3 | 50 | $1.0 million | ||
| April 26 | 4:56 PM CDT | EF0 | Kaufman, TX | 5.1 | 500 | $5,000 | ||
| April 26 | 5:14 PM CDT | EF1 | Lonoke, AR | 8.3 | 800 | $1.8 million | ||
| April 26 | 5:45 PM CDT | EF1 | Van Zandt, TX | 13.9 | 880 | 1 | $200,000 | |
| April 26 | 5:46 PM CDT | EF0 | Sequoyah, OK | 0.1 | 50 | |||
| April 26 | 5:55 PM CDT | EF0 | Crawford, AR | 0.2 | 75 | |||
| April 26 | 6:01 PM CDT | EF0 | Kaufman, TX | 5.1 | 400 | $30,000 | ||
| April 26 | 6:10 PM CDT | EF0 | Phillips, AR to MS | 27.9 | 200 | $92,000 | ||
| April 26 | 6:23 PM CDT | EF0 | Kaufman, TX | 1.0 | 100 | |||
| April 26 | 6:29 PM CDT | EF0 | Phillips, AR to MS | 30.8 | 200 | $75,000 | ||
| April 26 | 6:32 PM CDT | EF1 | Faulkner, AR | 12.9 | 200 | $40,000 | ||
| April 26 | 6:35 PM CDT | EF1 | Rusk, TX | 13.9 | 100 | $10,000 | ||
| April 26 | 7:00 PM CDT | EF0 | Wood, TX | 3.4 | 50 | |||
| April 26 | 7:04 PM CDT | EF2 | Harrison, TX | 5.2 | 400 | $300,000 | ||
| April 26 | 7:15 PM CDT | EF0 | Navarro, TX | 0.4 | 100 | |||
| April 26 | 7:17 PM CDT | EF1 | Polk, AR | 0.8 | 50 | $20,000 | ||
| April 26 | 7:18 PM CDT | EF2 | Grayson, KY | 3.0 | 440 | |||
| April 26 | 7:19 PM CDT | EF0 | Grayson, KY | 0.3 | 60 | |||
| April 26 | 7:24 PM CDT | EF0 | Harrison, TX | 6.0 | 70 | |||
| April 26 | 7:34 PM CDT | EF0 | Bossier Parish, LA | 3.6 | 50 | |||
| April 26 | 7:35 PM CDT | EF1 | Limestone, TX | 0.9 | 75 | $150,000 | ||
| April 26 | 7:46 PM CDT | EF2 | Panola, TX to LA | 42.4 | 850 | 2 | $10 million | |
| April 26 | 7:48 PM CDT | EF0 | Limestone, TX | 0.7 | 100 | |||
| April 26 | 7:49 PM CDT | EF0 | Smith, TX | 3.2 | 60 | |||
| April 26 | 7:49 PM CDT | EF0 | Smith, TX | 3.2 | 60 | |||
| April 26 | 8:53 PM EDT | EF1 | Hardin, KY | 0.7 | 125 | |||
| April 26 | 8:06 PM CDT | EF0 | Caldwell, KY | 0.3 | 50 | |||
| April 26 | 8:27 PM CDT | EF0 | Hardeman, TN | 1.5 | 150 | $15,000 | ||
| April 26 | 8:28 PM CDT | EF0 | McLennan, TX | 0.4 | 50 | |||
| April 26 | 9:35 PM EDT | EF1 | Otsego, NY | 4.8 | 150 | $100,000 | ||
| April 26 | 8:53 PM CDT | EF0 | McLennan, TX | 1.5 | 100 | |||
| April 26 | 8:54 PM CDT | EF1 | Webster Parish, LA | 6.5 | 150 | $100,000 | ||
| April 26 | 8:54 PM CDT | EF0 | Chester, TN | 8.2 | 25 | $75,000 | ||
| April 26 | 9:00 PM CDT | EF0 | Hopkins, KY | 0.2 | 50 | $2,000 | ||
| April 26 | 9:25 PM CDT | EF1 | Bienville Parish, LA | 5.3 | 100 | |||
| April 26 | 9:31 PM CDT | EF0 | Lincoln Parish, LA | 6.0 | 80 | |||
| April 26 | 9:45 PM CDT | EF1 | Claiborne Parish, LA to AR | 26.5 | 100 | $20,000 | ||
| April 26 | 9:50 PM CDT | EF0 | Jackson Parish, LA | 5.2 | 70 | |||
| April 26 | 9:57 PM CDT | EF0 | Limestone, TX | 0.7 | 100 | |||
| April 26 | 10:33 PM CDT | EF0 | Ouachita Parish, LA | 1.9 | 50 | $200 | ||
| April 26 | 10:44 PM CDT | EF0 | Morehouse Parish, LA | 2.5 | 75 | $20,000 | ||
| April 26 | 10:45 PM CDT | EF1 | Morehouse Parish, LA to AR | 12.0 | 440 | 1 | $60,000 | |
| April 26 | 10:55 PM CDT | EF1 | Red River Parish, LA | 3.5 | 125 | $150,000 | ||
| April 26 | 12:03 AM CDT | EF2 | West Carroll Parish, LA | 11.0 | 880 | $650,000 | ||
| April 26 | 12:27 AM CDT | EF2 | Sabine Parish, LA | 17.4 | 300 | $1.0 million | ||
| April 26 | 12:35 AM CDT | EF0 | Sharkey, MS | 2.2 | 100 | $15,000 | ||
| April 26 | 12:42 AM CDT | EF1 | Sabine Parish, LA | 4.7 | 880 | |||
| April 26 | 12:42 AM CDT | EF1 | Natchitoches Parish, LA | 8.0 | 880 | $2.0 million | ||
| April 26 | 12:43 AM CDT | EF2 | Sunflower, MS | 11.8 | 440 | 3 | $300,000 | |
| April 26 | 12:56 AM CDT | EF2 | Natchitoches Parish, LA | 25.1 | 880 | $300,000 |
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.