Tornadoes · United States · Florida · 2014
EF0 tornado, Scotts Ferry to Frink, Florida, October 13, 2014
From Scotts Ferry to Frink, this EF0 tornado ran 2.6 miles across Calhoun County on October 13, 2014, touching down at 4:20 PM CDT and reaching 30 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
- October 13, 2014
- Touchdown
- 4:20 PM CDT (21:20 UTC)
- Lifted
- 4:25 PM CDT (21:25 UTC)
- On the ground
- 5 minutes
- Path length
- 2.6 miles (4.2 km)
- Path width
- 30 yards (27 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- County
- Calhoun County
- Touchdown point
- 30.287, -85.179
- Lift-off point
- 30.324, -85.178
- Record number
- 1410131520-01
What the Weather Service recorded
An unseasonably strong upper level trough and cold brought a round of strong to severe thunderstorms and heavy rainfall to the area. There were several tornadoes confirmed across northwest Florida. All of the tornadoes were rated EF0, and most of them occurred in forested areas with no structures impacted. However, there was some minor damage to structures around Cottondale in Jackson county and Sumatra in Liberty county. All of the tornadoes exhibited tornadic debris signatures using dual-pol radar.
The KTLH and KEVX dual-pol radars detected a tornadic debris signature at this location. In addition, a member of the media conducted a survey of the area using an aerial drone. Although no damage to structures occurred, the tornado missed some residential and mobile homes by less than a mile in some cases. Numerous trees were snapped or uprooted (over 30 estimated) along the path. The tornado was rated EF0 with winds estimated at 65 to 75 mph.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The warnings
6 minutes of warning. NWS TAE issued a tornado warning for this county at 21:14 UTC, 6 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 21:36 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21:02 UTC | 21:45 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE |
| 21:14 UTC | 21:36 UTC | Tornado Warning | TAE |
| 00:00 UTC | 17:27 UTC | Flash Flood Watch | TAE |
| 03:45 UTC | 08:27 UTC | Tornado Watch | TAE |
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 19:45 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.
Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), 12:00Z
9.3 hours before the tornado, 85 km from the path. October 13, 2014.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 2 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -173 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 155 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1083 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 23 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 18 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 38 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 79 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.2
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 4.8 K/km
Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), 00:00Z
2.7 hours after it, 85 km from the path. October 14, 2014.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 87 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -108 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 455 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1247 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 26 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 23 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 41 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 122 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.2
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 5.7 K/km
The surface observations
Tyndall Afb (PAM), 46 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:22 UTC | 77 | 77 | 110° 8 kt | 15 | 1014.9 | -RA |
| 19:36 UTC | 75.2 | 75.2 | 130° 14 kt | 1015.2 | ||
| 22:42 UTC | 73.4 | 73.4 | 110° 6 kt | 1013.9 | ||
| 22:46 UTC | 73.4 | 73.4 | 120° 5 kt | 1014.6 | +RA | |
| 22:51 UTC | 73.4 | 73.4 | 130° 9 kt | 1014.6 | +RA BR | |
| 22:58 UTC | 73.22 | 73.22 | 130° 12 kt | 1014.6 | -RA BR | |
| 23:03 UTC | 73.4 | 73.4 | 120° 12 kt | 1014.2 | -RA | |
| 23:08 UTC | 73.4 | 73.4 | 110° 11 kt | 1013.9 | RA |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Eglin Afb radar (KEVX), 77 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 21:19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21:21 UTC | TORNADO 0 | 3 Wnw Scotts Ferry | Calhoun, FL | TORNADIC DEBRIS SIGNATURE SEEN ON DUAL POL RADAR FROM BOTH EVX AND TLH AT THIS LOCATION. TORNADO RATED EF0 BASED ON PICTURES OF TREE DAMAGE. NO STRUCTURAL DAMAGE REPORTED. |
| 21:21 UTC | TORNADO | 3 Wnw Scotts Ferry | Calhoun, FL | TORNADIC DEBRIS SIGNATURE SEEN ON DUAL POL RADAR FROM BOTH EVX AND TLH AT THIS LOCATION |
| 22:02 UTC | FUNNEL CLOUD | 4 Sw Chason | Calhoun, FL | FUNNEL CLOUD WAS SPOTTED NEAR THE INTERSECTIONS OF GRAY ROAD AND CR287 AS WELL AS CAIN ROAD AND CR287 BETWEEN 502 PM CDT AND 506 PM CDT. |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2014 tornado in FloridaEvery tornado in Florida since 1950Warnings in force in Florida nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of October 13, 2014
34 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 13 | 4:52 AM CDT | EF1 | Upshur, TX | 5.8 | 275 | $1.0 million | ||
| October 13 | 5:04 AM CDT | EF1 | Polk, AR | 3.7 | 300 | $50,000 | ||
| October 13 | 5:19 AM CDT | EF1 | Madison, AR | 3.0 | 375 | $150,000 | ||
| October 13 | 5:37 AM CDT | EF2 | Little River, AR | 2.5 | 400 | 1 | 4 | $200,000 |
| October 13 | 5:43 AM CDT | EF0 | Little River, AR | 0.1 | 50 | $10,000 | ||
| October 13 | 6:25 AM CDT | EF1 | Stone, MO | 0.1 | 75 | $5,000 | ||
| October 13 | 6:58 AM CDT | EF0 | Lawrence, MO | 0.1 | 50 | $5,000 | ||
| October 13 | 7:20 AM CDT | EF0 | Greene, MO | 0.4 | 100 | |||
| October 13 | 7:40 AM CDT | EF1 | Clark, AR | 3.3 | 250 | $150,000 | ||
| October 13 | 9:00 AM CDT | EF1 | De Soto Parish, LA | 0.9 | 200 | |||
| October 13 | 9:27 AM CDT | EF1 | Lonoke, AR | 3.3 | 150 | $75,000 | ||
| October 13 | 11:11 AM CDT | EF1 | Ouachita Parish, LA | 0.7 | 225 | $250,000 | ||
| October 13 | 11:16 AM CDT | EF2 | Ouachita Parish, LA | 9.1 | 300 | $3.8 million | ||
| October 13 | 12:48 PM CDT | EF0 | Clay, AR | 0.9 | 100 | $70,000 | ||
| October 13 | 12:59 PM CDT | EF0 | Randolph, IL | 0.3 | 50 | |||
| October 13 | 1:24 PM CDT | EF1 | Saint Clair, IL | 1.4 | 100 | |||
| October 13 | 1:30 PM CDT | EF1 | Stoddard, MO | 9.3 | 75 | $53,000 | ||
| October 13 | 1:43 PM CDT | EF1 | Saint Clair, IL | 0.3 | 50 | |||
| October 13 | 1:45 PM CDT | EF1 | Bollinger, MO | 7.2 | 100 | $250,000 | ||
| October 13 | 2:02 PM CDT | EF1 | Bollinger, MO | 2.0 | 50 | $20,000 | ||
| October 13 | 3:54 PM CDT | EF2 | Macon, IL | 10.0 | 200 | $260,000 | ||
| October 13 | 4:06 PM CDT | EF1 | Jefferson, IL | 3.5 | 100 | $10,000 | ||
| October 13 | 4:07 PM CDT | EF1 | Jefferson, IL | 0.7 | 50 | $50,000 | ||
| October 13 | 4:12 PM CDT | EF1 | Macon, IL | 0.2 | 50 | $10,000 | ||
| October 13 | 4:29 PM CDT | EF0 | Macon, IL | 2.8 | 50 | |||
| October 13 | 4:43 PM CDT | EF0 | Marion, AL | 6.0 | 50 | |||
| October 13 | 5:25 PM CDT | EF1 | Posey, IN | 3.8 | 150 | $30,000 | ||
| October 13 | 6:09 PM CDT | EF1 | Montgomery, TN | 4.2 | 75 | $50,000 | ||
| October 13 | 6:48 PM CDT | EF0 | Lamar, AL | 1.1 | 150 | |||
| October 13 | 8:29 PM EDT | EF0 | Franklin, FL | 0.0 | 20 | |||
| October 13 | 7:29 PM CDT | EF1 | Colbert, AL | 3.5 | 200 | 1 | ||
| October 13 | 8:50 PM EDT | EF0 | Liberty, FL | 0.0 | 20 | |||
| October 13 | 9:59 PM EDT | EF0 | Liberty, FL | 2.1 | 20 | $5,000 | ||
| October 13 | 10:58 PM EDT | EF0 | Liberty, FL | 0.0 | 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.