Tornadoes · United States · Florida · 2022

Unrated tornado, Desoto Lakes, Florida, May 31, 2022

This Unrated tornado ran 0.5 miles across Sarasota County on May 31, 2022, touching down at 6:10 PM EDT 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.

  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 31, 2022
Touchdown
6:10 PM EDT (22:10 UTC)
Lifted
6:11 PM EDT (22:11 UTC)
On the ground
1 minutes
Path length
0.5 miles (0.8 km)
Path width
25 yards (23 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Sarasota County
Touchdown point
27.390, -82.470
Lift-off point
27.391, -82.478
Record number
2205311610-01

What the Weather Service recorded

Afternoon thunderstorms produce all modes of severe weather across parts of west-central and southwest Florida.

Broadcast media shared multiple public videos received of brief tornado touchdown near Desoto Lakes with no damage reported.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

The warnings

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

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
22:35 UTC23:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBW
23:34 UTC00:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningTBW

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 19:59 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.

Tampa Bay, FL (KTBW), 12:00Z

10.2 hours before the tornado, 36 km from the path. May 31, 2022.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Tampa Bay, FL at 12:00Z on 2022-05-31Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 213 joules per kilogram, CIN -136, lifted condensation level 1007 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, Tampa Bay, FL at 12:00Z on 2022-05-31The 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 -19 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 8 knots.1939Sfc1 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
213 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-136 J/kg
Surface CAPE
232 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1007 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
8 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
6 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-19 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
4 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
4.6 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Tampa Bay, FL (KTBW), 00:00Z

1.8 hours after it, 36 km from the path. June 1, 2022.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Tampa Bay, FL at 00:00Z on 2022-06-01Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 585 joules per kilogram, CIN -24, lifted condensation level 1586 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, Tampa Bay, FL at 00:00Z on 2022-06-01The 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 -48 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 23 knots.1939Sfc1 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
585 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-24 J/kg
Surface CAPE
2287 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1586 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
23 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
12 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-48 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
11 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
-0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
8.4 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Sarasota-Bradenton (SRQ), 8 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
20:10 UTC280° 11 kt1014.6
20:15 UTC270° 11 kt1014.2
20:20 UTC270° 11 kt1014.2
20:25 UTC270° 11 kt1014.2
20:30 UTC270° 13 kt1014.2
20:35 UTC280° 11 kt1013.9
20:40 UTC290° 13 kt1013.9
20:45 UTC290° 11 kt1013.9
20:50 UTC300° 14 kt1013.9
20:53 UTC8772300° 12 kt1013.9
20:55 UTC300° 11 kt1013.9
21:00 UTC290° 11 kt1013.9
21:05 UTC290° 13 kt1013.9
21:10 UTC290° 14 kt1013.5
21:15 UTC280° 11 kt1013.5
21:20 UTC280° 11 kt1013.5
21:25 UTC280° 13 kt1013.9
21:30 UTC280° 11 kt1013.5
21:35 UTC 15 kt1013.5
21:40 UTC 13 kt1013.5
21:45 UTC290° 13 kt1013.5
21:50 UTC290° 11 kt1013.2
21:53 UTC8773280° 15 kt1013.2VCTS
21:55 UTC290° 13 kt1013.2
22:00 UTC290° 15 kt1013.2
22:05 UTC300° 14 kt1013.2
22:10 UTC290° 16 kt1013.2
22:15 UTC 15 kt1012.9
22:18 UTC8672290° 13 kt1012.9TS
22:20 UTC290° 14 kt1013.2
22:25 UTC 11 kt1013.2
22:30 UTC 11 kt1013.2
22:35 UTC280° 8 kt1013.5
22:40 UTC220° 7 kt1014.2
22:45 UTC190° 5 kt1014.2
22:50 UTC 1014.2-RA
22:53 UTC7667130° 11 kt1014.6+TSRA
22:55 UTC 11 kt171014.6+RA
23:00 UTC150° 15 kt1014.6+RA
23:00 UTC7468150° 15 kt1014.6+TSRA
23:05 UTC140° 8 kt1014.6-RA BR
23:10 UTC 1014.6+RA BR
23:15 UTC200° 8 kt1014.6+RA
23:20 UTC190° 8 kt1014.2+RA BR
23:25 UTC180° 4 kt1014.2+RA BR
23:30 UTC310° 5 kt1014.2+RA BR
23:35 UTC330° 14 kt1014.9+RA BR
23:40 UTC350° 11 kt171015.2+RA BR
23:45 UTC340° 14 kt1015.2+RA BR
23:48 UTC71.666.2320° 12 kt241015.2TSRA BR
23:50 UTC320° 11 kt1015.2RA BR
23:53 UTC7067310° 12 kt1015.2+TSRA BR
23:55 UTC 11 kt1015.2+RA BR
00:00 UTC 11 kt1015.2+RA BR
00:02 UTC7168330° 12 kt1015.2+TSRA BR
00:05 UTC 10 kt1015.6+RA BR

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

The radar

The Tampa radar (KTBW), 36 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 22:08 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
22:10 UTCFUNNEL CLOUD2 Ne Desoto LakesSarasota, FLMULTIPLE REPORTS OF FUNNEL CLOUD SIGHTINGS IN AREA.
22:10 UTCTORNADO3 Ene Desoto LakesSarasota, FLCORRECTS PREVIOUS FUNNEL CLOUD REPORT FROM 2 NE DESOTO LAKES TO 3 ENE DESOTO LAKES. MULTIPLE REPORTS OF FUNNEL CLOUD SIGHTINGS IN AREA. NEW VIDEO SHARED BY BROADCAST MEDIA DOES SHOW A BRIEF TOUCHDOWN, THUS INDICATING THI
22:55 UTCHAIL 12 Ene Sarasota BradentoManatee, FLTIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR.
22:59 UTCFUNNEL CLOUD5 Ese EllentonManatee, FLDELAYED REPORT: BROADCAST MEDIA REPORTS FUNNEL CLOUD VISIBLE ALONG SR-64 NEAR BRADENTON. THIS APPEARS TO BE A SEPARATE FUNNEL CLOUD FROM THE ONE SEEN IN SARASOTA. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR.
23:20 UTCHAIL 0.754 Se North PortCharlotte, FLREPORTED ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
23:51 UTCDOWNBURST1 Sw West SamosetManatee, FLUTILITY POLES AND ROOF DAMAGE WAS REPORTED AT PICTOWN MOBILE HOME PARK.
23:51 UTCDOWNBURST1 Sw West SamosetManatee, FLUTILITY POLES SNAPPED AND ROOF DAMAGE WAS REPORTED AT PICTOWN MOBILE HOME PARK.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2022 tornado in FloridaEvery tornado in Florida since 1950Warnings in force in Florida nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of May 31, 2022

12 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 315:50 PM EDTUnratedPasco, FL0.325$20,000
May 315:55 PM EDTUnratedHillsborough, FL0.525$20,000
May 315:42 PM CDTEF0Collingsworth, TX1.8125
May 315:54 PM CDTEF0Harmon, TX to OK2.4180$50,000
May 316:32 PM CDTEF0Harmon, OK0.520
May 316:48 PM CDTUnratedCowley, KS0.020
May 316:55 PM CDTUnratedHarmon, OK0.320
May 318:30 PM CDTUnratedCowley, KS0.020
May 318:40 PM CDTUnratedCowley, KS0.020
May 3110:31 PM CDTEF1Tillman, OK1.0200$6,000
May 3110:34 PM CDTEF1McDonough, IL1.660
May 3111:17 PM CDTEF1Tillman, OK4.7100$10,000

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.