Tornadoes · United States · Florida · 2023

EF1 tornado, Vereen, Florida, January 22, 2023

This EF1 tornado ran 0.3 miles across Wakulla County on January 22, 2023, touching down at 12:45 PM EST and reaching 200 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $100,000 of property damage.

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 mphthis tornado

    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
EF1
Date
January 22, 2023
Touchdown
12:45 PM EST (17:45 UTC)
Lifted
12:46 PM EST (17:46 UTC)
On the ground
1 minutes
Path length
0.3 miles (0.5 km)
Path width
200 yards (183 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$100,000
County
Wakulla County
Touchdown point
30.294, -84.284
Lift-off point
30.298, -84.281
Record number
2301221145-01

The damage survey

13 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS TAE, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 95 mph.

  • Numerous snapped pines and hardwoods.

Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.

What the Weather Service recorded

A couple of strong upper level shortwaves impacted the area during the latter half of January, bringing with them a couple of rounds of severe weather with numerous reports of trees and power lines blown down. In addition, a few tornadoes occurred across the tri-state area.

A tornado touched down just east of Ashley Hall Road south of Bob Miller Road at approximately 1245 pm ET. The tornado caused considerable damage to trees in the area, snapping and uprooting numerous pine and oak trees. The tornado moved northeast across Bob Miller Road and S & S Ranch Road before dissipating less than two minutes after touching down. Falling trees caused damage to several manufactured homes and automobiles along Bob Miller road. Minor roof damage was also noted at one single-family home at the corner of Dana Drive. The damage to trees was consistent with an EF1 tornado with peak winds of approximately 95 mph. No injuries were reported. Thanks to Wakulla County Emergency Management for cooperation and assistance with the damage survey.

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
16:31 UTC18:30 UTCFlood AdvisoryTAE
17:23 UTC18:30 UTCFlood AdvisoryTAE
21:22 UTC22:27 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAE

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 Marginal Risk, with a 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 15:59 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.

Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), 12:00Z

5.8 hours before the tornado, 12 km from the path. January 22, 2023.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Tallahassee Rgnl, FL at 12:00Z on 2023-01-22Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 0 joules per kilogram, CIN -80232, lifted condensation level 558 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°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, Tallahassee Rgnl, FL at 12:00Z on 2023-01-22The 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 431 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 54 knots.1939587897Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-80232 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
558 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
54 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
431 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
488 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.2
0-3 km lapse rate
2.9 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Tallahassee Regional (TLH), 13 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
15:45 UTC160° 4 kt1011.5
15:50 UTC140° 5 kt1011.2-RA
15:53 UTC6462170° 4 kt1011.2-RA
15:55 UTC210° 2 kt1011.5-RA
16:00 UTC280° 4 kt1011.5-RA BR
16:05 UTC310° 8 kt1011.5RA BR
16:10 UTC0° 0 kt1011.5RA BR
16:11 UTC63620° 0 kt1011.5+RA BR
16:15 UTC0° 0 kt1011.5+RA BR
16:17 UTC63630° 0 kt1011.2+RA BR
16:20 UTC0° 0 kt1011.2+RA BR
16:25 UTC330° 4 kt1011.2+RA BR
16:27 UTC62.662.6330° 3 kt1011.2+TSRA BR
16:30 UTC0° 0 kt1011.2+RA BR
16:34 UTC62.662.60° 0 kt1010.8+TSRA BR
16:35 UTC0° 0 kt1010.8+RA BR
16:38 UTC636270° 4 kt1010.5+TSRA BR
16:40 UTC60° 2 kt1010.5+RA BR
16:45 UTC170° 2 kt1010.5+RA BR
16:48 UTC6362150° 8 kt1010.8+TSRA BR
16:50 UTC200° 8 kt1010.8+RA BR
16:53 UTC6463170° 4 kt171010.8+TSRA BR
16:55 UTC160° 5 kt1010.8+RA BR
17:00 UTC170° 5 kt1010.5+RA FG
17:02 UTC6463160° 4 kt1010.5+TSRA FG
17:05 UTC0° 0 kt1010.5+RA FG
17:10 UTC0° 0 kt1010.2RA BR
17:15 UTC0° 0 kt1010.2+RA BR
17:15 UTC64640° 0 kt1010.2+RA BR
17:20 UTC120° 7 kt1009.8+RA BR
17:25 UTC 1009.8+RA BR
17:30 UTC130° 5 kt1009.5+RA BR
17:35 UTC6564130° 3 kt1009.5+RA BR
17:35 UTC130° 2 kt1009.5+RA BR
17:40 UTC80° 5 kt1009.1+RA BR
17:45 UTC40° 4 kt1009.1+RA BR
17:50 UTC100° 5 kt1009.1+RA BR
17:53 UTC6565120° 4 kt1009.1+RA BR
17:55 UTC110° 2 kt1008.8+RA BR
18:00 UTC190° 4 kt1009.1+RA BR
18:01 UTC6565 3 kt1008.8+TSRA BR
18:05 UTC0° 0 kt1008.8+RA BR
18:05 UTC65650° 0 kt1008.8+TSRA BR
18:10 UTC0° 0 kt1009.1+RA BR
18:13 UTC65650° 0 kt1008.8TSRA BR
18:15 UTC0° 0 kt1008.8+RA BR
18:20 UTC130° 2 kt1008.5+RA BR
18:21 UTC6665130° 3 kt1008.5-RA BR
18:25 UTC140° 5 kt1008.5-RA BR
18:26 UTC6665150° 5 kt1008.5-RA BR
18:30 UTC140° 2 kt1008.5-RA
18:35 UTC220° 5 kt1008.1
18:39 UTC6867220° 6 kt1008.1
18:40 UTC210° 5 kt1008.1
18:45 UTC200° 4 kt1008.1
18:50 UTC170° 4 kt1007.8RA BR
18:53 UTC6968170° 5 kt1007.8-RA BR
18:55 UTC170° 5 kt1007.8-RA BR
19:00 UTC190° 5 kt1007.5-RA
19:05 UTC170° 5 kt1007.5-RA
19:10 UTC190° 2 kt1007.5
19:15 UTC170° 4 kt1007.1
19:20 UTC180° 4 kt1007.1
19:25 UTC190° 5 kt1007.1
19:30 UTC 11 kt1006.8
19:35 UTC 16 kt221006.8
19:40 UTC 15 kt1006.8

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

The radar

The Tallahassee radar (KTLH), 12 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 17:42 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
17:45 UTCTORNADO3 Wsw WoodvilleWakulla, FLEF1 TORNADO CONFIRMED BY STORM SURVEY.
17:46 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 Wsw WoodvilleWakulla, FLSEVERAL TREES DOWN IN THE AREA OF ASHLEY HALL ROAD AND BOB BILLER ROAD. POSSIBLE TORNADO.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2023 tornado in FloridaEvery tornado in Florida since 1950Warnings in force in Florida nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of January 22, 2023

4 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
January 225:14 AM CSTEF2Walton, FL0.885$250,000
January 225:20 PM ESTEF2Cook, GA5.980$500,000
January 226:11 PM ESTEF1Coffee, GA3.7210
January 226:32 PM ESTEF1Bacon, GA7.5600

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.