Tornadoes · United States · Indiana · 2011
EF1 tornado, Coe to Winslow, Indiana, May 25, 2011
From Coe to Winslow, this EF1 tornado ran 3.2 miles across Pike County on May 25, 2011, touching down at 9:39 PM EDT and reaching 60 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $20,000 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.
EF065 to 85 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mphthis tornado
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
- EF1
- Date
- May 25, 2011
- Touchdown
- 9:39 PM EDT (01:39 UTC)
- Lifted
- 9:44 PM EDT (01:44 UTC)
- On the ground
- 5 minutes
- Path length
- 3.2 miles (5.1 km)
- Path width
- 60 yards (55 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $20,000
- County
- Pike County
- Touchdown point
- 38.322, -87.220
- Lift-off point
- 38.336, -87.164
- Record number
- 1105251939-01
What the Weather Service recorded
Numerous strong to severe thunderstorms occurred in the warm sector of a low pressure system over central Missouri. The air mass in the warm sector was very unstable, with afternoon mixed-layer cape values in the 2500 to 4000 j/kg range. A 65 to 75 knot mid level jet was located across Arkansas, with the nose of the jet moving into western Kentucky. This feature enhanced the lift and strong deep-layer shear already in place, creating an environment very favorable for supercells and tornadoes. A 40 to 55 knot low level jet across eastern Arkansas moved into western Kentucky during the evening, resulting in isolated tornadoes and widespread damaging winds.
Thousands of large trees were snapped or uprooted on mine reclamation land north of County Road 900. Peak winds were estimated near 120 mph.
Several dozen trees were uprooted or snapped. Peak winds were estimated near 95 mph. The average path width was 40 yards.
Several dozen trees were uprooted or snapped. Some trees had trunks of two feet in diameter. Peak winds were estimated near 95 mph. The average path width was 35 yards.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The warnings
10 minutes of warning. NWS PAH issued a tornado warning for this county at 01:29 UTC, 10 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 02:00 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15:00 UTC | 01:00 UTC | Lake Wind Advisory | PAH |
| 16:14 UTC | 01:37 UTC | Tornado Watch | PAH |
| 18:50 UTC | 19:15 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PAH |
| 22:33 UTC | 23:00 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PAH |
| 00:50 UTC | 01:45 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PAH |
| 01:29 UTC | 02:00 UTC | Tornado Warning | PAH |
| 01:40 UTC | 02:20 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PAH |
| 01:53 UTC | 04:45 UTC | Flood Advisory | PAH |
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 Moderate Risk, with a 0.15 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 00:57 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.
Lincoln, IL (KILX), 12:00Z
10.3 hours after it, 236 km from the path. May 26, 2011.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- 0 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 3 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 472 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 27 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 12 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 67 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 86 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 4.4 K/km
The surface observations
Huntingburg (HNB), 23 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23:35 UTC | 80.6 | 68 | 160° 9 kt | 14 | 1001.4 | |
| 23:55 UTC | 80.6 | 68 | 140° 9 kt | 15 | 1001.4 | |
| 00:15 UTC | 80.6 | 66.2 | 150° 9 kt | 1001 | ||
| 00:35 UTC | 80.6 | 66.2 | 150° 10 kt | 15 | 1001.4 | |
| 00:55 UTC | 80.6 | 66.2 | 140° 10 kt | 20 | 1000.3 | |
| 01:15 UTC | 80.6 | 66.2 | 150° 10 kt | 17 | 999.7 | |
| 01:35 UTC | 80.6 | 66.2 | 160° 13 kt | 20 | 1000.7 |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Evansville,IN radar (KVWX), 47 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 01:36 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22:47 UTC | HAIL 1.75 | 1 S Ireland | Dubois, IN | |
| 00:58 UTC | FUNNEL CLOUD | 8 N Owensville | Gibson, IN | |
| 01:08 UTC | TSTM WND GST 70 | Princeton | Gibson, IN | WIND GUSTS ESTIMATED 60 TO 70 MPH. |
| 01:15 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | St. Joseph | Vanderburgh, IN | POWER LINES DOWN AND TRANSFORMERS POPPING. |
| 01:17 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Evansville | Vanderburgh, IN | TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN ON NORTHEAST SIDE OF TOWN. POWER OUTAGES REPORTED. |
| 01:22 UTC | TSTM WND GST 57 | Evansville | Vanderburgh, IN | |
| 01:23 UTC | TSTM WND GST 70 | Evansville | Vanderburgh, IN | |
| 01:23 UTC | TSTM WND GST 75 | Evansville | Vanderburgh, IN | |
| 01:24 UTC | DOWNBURST | 2 Sw Elberfeld | Warrick, IN | STRAIGHT LINE WINDS ESTIMATED AT 70 MPH. SEVERAL TREES UPROOTED. SHINGLES BLOWN OFF FIRE STATION. LARGE TREE BLOWN OVER ONTO A GARAGE. DAMAGE WAS GENERALLY FROM JUST SOUTHWEST OF TOWN INTO ELBERFELD ITSELF. |
| 01:25 UTC | FUNNEL CLOUD | Buckskin | Gibson, IN | |
| 01:25 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Evansville | Vanderburgh, IN | UPDATE..NUMEROUS TREES AND POWER POLES DOWN. MAJOR POWER LINE DOWN WITH MUCH OF THE WEST SIDE OF THE METRO AREA WITHOUT POWER. |
| 01:30 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Boonville | Warrick, IN | *** 1 INJ *** LARGE TREE FELL ON HOME INJURING ONE PERSON. |
| 01:35 UTC | TORNADO | Coe | Pike, IN | EF2 TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN 4.5 MILES SOUTHEAST OF OAKLAND CITY. 120 MPH PEAK WINDS...AVG PATH WIDTH 175 YDS...PATH LENGTH 1.5 MILES. THOUSANDS OF LARGE TREES WERE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED ON MINE RECLAMATION LAND NORTH OF CR 90 |
| 01:36 UTC | TORNADO | 3 Sw Winslow | Pike, IN | STORM DAMAGE SURVEY REVEALED AN EF1 TORNADO THAT MOVED FROM JUST NORTH OF COLE INDIANA TO 4 MILES SOUTHEAST OF WINSLOW. SEE PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT FOR DETAILS. |
| 01:39 UTC | TORNADO | 4 S Winslow | Pike, IN | A DAMAGE SURVEY REVEALED AN EF1 TORNADO THAT MOVED FROM 4 MILES SOUTH OF WINSLOW TO 4.25 MILES SOUTHEAST OF WINSLOW. SEE PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT FOR DETAILS. |
| 01:41 UTC | FLASH FLOOD | Evansville | Vanderburgh, IN | NUMEROUS ROADWAYS UNDER WATER AND BECOMING IMPASSABLE. |
| 01:42 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 Sw Monroe City | Knox, IN | DOWNED PWR LINES SR 241 AND HART ST RD |
| 01:50 UTC | TORNADO | 1 Se Huntingburg | Dubois, IN | EF-2 WITH 115 MPH WINDS |
| 01:51 UTC | FUNNEL CLOUD | Rockport | Spencer, IN | |
| 01:52 UTC | FUNNEL CLOUD | Rockport | Spencer, IN | WIND DAMAGE TO TREE AND POWER LINES. |
| 01:54 UTC | TORNADO | 1 W Haysville | Dubois, IN | EF-1 WITH 100 MPH WINDS. HOME IN HAYSVILLE LOST ITS ROOF. MANY TREES DAMAGED. |
| 01:55 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Huntingburg | Dubois, IN | OVERTURNED MOBILE HOMES |
| 01:55 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Jasper | Dubois, IN | WIDESPREAD POWER OUTAGES REPORTED IN JASPER. |
| 01:56 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Huntingburg | Dubois, IN | TRACTOR TRAILER BLOWN OVER. CORRECTED TIME. |
| 02:00 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Haysville | Dubois, IN | OUTBUILDINGS DEMOLISHED AND TREES DOWN |
| 02:05 UTC | TSTM WND GST 70 | Loogootee | Martin, IN | |
| 02:10 UTC | TSTM WND GST 62 | Rockport | Spencer, IN | |
| 02:15 UTC | TSTM WND GST 60 | 10 W English | Crawford, IN | |
| 02:25 UTC | TSTM WND GST 69 | Odon | Daviess, IN | |
| 02:30 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Huntingburg | Dubois, IN | TRACTOR TRAILER BLOWN OVER |
| 02:32 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Boonville | Warrick, IN | MULTIPLE LARGE TREES DOWN ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF TOWN. |
| 02:40 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Bristow | Perry, IN | TREES DOWN...SOME DAMAGE TO HOMES INCLUDING SIDING BLOWN OFF HOMES |
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 IndianaEvery tornado in Indiana since 1950Warnings in force in Indiana nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of May 25, 2011
93 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 25 | 1:30 AM CDT | EF1 | Webster, MO | 9.3 | 100 | $20,000 | ||
| May 25 | 7:35 AM CDT | EF1 | Macon, IL | 1.0 | 75 | $165,000 | ||
| May 25 | 7:39 AM CDT | EF1 | Macon, IL | 1.5 | 75 | $100,000 | ||
| May 25 | 9:04 AM CDT | EF1 | Kankakee, IL | 5.8 | 50 | $250,000 | ||
| May 25 | 9:13 AM CDT | EF0 | Newton, IN | 0.1 | 20 | $25,000 | ||
| May 25 | 9:19 AM CDT | EF2 | Newton, IN | 1.9 | 300 | $50,000 | ||
| May 25 | 9:24 AM CDT | EF1 | Jasper, IN | 2.9 | 100 | $500 | ||
| May 25 | 9:26 AM CDT | EF1 | Jasper, IN | 1.9 | 100 | $50,000 | ||
| May 25 | 10:45 AM EDT | EF0 | Pulaski, IN | 0.8 | 50 | |||
| May 25 | 10:45 AM CDT | EF0 | Miami, KS | 0.1 | 40 | $5,000 | ||
| May 25 | 11:10 AM CDT | EF0 | Johnson, KS | 0.7 | 60 | $10,000 | ||
| May 25 | 11:22 AM CDT | EF0 | Johnson, KS | 0.1 | 40 | |||
| May 25 | 11:35 AM CDT | EF0 | Cass, MO | 0.1 | 40 | |||
| May 25 | 11:38 AM CDT | EF0 | Johnson, KS | 0.1 | 40 | |||
| May 25 | 12:22 PM CDT | EF2 | Pettis, MO | 2.1 | 500 | 20 | $4.0 million | |
| May 25 | 12:33 PM CDT | EF0 | Clay, MO | 0.1 | 40 | |||
| May 25 | 12:45 PM CDT | EF0 | Clay, MO | 0.1 | 40 | |||
| May 25 | 12:52 PM CDT | EF0 | Pettis, MO | 0.1 | 40 | |||
| May 25 | 1:04 PM CDT | EF0 | Cooper, MO | 0.1 | 40 | |||
| May 25 | 1:07 PM CDT | EF0 | Lafayette, MO | 0.1 | 40 | |||
| May 25 | 2:15 PM CDT | EF1 | Montgomery, MO | 7.1 | 100 | |||
| May 25 | 3:26 PM EDT | EF0 | Van Wert, OH | 0.1 | 40 | |||
| May 25 | 2:56 PM CDT | EF1 | Oregon, MO | 2.5 | 100 | $20,000 | ||
| May 25 | 3:49 PM CDT | EF3 | Carter, MO | 47.4 | 1,200 | 2 | $800,000 | |
| May 25 | 4:13 PM CDT | EF1 | Jackson, AR | 5.5 | 500 | $40,000 | ||
| May 25 | 5:15 PM EDT | EF1 | Decatur, IN | 0.8 | 600 | $500,000 | ||
| May 25 | 5:20 PM EDT | EF1 | Decatur, IN | 0.1 | 400 | $250,000 | ||
| May 25 | 4:35 PM CDT | EF1 | Madison, MO | 5.5 | 40 | |||
| May 25 | 4:37 PM CDT | EF1 | Wayne, MO | 17.8 | 150 | $70,000 | ||
| May 25 | 4:44 PM CDT | EF0 | Carter, MO | 0.5 | 50 | $2,000 | ||
| May 25 | 4:45 PM CDT | EF1 | Des Moines, IA | 4.8 | 100 | $250,000 | ||
| May 25 | 4:46 PM CDT | EF1 | Madison, MO | 5.3 | 440 | |||
| May 25 | 4:47 PM CDT | EF1 | Madison, MO | 4.3 | 580 | |||
| May 25 | 4:51 PM CDT | EF0 | Perry, MO | 0.3 | 60 | $3,000 | ||
| May 25 | 4:58 PM CDT | EF0 | Ripley, MO | 0.7 | 50 | |||
| May 25 | 6:00 PM EDT | EF1 | Huron, OH | 8.0 | 50 | $250,000 | ||
| May 25 | 5:00 PM CDT | EF1 | Des Moines, IA | 3.6 | 50 | $50,000 | ||
| May 25 | 5:14 PM CDT | EF0 | Butler, MO | 0.7 | 40 | |||
| May 25 | 6:14 PM EDT | EF0 | Hardin, OH | 0.2 | 25 | |||
| May 25 | 5:26 PM CDT | EF1 | Bollinger, MO | 13.0 | 250 | $30,000 | ||
| May 25 | 6:06 PM CDT | EF0 | McLean, IL | 0.9 | 25 | $8,000 | ||
| May 25 | 6:09 PM CDT | EF1 | McLean, IL | 10.3 | 75 | $10,000 | ||
| May 25 | 7:10 PM EDT | EF0 | Montgomery, OH | 0.1 | 25 | $5,000 | ||
| May 25 | 6:18 PM CDT | EF1 | Cape Girardeau, MO | 2.1 | 250 | $20,000 | ||
| May 25 | 6:18 PM CDT | EF0 | St. Francis, AR | 1.1 | 100 | |||
| May 25 | 6:28 PM CDT | EF2 | Jefferson, IL | 13.5 | 250 | $4.0 million | ||
| May 25 | 6:30 PM CDT | EF0 | Scott, MO | 0.4 | 50 | $1,000 | ||
| May 25 | 7:30 PM EDT | EF0 | Summit, OH | 4.2 | 50 | $200,000 | ||
| May 25 | 6:39 PM CDT | EF1 | Union, IL | 2.0 | 125 | $150,000 | ||
| May 25 | 6:40 PM CDT | EF1 | Pulaski, IL | 5.5 | 250 | $50,000 | ||
| May 25 | 6:45 PM CDT | EF1 | Pulaski, IL | 10.0 | 120 | $40,000 | ||
| May 25 | 6:48 PM CDT | EF1 | Crittenden, AR | 2.5 | 100 | $500,000 | ||
| May 25 | 6:55 PM CDT | EF2 | Pulaski, IL | 19.9 | 325 | $255,000 | ||
| May 25 | 6:58 PM CDT | EF0 | Champaign, IL | 0.2 | 15 | $5,000 | ||
| May 25 | 7:58 PM EDT | EF3 | Lawrence, IN | 6.8 | 300 | $150,000 | ||
| May 25 | 5:08 PM PDT | EF1 | Glenn, CA | 21.6 | 120 | $200,000 | ||
| May 25 | 5:12 PM PDT | EF1 | Glenn, CA | 26.4 | 120 | $150,000 | ||
| May 25 | 7:18 PM CDT | EF1 | Clay, IL | 1.0 | 75 | $510,000 | ||
| May 25 | 7:35 PM CDT | EF0 | Richland, IL | 0.2 | 10 | |||
| May 25 | 7:57 PM CDT | EF2 | Crawford, IL | 5.5 | 200 | $920,000 |
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.