Tornadoes · United States · Indiana · 2015

EF0 tornado, Pueblo to Africa, Indiana, December 23, 2015

From Pueblo to Africa, this EF0 tornado ran 2.0 miles across Spencer County on December 23, 2015, touching down at 3:39 PM CST and reaching 50 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $3,000 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 mphthis tornado

    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. 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
December 23, 2015
Touchdown
3:39 PM CST (21:39 UTC)
Lifted
3:42 PM CST (21:42 UTC)
On the ground
3 minutes
Path length
2.0 miles (3.3 km)
Path width
50 yards (46 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$3,000
County
Spencer County
Touchdown point
37.806, -87.119
Lift-off point
37.827, -87.094
Record number
1512231539-01

The damage survey

4 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS PAH, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF0. The highest wind the damage implies is 75 mph.

  • Several tree limbs down in multiple directions.
  • Small tree broken at trunk and a few limbs broken.

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 fast-moving line of strong to severe storms swept east across southwest Indiana, accompanied by isolated wind damage. A second line of storms moved northeast from western Kentucky across Spencer County, producing an isolated weak tornado there. Conditions were favorable for severe storms. A negatively-tilted mid-level trough from the central high Plains to the Arklatex ejected northeast through the middle Mississippi Valley. At the surface, an area of low pressure over northeast Kansas moved to central Wisconsin. A trailing cold front surged eastward through the Mid-Mississippi and Lower Ohio Valleys. The storms were fed by a broadening and strengthening southwesterly low-level jet, which destabilized the atmosphere ahead of the storms. The presence of strong low-level and deep-layer wind shear enhanced the risk of wind damage and even a tornado.

This weak tornado crossed Indiana Highway 161 just a few miles across the Ohio River from Owensboro, Kentucky. The tornado tracked along West County Road 560S to West County Road 440S. Several tree tops were broken, and a 12-inch tree was snapped. Numerous small tree limbs were broken. Peak winds were estimated near 75 mph.

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

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. The outlook in force was issued at 19:37 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.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the tornado touched down, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Paducah, KY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Dec 23, 1:52 PM CST, 1 hour 47 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 23, 1:52 PM CST, 1 hour 47 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
National Weather Service Paducah KY
152 PM CST WED DEC 23 2015

.SHORT TERM...(This evening through Friday night)
Issued at 133 PM CST WED DEC 23 2015

Severe threat continues. Impressive wind fields aloft provide deep
layer shear here...but mucape field/axis of greatest instability
does shift eastward by 00Z Thu. Front/upper trof passage occurs
shortly thereafter. Therefore, svr threat/bulk of pcpn will occur
remainder of pm into early evening hours, with rain chance
extending a few hours longer but storm/svr threat diminishing
markedly after 7 or 8 pm. Will keep close monitor on going svr
developments and may even clear some counties in the north/west by
press time.

After 1st period, deep swly flow aloft keeps warm advection
pattern in place...so unseasonably warm temps continue. High
pressure will provide a nice Christmas Eve forecast, but moves off
to the northeast over the upper Ohio river valley by Christmas
day, as warm sector return surge begins even late Thu night. This
is where the models diverge...with the Euro and the blend
returning in earnest whilest the new 12z GFS suggests a largely
dry Christmas day. We'll split the diff as much as we can on the
collab pic, with chance pops incoming Christmas day and spreading
over the area more completely Christmas night.

.LONG TERM...(Saturday through Wednesday)
Issued at 133 PM CST WED DEC 23 2015

Despite high weekend pops, there may be a relative lull in overall
pcpn action after we warm sector Saturday...at least until the
boundary sags back over the FA during the course of the day Sunday
as the primary upper Low and attendant surface Low start to make
their ejection from TX toward MO. The system is winding/occluding
itself as this occurs, so expect a very wet Sunday night into
Monday in the high PW environ. There is some low level mucape to
work with, so wouldnt rule out isold svr, but think primary threat
will still be heavy rain/flooding until the system starts to fill
itself/lift out later Monday night-Tuesday. Impressive cumulative storm
total qpf of 3 to 6 inches is possible by then.

It takes until Tuesday and beyond for significant height
falls/upper pattern shift to occur to support cooler temps. Expect
generally 60s/50s to prevail both daytime/nighttime til then,
after which, we'll transition to 40s/30s.

&&

.AVIATION...
Issued at 133 PM CST WED DEC 23 2015

Convection this pm means IFR to LIFR cigs/vsbys for KEVV/KOWB.
It's possible KCGI/KPAH could experience another storm with
similar restrictions. Severe weather with high wind gusts are
possible until about 00Z-02Z. After that, we look to see continued
restricted cigs/vsbys with rain for a few hours, with gradually
improving conditions late tonight-tmrw morning in the wake of the
system's passage.

&&

.PAH Watches/Warnings/Advisories...

IL...NONE.
MO...NONE.
IN...NONE.
KY...NONE.

&&
Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 23, 3:07 PM CST, 32 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
307 PM CST WED DEC 23 2015

ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087-
100-107>112-114-241100-
JEFFERSON-WAYNE IL-EDWARDS-WABASH-PERRY IL-FRANKLIN-HAMILTON-
WHITE-JACKSON-WILLIAMSON-SALINE-GALLATIN-UNION IL-JOHNSON-POPE-
HARDIN-ALEXANDER-PULASKI-MASSAC-GIBSON-PIKE-POSEY-VANDERBURGH-
WARRICK-SPENCER-FULTON-HICKMAN-CARLISLE-BALLARD-MCCRACKEN-GRAVES-
LIVINGSTON-MARSHALL-CALLOWAY-CRITTENDEN-LYON-TRIGG-CALDWELL-
UNION KY-WEBSTER-HOPKINS-CHRISTIAN-HENDERSON-DAVIESS-MCLEAN-
MUHLENBERG-TODD-PERRY MO-BOLLINGER-CAPE GIRARDEAU-WAYNE MO-CARTER-
RIPLEY-BUTLER-STODDARD-SCOTT-MISSISSIPPI-NEW MADRID-
307 PM CST WED DEC 23 2015

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN
ILLINOIS...SOUTHWEST INDIANA...WESTERN KENTUCKY AND SOUTHEAST
MISSOURI.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE AS A LINE...NOW EAST OF THE
MISSISSIPPI RIVER...CONTINUES TO MOVE EAST ACROSS SOUTHERN
ILLINOIS AND WESTERN KENTUCKY. TORNADOES AND DAMAGING WIND ARE THE
PRIMARY HAZARDS WITH TORNADO WATCHES STILL IN EFFECT FOR THE
EASTERN HALF OF THE AREA THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING. REFER TO THE
WATCHES FOR DETAILS.

IN ADDITION TO SEVERE WEATHER...LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN WILL FLOOD LOW
LYING AND FLOOD PRONE AREAS. GUSTY NON THUNDERSTORM WINDS WILL
ALSO BE A PREVAILING HAZARD.

MINOR FLOODING IS CURRENTLY FORECAST TO CONTINUE ALONG PORTIONS
OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. PLEASE REFER TO FLOOD WARNINGS AND
STATEMENTS AS THEY ARE ISSUED FOR DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

THUNDERSTORMS ARE FORECAST OFF AND ON FROM FRIDAY THROUGH NEXT
MONDAY. THE PRIMARY WEATHER HAZARD DURING THIS TIME PERIOD WILL BE
LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN, CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LOCALIZED FLOODING OF
POORLY DRAINED AND LOW-LYING AREAS.

SOME STORMS MAY REACH SEVERE LIMITS NEXT MONDAY.

MINOR FLOODING IS CURRENTLY FORECAST TO CONTINUE ALONG PORTIONS OF
THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. PLEASE REFER TO FLOOD WARNINGS AND STATEMENTS
AS THEY ARE ISSUED FOR DETAILS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

CONTINUED SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS APPRECIATED FOR THE ONGOING
SEVERE WEATHER AND EXCESSIVE RAINFALL.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Dec 23, 3:26 PM CST, 13 minutes before
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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.

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), 12:00Z

9.7 hours before the tornado, 193 km from the path. December 23, 2015.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Nashville Metro, TN at 12:00Z on 2015-12-23Temperature 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 -66, lifted condensation level 596 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, Nashville Metro, TN at 12:00Z on 2015-12-23The 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 194 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 34 knots.1939587897117Sfc1 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
-66 J/kg
Surface CAPE
17 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
596 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
34 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
31 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
194 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
164 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
5.3 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), 00:00Z

2.3 hours after it, 193 km from the path. December 24, 2015.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Nashville Metro, TN at 00:00Z on 2015-12-24Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 26 joules per kilogram, CIN -82, lifted condensation level 624 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, Nashville Metro, TN at 00:00Z on 2015-12-24The 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 598 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 89 knots.1939587897117Sfc1 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
26 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-82 J/kg
Surface CAPE
19 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
624 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
89 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
50 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
598 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
698 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.7
0-3 km lapse rate
5.7 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Owensboro/Daviess (OWB), 10 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
00:00 UTC

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

The radar

The Evansville,IN radar (KVWX), 73 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 21:41 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.

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2015 tornado in IndianaEvery tornado in Indiana since 1950Warnings in force in Indiana nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of December 23, 2015

30 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
December 233:27 AM ESTEF0Berkeley, SC0.2100$18,000
December 238:21 AM CSTEF1Van Buren, AR0.275$80,000
December 239:43 AM CSTEF1Carter, MO6.0100$90,000
December 239:56 AM CSTEF1Wayne, MO3.050$5,000
December 2310:08 AM CSTEF1Wayne, MO3.075$50,000
December 2311:15 AM CSTEF0Jackson, IL6.050$5,000
December 2311:23 AM CSTEF1Perry, IL5.0200$175,000
December 2312:30 PM CSTEF1Edwards, IL4.3100$13,000
December 2312:32 PM CSTEF1White, IL1.6100$75,000
December 233:42 PM ESTEF1Johnson, IN0.340$25,000
December 232:54 PM CSTEF3Coahoma, MS61.6800228$2.4 million
December 233:55 PM ESTEF1Hamilton, IN0.7140$50,000
December 232:57 PM CSTEF2Lee, AR4.7100$100,000
December 234:13 PM ESTEF1Decatur, IN0.850$25,000
December 234:55 PM ESTEF0Wayne, IN3.330$150,000
December 234:10 PM CSTEF4Holly Springs–Ashland tornado, Mississippi and Tennessee75.11,300936$11 million
December 235:12 PM ESTEF0Darke, OH0.020$6,000
December 234:15 PM CSTEF1McDonough, IL10.750
December 234:33 PM CSTEF0Mercer, IL10.650
December 234:34 PM CSTEF1Linn, IA2.350
December 234:43 PM CSTEF1Madison, TN1.250$25,000
December 235:38 PM CSTEF1Dubuque, IA1.125
December 236:43 PM ESTEF1Wayne, MI2.0100$500,000
December 236:16 PM CSTEF1Prentiss, MS3.980$100,000
December 236:17 PM CSTEF2Perry, TN14.95002$1.0 million
December 236:55 PM CSTEF3Wayne, TN48.48007$4.1 million
December 237:00 PM CSTEF2Lauderdale, AL to TN14.94001$100,000
December 238:11 PM ESTEF1Pendleton, KY3.84203$120,000
December 2310:14 PM CSTEF2DeKalb, TN8.4250$400,000
December 2311:25 PM ESTEF0Wood, WV0.225$100,000

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.