Tornadoes · United States · Indiana · 2015
EF0 tornado, Demotte Arpt to Wheatfield, Indiana, June 7, 2015
From Demotte Arpt to Wheatfield, this EF0 tornado ran 0.3 miles across Jasper County on June 7, 2015, touching down at 4:28 PM CDT and reaching 50 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
- June 7, 2015
- Touchdown
- 4:28 PM CDT (21:28 UTC)
- Lifted
- 4:29 PM CDT (21:29 UTC)
- On the ground
- 1 minutes
- Path length
- 0.3 miles (0.4 km)
- Path width
- 50 yards (46 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- County
- Jasper County
- Touchdown point
- 41.240, -87.220
- Lift-off point
- 41.240, -87.215
- Record number
- 1506071528-01
What the Weather Service recorded
After a morning complex of non-severe storms on June 7th, redeveloping storms in the early afternoon intensified just south of I-80 and slowly evolved southeastward through the night, producing heavy rainfall rates and at times severe straight-line winds. Widespread rainfall of one and a half to four inches, with isolated totals higher fell across areas south of I-80. This produced flooding and flash flooding. Scattered reports of roads closed during Sunday mid-afternoon through evening were received. There were a couple reports of water rescues and stranded vehicles. The highest rainfall reports were 4.95 inches near Kouts, IN and 4.07 inches near Hebron, IN, both from CoCoRaHS volunteer observers. There was video confirmation of two brief tornadoes in northern Jasper County, a few miles from the community of De Motte.
An EF-0 tornado briefly touched down northwest of De Motte and was captured on video by trained spotters. No damage occurred.
An EF-0 tornado was captured on video. There was no damage reported with this tornado.
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. One was issued for the county at another hour that day.
The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 19:43 UTC and running to 01:00 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19:43 UTC | 01:00 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | LOT |
| 21:13 UTC | 22:15 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT |
| 21:35 UTC | 21:58 UTC | Tornado Warning | LOT |
| 21:57 UTC | 22:45 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT |
| 22:10 UTC | 23:15 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT |
| 22:18 UTC | 03:15 UTC | Flash Flood Warning | LOT |
| 22:19 UTC | 23:15 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT |
| 23:01 UTC | 23:30 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT |
| 02:25 UTC | 09:25 UTC | Flood Advisory | LOT |
| 03:14 UTC | 08:15 UTC | Flash Flood Warning | LOT |
| 04:10 UTC | 15:00 UTC | Flood Advisory | LOT |
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 Enhanced Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 19:40 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
9.5 hours before the tornado, 168 km from the path. June 7, 2015.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 124 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -173 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 1 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1036 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 29 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 26 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 256 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 263 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 1.3
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 4.3 K/km
The surface observations
Valparaiso (VPZ), 30 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:56 UTC | 74 | 68 | 190° 13 kt | 1008.8 | ||
| 20:56 UTC | 74 | 69 | 190° 6 kt | 1007.8 | -RA | |
| 21:19 UTC | 72 | 70 | 190° 6 kt | 1007.5 | +RA BR | |
| 21:48 UTC | 72 | 70 | 260° 8 kt | 1007.8 | +RA BR | |
| 21:56 UTC | 72 | 70 | 230° 25 kt | 35 | 1008.8 | +RA BR |
| 22:04 UTC | 67 | 67 | 190° 12 kt | 39 | 1006.8 | +RA BR |
| 22:12 UTC | 67 | 66 | 190° 12 kt | 1007.1 | RA BR | |
| 22:22 UTC | 67 | 66 | 200° 9 kt | 1007.5 | RA BR | |
| 22:36 UTC | 68 | 67 | 170° 10 kt | 1007.8 | RA BR | |
| 22:45 UTC | 68 | 66 | 180° 11 kt | 1007.8 | +RA BR | |
| 22:53 UTC | 66.2 | 64.4 | 180° 6 kt | 1008.1 | RA BR | |
| 22:56 UTC | 67 | 66 | 190° 6 kt | 1008.5 | RA BR | |
| 23:03 UTC | 67 | 65 | 190° 7 kt | 1008.5 | -RA BR |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Chicago radar (KLOT), 83 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 21:28 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20:50 UTC | HEAVY RAIN 2.29 | 1 N Crown Point | Lake, IN | TOTAL SO FAR TODAY. 1.28 PAST 45 MINUTES. |
| 21:04 UTC | FLOOD | St. John | Lake, IN | AT 93RD AND US-41. 6 INCHES STANDING WATER. |
| 21:15 UTC | FUNNEL CLOUD | 5 W Kouts | Porter, IN | 75TH AND IN-8. STARTED DOWN THEN WENT BACK UP. |
| 21:23 UTC | FLOOD | Cedar Lake | Lake, IN | UP TO 4 INCHES FLOWING ON LOW LYING ROADS. |
| 21:25 UTC | FUNNEL CLOUD | 2 N De Motte | Jasper, IN | |
| 21:28 UTC | TORNADO | 3 Nnw De Motte | Jasper, IN | EF0 TORNADO CONFIRMED BY SPOTTER REPORTS...VIDEO AND RADAR DATA. PATH WIDTH 50 YARDS. PATH LENGTH 0.25 MILES. DURATION APPROXIMATELY 35 SECONDS. NO DAMAGE REPORTED. |
| 21:28 UTC | TORNADO | 3 Nnw De Motte | Jasper, IN | VIDEO OF TORNADO TAKEN FROM RT 231 AND STATE ROAD 2 |
| 21:35 UTC | FUNNEL CLOUD | 3 S De Motte | Jasper, IN | ON STATE RD 10. |
| 21:37 UTC | TORNADO | 4 Ne De Motte | Jasper, IN | EF0 TORNADO CONFIRMED BY SPOTTER REPORTS...VIDEO AND RADAR. PATH WIDTH 50 YARDS. PATH LENGTH 2.8 MILES. DURATION 4 TO 5 MINUTES. NO DAMAGE REPORTED. |
| 21:39 UTC | TORNADO | 5 Ne De Motte | Jasper, IN | VIDEO OF TORNADO...UNCLEAR IF SECOND TOUCHDOWN OR CONTIUNOUS PATH |
| 21:50 UTC | FLASH FLOOD | Hebron | Porter, IN | FLASH FLOODING WITH A VEHICLE RESCUE. |
| 22:00 UTC | FLASH FLOOD | Cedar Lake | Lake, IN | PICKUP TRUCK HALF SUBMERGED IN WATER. REPORT VIA FACEBOOK. |
| 22:05 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Ssw Wanatah | La Porte, IN | REPORTS OF TREE AND 8 LIMB DOWN NEAR WANATAH. TIME ESTIMATED BY RADAR. |
| 22:15 UTC | FLASH FLOOD | Valparaiso | Porter, IN | NUMEROUS STREETS AND BRIDGES CLOSED DUE TO FLOODING |
| 22:25 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Morocco | Newton, IN | DELAYED REPORT. ROOF BLOWN OFF OF A HOUSE ON MERIDIAN RD. TIME ESTIMATED BY RADAR. |
| 22:25 UTC | HEAVY RAIN 3.94 | Cedar Lake | Lake, IN | SINCE 7 AM. |
| 22:31 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Medaryville | Pulaski, IN | SEVERAL 8-12 INCH LIMBS DOWN. |
| 22:31 UTC | TORNADO | 2 S English Lake | Starke, IN | A NWS STORM SURVEY CONFIRMED AN EF1 TORNADO WITH WINDS UP TO 95 MPH A PATH LENGTH AROUND 0.2 MILES AND A PATH WIDTH OF 100 YARDS. |
| 22:32 UTC | FLASH FLOOD | 2 E Lowell | Lake, IN | 4-6 INCHES OF STANDING WATER UNDER AN OVERPASS ON US41. |
| 22:35 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Ne Clarks | Pulaski, IN | REPORT OF TREES SNAPPED AND UPROOTED, NO ESTIMATES ON SIZE. ESTIMATED WIND SPEEDS TO 75 MPH. |
| 22:48 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 S Bass Lake | Starke, IN | REPORTS OF TREES SNAPPED OR UPROOTED, 12 INCHES IN DIAMETER. ESTIMATED WINDS TO 80 MPH. |
| 22:50 UTC | HEAVY RAIN 0.8 | Portage | Porter, IN | 0.8 INCHES IN 35 MINUTES--STORM TOTAL OF 1.4 INCHES |
| 22:57 UTC | HEAVY RAIN 2.84 | 2 Nne Lakes of The Four | Porter, IN | |
| 23:00 UTC | FLOOD | 6 E Lowell | Lake, IN | IN-2 WASHED OUT NEAR I-65. 5 TO 6 INCHES OF WATER ON ROAD. IND STATE POLICE ON-SITE. |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
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 June 7, 2015
8 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 7 | 1:11 AM CDT | EF0 | Webster, IA | 0.7 | 60 | $1,000 | ||
| June 7 | 1:15 AM CDT | EF0 | Boone, IA | 2.8 | 40 | $15,000 | ||
| June 7 | 1:18 AM CDT | EF0 | Boone, IA | 1.4 | 30 | |||
| June 7 | 1:41 AM CDT | EF1 | Story, IA | 0.9 | 35 | $90,000 | ||
| June 7 | 4:37 PM CDT | EF0 | Jasper, IN | 2.8 | 50 | |||
| June 7 | 5:31 PM CDT | EF1 | Starke, IN | 0.3 | 100 | |||
| June 7 | 8:22 PM CDT | EF0 | Menard, IL | 0.0 | 10 | $15,000 | ||
| June 7 | 9:03 PM CDT | EF0 | Piatt, IL | 2.7 | 25 | $85,000 |
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.