Tornadoes · United States · Iowa · 2010

EF1 tornado, Little Rock, Iowa, June 25, 2010

This EF1 tornado ran 1.2 miles across Lyon County on June 25, 2010, touching down at 9:55 PM CDT and reaching 100 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.

  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
June 25, 2010
Touchdown
9:55 PM CDT (02:55 UTC)
Lifted
9:59 PM CDT (02:59 UTC)
On the ground
4 minutes
Path length
1.2 miles (2.0 km)
Path width
100 yards (91 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$20,000
County
Lyon County
Touchdown point
43.425, -95.897
Lift-off point
43.414, -95.878
Record number
1006252055-01

What the Weather Service recorded

Thunderstorms produced tornadoes, one that caused considerable damage and at least two injuries along a 14 mile path, along with damaging winds, in northwest Iowa during the evening of June 25th.

A tornado destroyed two hog confinement buildings, killing about 12 hogs, numerous outbuildings, a metal farm building, tore the roof off a house and damaged at least 6 other houses, and caused damage to other farm buildings, power lines, vehicles, and trees, before moving out of Lyon County and into Osceola County.

A tornado destroyed a garage, and caused an unknown amount of crop damage.

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

The warnings

2 minutes of warning. NWS FSD issued a tornado warning for this county at 02:53 UTC, 2 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 03:30 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
20:38 UTC02:07 UTCTornado WatchFSD
02:33 UTC03:15 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningFSD
02:53 UTC03:30 UTCTornado WarningFSD
17:52 UTC21:56 UTCTornado WatchFSD

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 Slight Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 01:01 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.

Omaha, NE (KOAX), 00:00Z

2.9 hours before the tornado, 237 km from the path. June 26, 2010.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Omaha, NE at 00:00Z on 2010-06-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 4115 joules per kilogram, CIN -14, lifted condensation level 1377 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Omaha, NE at 00:00Z on 2010-06-26The 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 79 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 27 knots.193958Sfc1 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
4115 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-14 J/kg
Surface CAPE
5702 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1377 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
27 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
13 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
79 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
274 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
2.5
Supercell composite
25.0
0-3 km lapse rate
6.5 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Omaha, NE (KOAX), 12:00Z

9.1 hours after it, 237 km from the path. June 26, 2010.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Omaha, NE at 12:00Z on 2010-06-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 2943 joules per kilogram, CIN -157, lifted condensation level 748 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Omaha, NE at 12:00Z on 2010-06-26The 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 264 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 22 knots.193958Sfc1 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
2943 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-157 J/kg
Surface CAPE
2526 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
748 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
22 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
264 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
246 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
3.4
0-3 km lapse rate
4.8 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Sheldon (SHL), 24 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
00:55 UTC87.875.2220° 13 kt191006.8
00:58 UTC8976220° 10 kt181006.8
01:03 UTC8976220° 10 kt181006.4
01:08 UTC8876210° 11 kt171006.4
01:13 UTC8876220° 9 kt171006.4
01:15 UTC87.875.2220° 11 kt161006.4
01:18 UTC8876220° 11 kt161006.4
01:23 UTC8876210° 9 kt161006.4
01:28 UTC8776210° 12 kt1006.4
01:33 UTC8776210° 12 kt1006.4
01:35 UTC8675.2210° 8 kt141006.4
01:38 UTC8776200° 9 kt1006.4
01:43 UTC8776200° 8 kt1006.8
01:48 UTC8776200° 11 kt1006.8
01:53 UTC8776200° 9 kt151006.8
01:55 UTC8675.2200° 10 kt151006.8
01:58 UTC8776200° 10 kt151006.8
02:03 UTC8676190° 9 kt1006.8
02:08 UTC8676190° 9 kt1006.8
02:13 UTC8676200° 10 kt1006.8
02:15 UTC8675.2200° 11 kt1006.4
02:18 UTC8676200° 11 kt1006.4
02:23 UTC8676190° 9 kt1006.4
02:28 UTC8676190° 11 kt1006.4
02:33 UTC8676180° 10 kt1006.4
02:35 UTC8675.2180° 9 kt1006.8
02:38 UTC8576180° 9 kt1006.8
02:43 UTC8576170° 7 kt1007.5
02:48 UTC8576180° 8 kt1007.5
02:53 UTC8576190° 9 kt1007.1
02:55 UTC84.275.2190° 9 kt1007.1
02:58 UTC8576190° 10 kt1007.1
03:03 UTC8576190° 12 kt1006.8
03:08 UTC8576190° 11 kt1006.8
03:13 UTC8576180° 12 kt1007.1
03:15 UTC84.275.2170° 12 kt1007.1
03:18 UTC8576170° 12 kt1007.1
03:23 UTC8576170° 13 kt171006.8
03:28 UTC8576170° 14 kt191006.8
03:33 UTC8576170° 11 kt191007.1
03:35 UTC84.275.2120° 5 kt191007.5
03:38 UTC857650° 12 kt171008.1
03:43 UTC857360° 11 kt211007.8
03:48 UTC8673340° 10 kt211008.8
03:53 UTC8375100° 31 kt371008.1
03:55 UTC80.671.6100° 32 kt401007.8+RA
03:58 UTC7771110° 25 kt401008.1
04:03 UTC7569100° 20 kt401007.8
04:08 UTC7669140° 16 kt291007.5
04:13 UTC7970130° 7 kt291008.5
04:15 UTC78.869.8110° 6 kt291008.8-RA
04:18 UTC8171130° 6 kt231009.1
04:23 UTC8072190° 5 kt141009.5
04:28 UTC8172130° 7 kt141008.8
04:33 UTC8071200° 4 kt1008.5
04:35 UTC78.869.8180° 3 kt1008.8
04:38 UTC79710° 0 kt1008.8
04:43 UTC797290° 5 kt1009.1
04:48 UTC7971130° 5 kt1009.1
04:53 UTC7971160° 5 kt1009.1

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

The radar

The Sioux Falls radar (KFSD), 70 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 02:56 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
02:45 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 Wnw Little RockLyon, IALARGE TREE BRANCHES DOWN
02:53 UTCTORNADO1 W Little RockLyon, IAMAJOR DAMAGE TO FARMSTEADS...SOME BUILDINGS TOTALLY DESTROYED
02:55 UTCFUNNEL CLOUD1 S Little RockLyon, IA
02:56 UTCTORNADO2 S Little RockLyon, IA13 HEAD OF CATTLE KILLED
02:58 UTCTORNADO1 W Little RockLyon, IAMAJOR DAMAGE TO FARMSTEADS...SOME BUILDINGS TOTALLY DESTROYED
03:05 UTCTORNADO5 Nw AshtonOsceola, IA
03:06 UTCTSTM WND GST 603 N Lake ParkDickinson, IA
03:09 UTCTORNADO1 Sw Little RockLyon, IASMALL BUILDINGS DESTROYED AND DEBRIS THROWN OVER 100 YARDS
03:28 UTCTORNADO1 Se SibleyOsceola, IA
03:30 UTCTSTM WND GST 602 Nnw AshtonOsceola, IAACCOMPANIED BY MARBLE HAIL
03:30 UTCTORNADO2 Ese SibleyOsceola, IA
03:45 UTCTORNADO3 Se AshtonOsceola, IABRIEF TOUCHDOWN
03:53 UTCTORNADO4 Sw SheldonSioux, IA
04:05 UTCTORNADO3 Ene HospersO'Brien, IALARGE TORNADO ON THE GROUND
04:42 UTCTORNADO5 W PaullinaO'Brien, IATORNADO ON THE GROUND
04:52 UTCTORNADO4 Sw PaullinaO'Brien, IATORNADO ON THE GROUND HEADING SOUTH

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2010 tornado in IowaEvery tornado in Iowa since 1950Warnings in force in Iowa nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of June 25, 2010

21 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 253:57 PM CDTEF0Hardeman, TN0.750$25,000
June 254:55 PM CDTEF1Morton, ND1.650$200,000
June 255:35 PM CDTEF0Emmons, ND0.520
June 255:55 PM CDTEF2Brown, MN0.350
June 255:00 PM MDTEF0Cherry, NE0.920
June 256:30 PM CDTEF2Nicollet, MN4.375
June 256:55 PM CDTEF2Blue Earth, MN0.950
June 256:55 PM CDTEF1Redwood, MN2.8200
June 256:58 PM CDTEF1Blue Earth, MN4.375
June 257:05 PM CDTEF0Cottonwood, MN0.250
June 257:05 PM CDTEF2Blue Earth, MN1.940
June 257:05 PM CDTEF0Thomas, NE1.020
June 257:09 PM CDTEF0Blue Earth, MN0.350
June 258:10 PM CDTEF0Watonwan, MN0.910
June 258:19 PM CDTEF0Freeborn, MN0.930
June 258:38 PM CDTEF0Martin, MN0.430
June 259:53 PM CDTEF4Sibley–Little Rock tornado, IA13.780013$3.5 million
June 2510:45 PM CDTEF0Osceola, IA0.250
June 2510:53 PM CDTEF0Sioux, IA0.250
June 2511:05 PM CDTEF0O'Brien, IA0.6200
June 2511:42 PM CDTEF1O'Brien, IA3.3100$20,000

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.