Tornadoes · United States · Iowa · 2012

EF1 tornado, Wright to Oskaloosa Muni Arpt, Iowa, April 14, 2012

From Wright to Oskaloosa Muni Arpt, this EF1 tornado ran 1.3 miles across Mahaska County on April 14, 2012, touching down at 9:22 PM CDT and reaching 90 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $75,000 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
April 14, 2012
Touchdown
9:22 PM CDT (02:22 UTC)
Lifted
9:24 PM CDT (02:24 UTC)
On the ground
2 minutes
Path length
1.3 miles (2.0 km)
Path width
90 yards (82 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$75,000
County
Mahaska County
Touchdown point
41.250, -92.509
Lift-off point
41.249, -92.485
Record number
1204142022-01

The damage survey

2 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS DMX, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 93 mph.

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

The first significant severe weather outbreak of the season took place during the afternoon and evening of the 14th with all modes of severe weather taking place. An upper level low pressure lifted northeast out of the southwest U.S. The upper level center, as well as the surface low, passed northwest of Iowa, across southeast South Dakota into Minnesota. Severe weather developed north of the warm front as it lifted north into Iowa. A cluster of severe storms formed over northeast Kansas and southeast Nebraska. These storms moved east-northeast along the warm front into Iowa, causing a considerable amount of severe weather. Severe weather parameters were fairly strong, however the dynamics of a 100 kt mid level jet and 60 kt low level jet made up the difference. Just prior to the storm development, CAPE values were around 4000 J/kg south of the development. Helicity was high, in the 300 to 500 range. There was a large amount of effective shear with 50 to 65 kts available. CAPE in the -10 to -30 layer of the atmosphere was in the 200 to 400 J/kg range, while downdraft CAPE was 600 to 800 J/kg. Plenty of low level moisture was drawn into the state on the strong low level jet. Precipitable water vales rose to 1.25 inches quite rapidly. The LCL level was relatively high, but given the dynmics was relatively easy to overcome. The LCL was just under 1000 meters at the beginning of the event. There were three tornadoes reported during the event. One was northwest of the Creston area in Union County. The most significant tornado caused high end EF2 damage to the far northwest corner of Creston. This tornado formed southwest of Cromwell at 1752 CST in Adams county and quickly tracked into northwest Creston around 1800 CST. EF2 damage occurred to the Greater Regional Medical Center and the Southwestern Community College campus. The tornado continued tracking to the northeast and damaged several farmsteads northeast of Creston before dissipating about 10 miles northeast of town at approximately 1815 CST. The wind strength was estimated to be 130 MPH. Significant damage occurred with uninsured damage alone near $2,000,000. A tornado touched down in Warren County east of New Virginia. The tornado caused damage to farm buildings and campers with a considerable amount of sheet metal left lying around. The EF1 tornado produced winds around 100 MPH. Many of the thunderstorms brought with them high winds and hail. The final tornado touched down in Mahaska County. The tornado was an EF1 tornado with a broad and intense rear flank downdraft south of the track. The AWOS site at the Oskaloosa airport in Mahaska County recorded a 97 MPH wind gust from the rear flank downdraft of the storm. Reports from the Emergency Manager indicated that damage at the airport was limited to two hangar doors and some damage to airport buildings. There were no planes on the field at the time. Numerous reports of hail larger than quarter size were received. Some of the larger hail included baseball size hail in Clarke County at Murray and numerous reports of golf ball size hail along the track of the severe cluster from Union County to Mahaska County. The same cluster of storms also produced very strong winds along its path. Numerous reports of 60 to 70 MPH winds were received all along the path. Numerous reports of tree and power line damage were received. The Des Moines metro area was hard hit with winds of up to 65 MPH causing considerable tree damage. At one time, 20,000 customers were reported without power. In Marion County a garage was destroyed and a house significantly damaged by the wind east of Knoxville. The storms also produced very heavy rainfall. Rainfall of 2 to 4 inches was reported at several locations. At the Des Moines International Airport, 1.10 inches of rain fell between 1630 and 1637 CST. This amount of rainfall in that short of period of time was a 100 year event. Fortunately it had been quite dry across the state, limiting the flash flood potential. Flash flooding was reported in Polk, Cass, and Madison Counties. Water was reported flowing one to two feet deep. Numerous reports were also received of street flooding and significant ponding.

The tornado was determined to be an EF1 with a broad and intense rear flank downdraft south of the track. Peak wind was around 100 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 0.10 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 01:00 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 Des Moines, IA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Apr 14, 5:51 PM CDT, 3 hours 31 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 14, 5:51 PM CDT, 3 hours 31 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
551 PM CDT SAT APR 14 2012

.UPDATE 15/00Z AVIATION DISCUSSION...

.SHORT TERM /TONIGHT/...
WARM FRONT WILL LIFT NORTH ACROSS CENTRAL IOWA TONIGHT AND IT WILL
BE THE FOCUS OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS.  TORNADOES ARE MOST LIKELY
EARLY ON NEAR THE WARM FRONT WHERE THE SEVERE WEATHER PARAMETERS ARE
MAXIMIZED.  AS STORMS LIFT NORTHEAST...THEY SHOULD REMAIN SEVERE DUE
TO VERY HIGH SHEAR VALUES.  HIGH POPS TONIGHT WITH SEVERE WORDING.
HAVE HAD REPORTS ABOUT HEAVY RAIN FROM THE STORMS OVER EASTERN
NEBRASKA. WOULD THINK AS THE DRY SLOT ARRIVES THIS EVENING DRYING
THE MID LEVELS WHICH SHOULD REDUCE PWAT AND GIVEN THE RELATIVE QUICK
SPEED OF THE CELLS...FLASH FLOODING SHOULD NOT BE A SIGNIFICANT
WIDESPREAD THREAT.

.LONG TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/...
COMPLEX BEGINNING TO THE EXTENDED PERIOD WITH LINGERING
PRECIPITATION AND SEVERE POTENTIAL WITH LOW PRESSURE PUSHING
NORTHEAST. MODELS HAVE COME TO A DECENT AGREEMENT WITH THE TRACK
OF THE LOW AND THE TIMING...PUSHING LOW INTO NE/SD/MN/IA BORDER
REGION BY 18Z SUNDAY. MODELS ALSO CONTINUE TO DEEPEN LOW AS IT
PULLS NORTHEASTWARD. WILL SEE PRECIPITATION LINGERING AHEAD OF
FRONTAL BOUNDARY SUNDAY...BEFORE DRY SLOT ARRIVES. HOWEVER...HAVE
LEFT CHANCES FOR PRECIPITATION ACROSS CWA SUNDAY AFTERNOON WITH
POTENTIAL FOR PEAK HEATING TO DEVELOP THUNDERSTORMS. DECENT CAPE
AND GOOD SHEER VALUES COULD LEAD TO SOME SEVERE STORMS SUNDAY
AFTERNOON. HOWEVER...BEST CHANCES ARE TO THE NORTH AND EAST ACROSS
WISCONSIN AND NE IOWA.

ANOTHER MAJOR CONCERN FOR SUNDAY IS WITH SOUTH WINDS. WILL SEE
GOOD MIXING...NEARLY UP TO 750MB IF FULL MIXING IS REALIZED. WINDS
THROUGH THE MIXED LAYER ARE 50KTS-60KTS...AND COULD SEE MIXING
REALIZED AT SURFACE. ESPECIALLY WITH DRY SLOT AND LIKELY CLEARING
SKIES. IN ADDITION...LAPSE RATES WILL BE HIGH AND FAVORABLE FOR
STRONG WINDS. WILL LIKELY NEED TO SEE A WIND ADVISORY...POSSIBLY
A HIGH WIND WARNING FOR PORTIONS OF THE AREA SUNDAY AFTERNOON.
WITH CONVECTIVE CONCERNS THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT HOURS HAVE NOT
ISSUED WIND HEADLINES WITH THIS PACKAGE.

FOR MONDAY....MODELS CONTINUE TO PULL LOW NORTH...BUT HAVE SLOWED
TIMING AND DISAGREE ON HOW FAR NORTH LOW REACHES BY 06Z MONDAY.
HAVE LEFT CHANCES FOR PRECIPITATION ACROSS NORTHERN IOWA SUNDAY
NIGHT WITH POTENTIAL FOR SOME WRAP AROUND PRECIPITATION. HAVE
DECREASED CHANCES FOR MONDAY AS LOW CONTINUES TO PULL AWAY FROM
REGION. BEHIND LOW COLD TEMPERATURES WILL PUSH IN...WITH 850MB
TEMPS NEAR -2 DEGREES C FOR MONDAY AFTERNOON. HAVE CONTINUED COOL
TREND FOR MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT WITH COLD PUSH OF AIR. MAY NEED
FROST/FREEZE HEADLINES FOR OVERNIGHT MONDAY NIGHT ESPECIALLY IN
THE NORTH. HOWEVER...SOUTHERLY FLOW RETURNS QUICKLY WITH WARMING
TEMPERATURES THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK.

ZONAL FLOW WILL DOMINATE THROUGH THE WEEK WITH A SHORTWAVE PUSHING
THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT. HAVE TAKEN OUT PRECIP CHANCES AS BEST
MOISTURE REMAINS FURTHER SOUTH ACROSS NORTHERN MO BUT COULD SEE
SOME LIGHT RAIN. NEXT BIG SYSTEM WILL COME TOWARDS MID WEEK AS
ANOTHER AREA OF LOW PRESSURE TRACKS ACROSS THE NORTHERN PLAINS.
CURRENT TRACK IS ACROSS DAKOTAS/NORTHERN MINNESOTA WITH
ASSOCIATED FRONTAL BOUNDARY PUSHING ACROSS IOWA WEDNESDAY. A BRIEF
BREAK IN PRECIP BEFORE YET ANOTHER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM TRACKS
ACROSS SOUTHERN PLAINS AND BRINGS PRECIPITATION CHANCES FOR THE
REMAINDER OF THE PERIOD. STILL UNCERTAINTY IN MODELS...AND HAVE
LEFT MOSTLY CHANCE AND SLIGHT CHANCE WORDING FOR POPS THROUGH
EXTENDED.

&&

.AVIATION...15/00Z
NUMEROUS CONCERNS THIS PERIOD...INCLUDING ONGOING TORNADO AND HEAVY
RAIN/HAIL THREAT ACROSS THE SOUTH AS LARGE MCS WITH EMBEDDED
SUPERCELLS CROSSES SOUTHERN IOWA...MAINLY TIED TO ADVANCING WARM
FRONT. AS SYSTEM MOVES NORTH WITH FRONTAL BOUNDARY THIS EVENING...
MORE STORMS ARE LIKELY TO FORM ACROSS THE REGION IN THE WARM SECTOR
WITH POTENTIAL FOR ADDITIONAL SEVERE WEATHER THROUGH THE NIGHT.
ANOTHER LINE OF STORMS SHOULD BEGIN TO DEVELOP TOWARD 12Z AS
STRONGER UPPER LEVEL JET MOVES INTO THE REGION. AS THE DRY
LINE/FRONT PASS EAST OF THE REGION BY 18Z INTENSE JET WINDS WILL
BEGIN TO MIX TO THE SFC SETTING THE STAGE FOR HIGH IMPACT WINDS
GUSTING TO NEAR 50KTS ACROSS THE REGION. WITH POTENTIAL SEVERE
WEATHER TONIGHT...AIRPORT OPERATIONS CAN EXPECT TO SEE DELAYS AND
SIGNIFICANT INTERRUPTIONS AS STORMS PASS THROUGH THE AREA. ALSO...
WITH FORECAST WINDS EXPECTED ON SUNDAY...ADDITIONAL PROBLEMS WITH
HIGH WIND THREAT WILL BEGIN WEST BY 15Z AND CONTINUE TO ADVANCE
TOWARD I35 CORRIDOR BY 17-18Z AND EAST BY 19-20Z. ADDITIONAL DETAILS
WILL BE ADDED WITH 06Z PACKAGE AS EVENT UNFOLDS. /REV

&&

.DMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE.

&&

SHORT TERM...JOHNSON
LONG TERM...AWB
AVIATION...REV
Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 14, 3:18 PM CDT, 6 hours 4 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
318 PM CDT SAT APR 14 2012

IAZ033-044-045-057-058-070-071-081-082-092-093-152030-
SAC-CRAWFORD-CARROLL-AUDUBON-GUTHRIE-CASS-ADAIR-ADAMS-UNION-TAYLOR-
RINGGOLD-
318 PM CDT SAT APR 14 2012

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL IOWA.

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT

THERE IS A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER FOR TONIGHT. LARGE
HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...TORNADOES...AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL
WILL ALL BE POSSIBLE WITH THE THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF NON-SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS LINGERING
INTO SUNDAY MORNING. THERE ARE ALSO CHANCES FOR THUNDERSTORMS
WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY. AT THIS TIME THE POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE IS LOW.

STRONG AND GUSTY SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS ARE POSSIBLE SUNDAY INTO
SUNDAY NIGHT. WINDS SPEEDS AND GUSTS WILL APPROACH ADVISORY
CRITERIA.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON INTO
TONIGHT.

IAZ004>007-015>017-023>028-034>039-046>050-059>062-072>075-083>086-
094>097-152030-
EMMET-KOSSUTH-WINNEBAGO-WORTH-PALO ALTO-HANCOCK-CERRO GORDO-
POCAHONTAS-HUMBOLDT-WRIGHT-FRANKLIN-BUTLER-BREMER-CALHOUN-WEBSTER-
HAMILTON-HARDIN-GRUNDY-BLACK HAWK-GREENE-BOONE-STORY-MARSHALL-TAMA-
DALLAS-POLK-JASPER-POWESHIEK-MADISON-WARREN-MARION-MAHASKA-CLARKE-
LUCAS-MONROE-WAPELLO-DECATUR-WAYNE-APPANOOSE-DAVIS-
318 PM CDT SAT APR 14 2012

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL IOWA.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER FOR TONIGHT. LARGE
HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...ISOLATED TORNADOES...AND LOCALLY HEAVY
RAINFALL WILL ALL BE POSSIBLE WITH THE THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

THUNDERSTORM CHANCES CONTINUE INTO SUNDAY...AND AGAIN WEDNESDAY
AND THURSDAY. AT THIS TIME THE SEVERE POTENTIAL IS LOW.

STRONG AND GUSTY SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS ARE POSSIBLE SUNDAY INTO
SUNDAY NIGHT. WINDS SPEEDS AND GUSTS WILL APPROACH ADVISORY
CRITERIA.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE LIKELY THIS AFTERNOON INTO TONIGHT.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 14, 9:04 PM CDT, 18 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.

Davenport, (KDVN), 00:00Z

2.4 hours before the tornado, 171 km from the path. April 15, 2012.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Davenport, at 00:00Z on 2012-04-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 300 joules per kilogram, CIN -50, lifted condensation level 726 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, Davenport, at 00:00Z on 2012-04-15The 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 124 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 69 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
300 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-50 J/kg
Surface CAPE
115 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
726 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
69 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
17 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
124 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
126 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.2
Supercell composite
1.0
0-3 km lapse rate
6.1 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Oskaloosa (OOA), 3 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 Des Moines radar (KDMX), 115 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 02:23 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 2012 tornado in IowaEvery tornado in Iowa since 1950Warnings in force in Iowa nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of April 14, 2012

83 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 1411:38 AM CDTEF1Pawnee, KS4.1100$35,000
April 1412:14 PM CDTEF1Rush, KS17.2200$125,000
April 141:23 PM CDTEF0Russell, KS0.575
April 141:34 PM CDTEF0Russell, KS1.875
April 141:43 PM CDTEF0Russell, KS2.975
April 141:57 PM CDTEF1Ford, KS33.7200
April 142:03 PM CDTEF1Mitchell, KS4.0300$100,000
April 142:10 PM CDTEF0Nuckolls, NE3.140
April 142:24 PM CDTEF1Clark, KS6.3150
April 142:28 PM CDTEF0Monona, IA0.425
April 142:30 PM CDTEF0Thayer, NE0.025
April 142:56 PM CDTEF0Thayer, NE0.360$350,000
April 143:24 PM CDTEF1Pawnee, KS4.7100
April 143:28 PM CDTEF1Edwards, KS9.3100
April 143:49 PM CDTEF0Woodward, OK4.030
April 143:59 PM CDTEF1Woodward, OK0.530
April 143:59 PM CDTEF1Comanche, KS10.9125
April 144:04 PM CDTEF0Rush, KS0.975
April 144:25 PM CDTEF1Stafford, KS9.8150
April 144:26 PM CDTEF0Woodward, OK0.230
April 144:33 PM CDTEF0Woods, OK0.330
April 144:35 PM CDTEF1Stafford, KS14.3150
April 144:44 PM CDTEF0Pratt, KS2.3100
April 144:50 PM CDTEF0Barton, KS0.550
April 144:50 PM CDTEF0Johnson, NE2.8100
April 144:56 PM CDTEF2Johnson, NE5.8440
April 145:02 PM CDTEF0Kingman, KS0.550
April 145:07 PM CDTEF0Johnson, NE3.8100
April 145:08 PM CDTEF0Pratt, KS2.375
April 145:18 PM CDTEF0Lincoln, NE0.120
April 145:18 PM CDTEF0Woodward, OK0.230
April 145:21 PM CDTEF1Otoe, NE2.0200
April 145:24 PM CDTEF0Woodward, OK0.230
April 145:27 PM CDTEF0Lincoln, NE0.010
April 145:28 PM CDTEF0Lincoln, NE0.010
April 145:28 PM CDTEF0Lincoln, NE0.020
April 145:28 PM CDTEF2Fremont, IA12.28804
April 145:32 PM CDTEF0Lincoln, NE0.520
April 145:33 PM CDTEF4Rice, KS50.3400
April 145:47 PM CDTEF0Lincoln, NE0.010
April 146:15 PM CDTEF0Woodward, OK0.230
April 146:16 PM CDTEF0Harlan, NE0.840$75,000
April 146:30 PM CDTEF0Kingman, KS1.350
April 146:36 PM CDTEF0Lincoln, NE15.120
April 146:50 PM CDTEF0Saline, KS0.650
April 146:50 PM CDTEF0Woodward, OK0.120
April 146:51 PM CDTEF0Woodward, OK0.250
April 146:52 PM CDTEF2Adams, IA16.68002$5.0 million
April 146:55 PM CDTEF0Kingman, KS0.250
April 146:55 PM CDTEF1Saline, KS15.8100$10,000
April 147:01 PM CDTEF0Major, OK0.130
April 147:06 PM CDTEF1Woods, OK7.2150
April 147:10 PM CDTEF0Reno, KS0.350
April 147:19 PM CDTEF0Woods, OK1.075
April 147:30 PM CDTEF0Woods, OK9.0400
April 147:31 PM CDTEF0Dickinson, KS3.325
April 147:47 PM CDTEF1Alfalfa, OK10.0400
April 147:54 PM CDTEF1Warren, IA0.875$200,000
April 147:57 PM CDTEF0Alfalfa, OK12.0400
April 148:03 PM CDTEF0McPherson, KS0.6100

All 84 of them

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.