Tornadoes · United States · Kansas · 2001
F0 tornado, Riga, Kansas, April 21, 2001
This F0 tornado ran 0.2 miles across Trego County on April 21, 2001, touching down at 8:04 PM CDT and reaching 50 yards wide. It killed nobody.
The rating scale
Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.
F040 to 72 mphthis tornado
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
F173 to 112 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
F2113 to 157 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.
F3158 to 206 mph
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
F4207 to 260 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
F5261 to 318 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
- F0
- Date
- April 21, 2001
- Touchdown
- 8:04 PM CDT (01:04 UTC)
- Path length
- 0.2 miles (0.3 km)
- Path width
- 50 yards (46 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- County
- Trego County
- Touchdown point
- 38.950, -99.620
- Lift-off point
- 38.950, -99.620
- Record number
- 687
What the Weather Service recorded
Lasted 30 seconds. Semi overturned.
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.
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. 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.
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 Dodge City, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Apr 21, 3:02 PM CDT, 5 hours 2 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 21, 3:02 PM CDT, 5 hours 2 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DODGE CITY KS 302 PM CDT SAT APR 21 2001 MAIN FORECAST CHALLENGE TODAY WILL BE CHANCES FOR CONVECTION TONIGHT AND SUNDAY. 25H ANALYSIS AT 12Z INDICATED ONE 80KT JET ALONG THE WRN OK/ERN TX PANHANDLE BORDER. ANOTHER JET OF 110KS WAS LOCATED IN SRN AZ. DDC SOUNDING SHOWING LOW LEVEL MOISTURE BEHIND THIS DRY LINE IN OUR EASTERN CWA WAS VERY DRY, WHILE GOOD CONV AND MADV PRESENT ALONG DRY LINE. DELTA T'S GREATER THAN 18 AT 12Z AND WITH SOME 7H WAA AND CAA AT 5H BETTER INSTAB WILL BE IN PLACE THIS EVENING PRIOR TO THE MAJOR WAVE EARLY SUNDAY. AS OF 18Z GRANADA PROFILERS AND KDDC VAD WINDS ALREADY SHOWING A SOUTHEAST FLOW RETURNING WITH DWPTS RISING INTO THE 60S AT P28. MSAS SHOWING LI INDEXES ALREADY NEG ALONG WARM FRONT WHICH EXTENDED FROM ROUGHLY EAST CENTRAL COLORADO INTO NW OKLAHOMA. VIS ALSO SHOWING SOME CU ALSO DEVELOPING HERE AS WELL. BETTER CU FIELD NOTED NEAR P28 WHERE MCON FIELD AND TADV IS BEST. EXTRAPOLATION ON THE S/W TROF IN SRN AZ PLACES THIS WAVE IN SE CO BY 23Z. AS A RESULT WILL GO WILL LIKELY POPS TONIGHT ALONG AND NORTH OF THE WARM FRONT WHILE JUST EAST OF THE DRYLINE CARRY CAT POPS. GIVEN THE WIND PROFILE VIA PROFILERS FROM HAVILAND AND GRANADA ALONG WITH KDDC VADS, BOUNDARIES DISSECTING THE CWA AND INSTAB ALOFT WILL MENTION THE THREAT THAT SOME STORMS MAY BE SEVERE FOR ALL BUT THE SOUTHWEST NEAR EHA WHERE MOISTURE WILL BE MOST LIMITED. HOWEVER EVEN HERE SOME WINDS WILL BE POSSIBLE FROM THE INITIAL ELEVATED CONVECTION. THE MORE SIGNIFICANT SYSTEM STILL APPEARING FAIRLY DYNAMIC WITH CONVECTION VISIBLE AHEAD OF THIS WAVE. MODELS CONTINUE TO SHOW THIS WAVE ROTATING INTO THE CENTRAL PLAIN EARLY ON SUNDAY. 5H AND 7H HT FALLS REMAIN IN THE BASE OF NEXT UPPER LOW CURRENTLY LOCATED IN SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA AT 12Z SAT WHICH LEAD ME TO FOLLOW THE ETA AND AVN SLIGHTLY SLOWER SOLUTION. EVEN GOING WITH THIS SOLUTION THERE WILL BE GOOD PVA PRESENT ACROSS ENTIRE AREA BY 12Z SUN WHICH SUPPORTS HIGH CHANCE TO LIKELY CONTINUING. DEEPENING SFC PRESSURES ALONG SE COLORADO SHOULD PLACE THE SFC FRONT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CWA BY MORNING. MOISTURE AND LIFT COMING TOGETHER BEST IN THE NORTH AND EAST SO WILL PLACE THE HIGHEST POPS HERE. DEEPENING PRESSURE WILL ALSO KEEP THE WINDS UP OVERNIGHT SHOULD SEE WINDY CONDITIONS ACROSS THE AREA ON SUNDAY. UPPER LOW MOVES FROM NEW MEXICO OVER WESTERN KANSAS DURING THE AFTERNOON WITH A SLOT OF DRYER AIR SUGGESTING PARTLY/MOSTLY CLEAR CONDITIONS BY NOON. HOWEVER VERY UNSTABLE AIR IN PLACE WITH COLD POOL ALOFT AND AS SOME MOISTURE WRAPS AROUND THE DEEPENING 85H LOW SOME CONVECTION WILL STILL BE POSSIBLE IN THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING. CAA BEGINS TO TRULY MAKE ITS PRESENT FELT ON MONDAY NIGHT AS 85H TEMPS FALLS FROM 6-8C OVER A 6H TIME FRAME. PLACEMENT OF THIS SYSTEM IS EVERYTHING FOR LOCATION OF THE WRAP AROUND MOISTURE AND LIFT. AT THIS TIME WILL KEEP TO LOW POPS GOING SUNDAY NIGHT IN THE SOUTH GIVEN THE INSTAB ALOFT AND HIGHER CHC POPS IN THE NORTH GIVEN CURRENT ETA/AVN TRACK. WILL HOLD OFF AT THIS MOMENT MENTIONING ANY TYPE OF PCPN CHANGE OVER GIVEN THE COLD AIR INVADING THE NORTHWEST BUT THIS MAY BE A CLOSE CALL IN OUR NORTHWEST. COOL DOME OF HIGH PRESSURE MOVES INTO WESTERN KANSAS ON MONDAY AS SUBSIDENCE DEVELOPS ALOFT. ETA WAS THE SLOWEST TO ERODE THE COLD AIR AND GIVEN 85H TEMP PROGS AT 00Z TUE LOWER 60S FOR HIGHS ON MONDAY LOOK REASONABLE FOR DDC AND MID 60S FURTHER WEST. EXTENDED DISCUSSION... THE 21/00Z MRF RUN IS VERY CLOSE TO 20/12Z ECMWF AND THE 21/12Z RUN OF THE UKMET WITH RESPECT TO THE POSITION OF THE 500 MB TROUGH OVER THE GREAT LAKES STATES AT 120 HR/25/12Z. AFTER THAT PERIOD, THE MRF IS MORE AGGRESSIVE WITH THIS TROUGH THAN THE ECMWF/UKMET AS IT ENCOUNTERS THE MID-ATLANTIC SEABOARD. FOR THE MOST PART, THINK THE MRF IS ON TRACK, BUT THEN STARTS DIVING CANADIAN COLD AIR ALOFT SOUTHWARD TOO FAST. WILL LEAN TOWARD THE FMR GUIDANCE UP THROUGH WEDNESDAY PERIOD, BUT NOT WARM HIGH TEMPS UP QUITE AS QUICKLY AS MRF FOR THURSDAY THROUGH SATURDAY PERIOD. AFTER 1ST 48 HOURS PRECIP EVENT FINISHES, UPPER RIDGE WILL TAKE HOLD OF SOUTHWESTERN KANSAS (AND SOUTHWESTWARD). THINK A SURFACE LEE TROUGH WILL FLIRT WITH WEST KANSAS BORDER EACH AFTERNOON FROM WEDNESDAY ONWARD, BUT DO NO SEE ENOUGH UPPER SUPPORT TO INTRODUCE CONVECTION AT THIS TIME. SLIGHT CHANCE WORDING WILL LIKELY BE REQUIRED SOMETIME BETWEEN WED AND SAT, BUT WILL LET LATER SHIFTS REFINE WHERE. NO CHANGES PLANNED FOR NEW 8-10 DAY OUTLOOK, STAYING WITH ABOVE NORMAL TEMPS (40S-ARND 70 DEG) AND NEAR NORMAL PRECIP (20-30% POP). PRELIMINARY GUIDANCE FOR COORDINATION ONLY. OFFICIAL FORECASTS ARE CONTAINED WITHIN THE DODGE CITY ZONE FORECAST. DDC 055/067 035/061 035 753 GCK 054/063 032/062 032 754 EHA 053/065 032/06S4 032 422 LBL 057/066 033/063 033 752 HYS 055/060 035/056 032 774 P28 060/070 043/063 040 862 .DDC...NONE. RB/BURKE
In the hours before
Local storm report, Apr 21, 2:15 PM CDT, 5 hours 49 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DODGE CITY, KS
215 PM CDT SAT APR 21 2001
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
b
0810 PM 13 WNW LARNED KS .75 INCH HAIL
04/20/01 PAWNEE
JFThe 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.
Dodge City, (KDDC), 00:00Z
1.1 hours before the tornado, 133 km from the path. April 22, 2001.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1118 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -11 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 2606 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1940 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 62 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 18 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 181 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 365 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.1
- Supercell composite
- 12.2
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 8.4 K/km
Dodge City, (KDDC), 12:00Z
10.9 hours after it, 133 km from the path. April 22, 2001.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1369 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -75 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 1719 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 670 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 49 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 38 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 310 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 330 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 1.8
- Supercell composite
- 9.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 5.2 K/km
The radar
The Dodge City radar (KDDC), 136 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 01:05 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 2001 tornado in KansasEvery tornado in Kansas since 1950Warnings in force in Kansas nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of April 21, 2001
11 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 21 | 2:35 PM CDT | F1 | Mohave, CA to NV, AZ | 3.0 | 50 | |||
| April 21 | 7:00 PM CDT | F0 | Pawnee, KS | 0.4 | 30 | |||
| April 21 | 7:30 PM CDT | F0 | Rush, KS | 1.5 | 75 | |||
| April 21 | 7:40 PM CDT | F2 | Rush, KS | 1.5 | 100 | $200,000 | ||
| April 21 | 8:07 PM CDT | F0 | Rush, KS | 2.2 | 75 | |||
| April 21 | 9:00 PM CDT | F0 | Rush, KS | 0.3 | 50 | |||
| April 21 | 9:15 PM CDT | F4 | Hoisington tornado, KS | 5.0 | 660 | 1 | 28 | $43 million |
| April 21 | 9:37 PM CDT | F0 | Barton, KS | 0.5 | 55 | |||
| April 21 | 10:15 PM CDT | F0 | Ellsworth, KS | 0.5 | 55 | |||
| April 21 | 10:44 PM CDT | F0 | Ellsworth, KS | 2.0 | 220 | $10,000 | ||
| April 21 | 11:15 PM CDT | F0 | Lincoln, KS | 2.0 | 220 | $50,000 |
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.