Tornadoes · United States · Kansas · 2001
F0 tornado, Jetmore, Kansas, June 13, 2001
This F0 tornado ran 2.5 miles across Hodgeman County on June 13, 2001, touching down at 10:00 PM CDT and reaching 150 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
- June 13, 2001
- Touchdown
- 10:00 PM CDT (03:00 UTC)
- Path length
- 2.5 miles (4.0 km)
- Path width
- 150 yards (137 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- County
- Hodgeman County
- Touchdown point
- 38.250, -99.900
- Lift-off point
- 38.250, -99.820
- Record number
- 1003
What the Weather Service recorded
Nothing to damage. Probably stronger than f0.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The warnings
6 minutes of warning. NWS DDC issued a tornado warning for this county at 02:54 UTC, 6 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 03:30 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01:42 UTC | 02:30 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DDC |
| 02:04 UTC | 02:30 UTC | Tornado Warning | DDC |
| 02:21 UTC | 03:15 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DDC |
| 02:54 UTC | 03:30 UTC | Tornado Warning | DDC |
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 01:05 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 Jun 13, 3:15 PM CDT, 6 hours 45 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jun 13, 3:15 PM CDT, 6 hours 45 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DODGE CITY KS 315 PM CDT WED JUN 13 2001 FORECAST CHALLENGES ARE THREAT FOR SEVERE LOCAL STORMS ALL AREAS TONIGHT AND FRONTAL POSITION, THEN TEMPS THEREAFTER. UPPER AIR ANALYSIS SHOWS MAIN UPPER TROF TO STILL COME OUT LATER TONIGHT WITH COLD POOL AND GOOD UVVS. AHEAD OF THE UPPER TROF A COLD FRONT HAS PUSHED EAST TO ASHLAND TO NEAR SAINT JOHN LINE AND IS BEGINNING TO STALL OUT BASED ON 88D DATA. THE MODELS STILL HAVE STRONG CYCLOGENESIS OCCURRING IN SOUTHERN COLORADO AS MAIN UPPER JET MOVES ACROSS NORTHERN NEW MEXICO THIS EVENING. THIS LOOKS TO BE ON TARGET AS STRONG PRESSURE FALLS ARE STARTING TO SHOW UP IN THAT AREA. PRESSURE FALLS WILL HELP THE FRONT TO STALL AND THEN PUSH BACK WEST AS A WARM FRONT AND MOIST LINE. THE FRONT MAY PUSH BACK TO A LIBERAL TO JETMORE TO LACROSSE LINE THIS EVENING WITH THUNDERSTORMS TRYING TO FORM ALONG IT. STRONG MID LEVEL WINDS APPROACHING 50KTS ARE ALSO FORECAST TO MOVE OUT OVER FRONTAL BOUNDARY AND WITH GOOD LOW LEVEL SHEAR. A FEW STRONG TORNADOS ARE POSSIBLE ALONG FRONTAL BOUNDARY AS THE RESULT OF 1) BAROCLINICALLY INDUCED LOWER TROPOSPHERIC CYCLONIC RELATIVE VORTICITY (SOLENOIDAL TERM IN THE VORTICITY EQUATION) TILTED ONTO THE VERTICAL, AND 2) ENHANCED DIRECTIONAL VERTICAL WIND SHEAR, RESULTING IN STRONG MID LEVEL MESOCYCLONES. OF COURSE THAT IS IF CAP IS BROKEN AND THUNDERSTORMS FORM. RIGHT NOW NO CLOUDS ARE SHOWING UP ALONG THIS BOUNDARY. LATER ON TONIGHT MAIN UPPER TROF COMES OUT WITH GOOD UVVS AND STEEPENING LAPSE RATES. WILL NEED TO CANVAS ALL AREAS WITH 50 TO 60 POPS, AND SOME SEVERE. WIND DIRECTION WILL BE HARD TO FORECAST WITH FRONTAL BOUNDARY BACKING UP. COLD FRONT WILL THEN RE-SURGE THROUGH ENTIRE AREA EXCEPT FOR MED LODGE BY 12Z. SEVERE LOCAL STORMS LOOK TO BE A GOOD BET. THEN ON THURSDAY THERE MAY BE SOME LINGERING THUNDERSTORMS AND SHOWERS MAINLY EAST OF A LINE FROM COLDWATER TO PRATT SO WILL JUST CONTINUE WITH SOME POPS TO COVER. ALSO MAIN UPPER LOW AND PVA STILL MOVING ACROSS AREA AND HAVE DECIDED TO THROUGH IN A SMALL THUNDERSTORMS POP IN THE NORTH CWA WITH COLD POOL. OTHERWISE TEMPS SHOULD BE MUCH COOLER WITH MID 70S TO AROUND 80. WINDS SHOULD BE 20 TO 30 MPH IN THE MORNING THEN DECREASING BY LATE AFTERNOON. THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY THE ATMOSPHERE DRIES OUT AND WINDS DECREASE. WILL GO WITH LOWS MAINLY IN THE 40S WITH LOW DEWPOINTS FORECAST IN THE 30S. THEN FOR FRIDAY HIGHS USING FCST SOUNDINGS MID TO UPPER 80S LOOK REASONABLE AS WARM FRONT RETURNS AND ZONAL FLOW SETS UP. EXTENDED DISCUSSION... MODELS CONTINUE TO SUGGEST RIDGING TAKING PLACE OVER THE CENTRAL PLAINS LATE THIS WEEKEND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. APPEARS THAT A NORTHWEST FLOW WILL BE PRESENT ACROSS ERN CO/WRN KS SAT INTO EARLY SUN SO MAY HAVE TO WATCH FOR SOME EMBEDDED WAVES MOVING ALONG THE FLOW. AT THIS TIME WILL ONLY GO SLT CHANCE LATE SATURDAY AND OPT TO KEEP FORECAST DRY ON SUNDAY. CONFIDENCE FROM MONDAY ON DECREASES RAPIDLY WITH ALL MODELS SHOWING A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT MOVEMENT OF THE WESTERN CONUS UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM. FAVORING NO SINGLE MODELS THIS AFTERNOON AND BASED ON BLOCKING PATTERN DEVELOPING OVER THE NORTH ATLANTIC AND SPLIT FLOW DEVELOPING OVER THE PACIFIC WILL KEEP CONDITIONS WARM BUT INTRODUCE POPS BACK INTO THE FORECAST BY MID WEEK. PRELIMINARY GUIDANCE FOR COORDINATION ONLY. OFFICIAL FORECASTS ARE CONTAINED WITHIN THE DODGE CITY ZONE FORECAST. DDC 057/078 049/086 055 510 GCK 055/077 048/086 053 510 EHA 055/078 048/089 055 510 LBL 055/078 049/088 055 510 HYS 059/076 048/083 054 620 P28 066/080 055/086 058 630 .DDC...NONE. KRUSE/RBS
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.
Dodge City, (KDDC), 00:00Z
3.0 hours before the tornado, 53 km from the path. June 14, 2001.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 901 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -65 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 2104 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2625 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 55 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 14 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 85 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 325 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 6.1
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 9.2 K/km
Dodge City, (KDDC), 12:00Z
9.0 hours after it, 53 km from the path. June 14, 2001.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -77355 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1564 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 65 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 18 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -185 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- -107 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 2.0 K/km
The radar
The Dodge City radar (KDDC), 55 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 03:01 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 June 13, 2001
39 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 13 | 9:07 AM CDT | F0 | Jefferson Parish, LA | 0.1 | 25 | $10,000 | ||
| June 13 | 2:22 PM EDT | F0 | Richland, SC | 0.1 | 40 | |||
| June 13 | 4:50 PM CDT | F0 | Jones, MS | 0.3 | 100 | |||
| June 13 | 5:11 PM CDT | F0 | Hamlin, SD | 0.1 | 25 | |||
| June 13 | 5:40 PM CDT | F0 | Grant, MN | 0.5 | 25 | |||
| June 13 | 6:12 PM CDT | F0 | Big Stone, MN | 0.5 | 25 | |||
| June 13 | 6:51 PM CDT | F0 | Cuming, NE | 0.5 | 30 | |||
| June 13 | 6:53 PM CDT | F3 | Todd, MN | 12.0 | 100 | 3 | $5.0 million | |
| June 13 | 6:59 PM CDT | F0 | Grant, MN | 0.5 | 25 | |||
| June 13 | 7:00 PM CDT | F0 | Douglas, MN | 0.1 | 25 | |||
| June 13 | 7:12 PM CDT | F0 | Lincoln, MN | 0.1 | 50 | |||
| June 13 | 7:12 PM CDT | F0 | Lincoln, MN | 0.1 | 50 | |||
| June 13 | 7:18 PM CDT | F1 | Lincoln, MN | 0.5 | 100 | $50,000 | ||
| June 13 | 7:44 PM CDT | F0 | Todd, MN | 0.1 | 25 | |||
| June 13 | 7:45 PM CDT | F4 | Ruby–Seward tornado, NE | 8.0 | 400 | 2 | $1.0 million | |
| June 13 | 8:00 PM CDT | F2 | Morrison, MN | 4.0 | 50 | $200,000 | ||
| June 13 | 8:10 PM CDT | F2 | Crow Wing, MN | 5.0 | 880 | |||
| June 13 | 8:20 PM CDT | F0 | Lincoln, MN | 0.1 | 50 | |||
| June 13 | 8:32 PM CDT | F0 | Todd, MN | 0.1 | 25 | |||
| June 13 | 8:42 PM CDT | F0 | Lancaster, NE | 0.1 | 30 | |||
| June 13 | 8:46 PM CDT | F1 | Lincoln, MN | 2.0 | 100 | $2,000 | ||
| June 13 | 8:46 PM CDT | F1 | Republic, KS | 8.0 | 300 | $120,000 | ||
| June 13 | 8:52 PM CDT | F0 | Osceola, IA | 0.1 | 50 | |||
| June 13 | 8:55 PM CDT | F0 | Saunders, NE | 0.1 | 30 | |||
| June 13 | 8:58 PM CDT | F0 | Republic, KS | 5.0 | 100 | $40,000 | ||
| June 13 | 8:58 PM CDT | F0 | Hodgeman, KS | 0.1 | 30 | |||
| June 13 | 9:00 PM CDT | F0 | Hodgeman, KS | 2.0 | 50 | |||
| June 13 | 9:05 PM CDT | F1 | Thayer, NE | 3.0 | 150 | $500,000 | ||
| June 13 | 9:12 PM CDT | F0 | Hodgeman, KS | 7.0 | 250 | |||
| June 13 | 9:20 PM CDT | F1 | O'Brien, IA | 7.0 | 200 | $200,000 | ||
| June 13 | 9:20 PM CDT | F0 | Monona, IA | 0.1 | 30 | |||
| June 13 | 9:25 PM CDT | F0 | Furnas, NE | 0.5 | 30 | $10,000 | ||
| June 13 | 9:25 PM CDT | F0 | Thayer, NE | 0.5 | 20 | |||
| June 13 | 9:28 PM CDT | F0 | Pawnee, KS | 0.1 | 30 | |||
| June 13 | 9:31 PM CDT | F0 | Fillmore, NE | 0.2 | 20 | |||
| June 13 | 9:45 PM CDT | F0 | Rush, KS | 9.0 | 150 | |||
| June 13 | 10:10 PM CDT | F0 | Ida, IA | 0.1 | 50 | |||
| June 13 | 10:18 PM CDT | F0 | Cherokee, IA | 0.1 | 50 | |||
| June 13 | 10:45 PM CDT | F0 | Thayer, NE | 3.0 | 50 |
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.