F2 tornado, Lone Star to Lawrence, Kansas, May 8, 2003

1. F040 to 72 mph

   Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

2. F173 to 112 mph

   Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

3. F2113 to 157 mphthis tornado

   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. 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.

5. F4207 to 260 mph

   Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

6. 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.

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.

Rating

F2

Date

May 8, 2003

Touchdown

7:38 PM CDT (00:38 UTC)

Path length

0.7 miles (1.1 km)

Path width

250 yards (229 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

6

Property damage

$6.4 million

County

Douglas County

Touchdown point

38.970, -95.230

Lift-off point

38.970, -95.230

Record number

1015

Severe weather erupted over a large part of the area during the afternoon and evening hours of the 8th. Numerous reports of large hail and a few reports of strong winds were received. In addition 12 tornadoes were reported (discussed separately), some doing considerable damage. Four funnel clouds were also sighted. May 8, 2003, was estimated to be the most significant and widespread tornado outbreak in northeast Kansas since April 26, 1991. All meteorological severe weather forecast parameters came together over northeast Kansas on the afternoon of May 8 to produce an SPC "high risk" area of potential severe weather. The possibility of strong, long-lived destructive tornadoes was highlighted for nearly 24 hours in advance in nearly every NWS statement and product. The significant and widespread tornado outbreak in the nearby Kansas City area just four days before increased public weather awareness and concern, and together with timely watches, statements and warnings, helped prevent tornado related deaths and minimized storm injuries.

A tornado touched down near Lone Star and moved nearly a quarter mile and damaged some trees before dissipating.

A tornado touched down in the southwest part of Lawrence and did considerable damage to the area. An apartment complex suffered major damage as did several other homes and residences in the area. Six people were injured and treated at a Lawrence hospital.

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

44 minutes of warning. NWS TOP issued a tornado warning for this county at 23:54 UTC, 44 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 00:45 UTC.

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 Storm Prediction Center had this point in a High Risk, with a 0.25 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 20:14 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 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.

The Pleasant Hill radar (KEAX), 85 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 00:36 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.

The live radar over the trackEvery 2003 tornado in KansasEvery tornado in Kansas since 1950Warnings in force in Kansas nowThe forecast where you are

46 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

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.

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.