Tornadoes · United States · Kansas · 2005

F0 tornado, Burdick to Delavan, Kansas, November 27, 2005

From Burdick to Delavan, this F0 tornado ran 6.0 miles across Morris County on November 27, 2005, touching down at 2:32 PM CST and reaching 100 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.

  1. F040 to 72 mphthis tornado

    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 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. 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.

The record

Rating
F0
Date
November 27, 2005
Touchdown
2:32 PM CST (20:32 UTC)
Path length
6.0 miles (9.7 km)
Path width
100 yards (91 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Morris County
Touchdown point
38.580, -96.670
Lift-off point
38.650, -96.700
Record number
1244

What the Weather Service recorded

The tornado touched down 1 mile SW of Burdick and travelled north for 3 miles and dissipated 2 miles NW of Burdick while causing no damage. It was rated F0. The parent thunderstorm was a mini-supercell.

This tornado touched down 1 mile southwest of Delavan and moved north for 15 miles before exiting into Geary county 3 miles west of Skiddy. It produced primarily F0 damage along its path, however, F1 damage occurred on several farmsteads across northwest parts of the county, where several outbuildings were damaged or destroyed. Roofing material from one building was stuck in a fence a mile away to the north. The tornado remained on the ground across the border into southwest Geary county for 5 more miles, making the total path length 20 miles. The parent thunderstorm was a mini-supercell.

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

The warnings

11 minutes of warning. NWS TOP issued a tornado warning for this county at 20:21 UTC, 11 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 21:00 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 18:39 UTC and running to 23:17 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
18:39 UTC23:17 UTCTornado WatchTOP
20:21 UTC21:00 UTCTornado WarningTOP
21:01 UTC21:15 UTCTornado WarningTOP

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 19:59 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.

Topeka, KS (KTOP), 12:00Z

8.5 hours before the tornado, 100 km from the path. November 27, 2005.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Topeka, KS at 12:00Z on 2005-11-27Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 1 joules per kilogram, CIN -282, lifted condensation level 666 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, Topeka, KS at 12:00Z on 2005-11-27The 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 161 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 42 knots.19395878Sfc1 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
1 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-282 J/kg
Surface CAPE
6 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
666 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
42 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
23 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
161 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
157 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
5.7 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Topeka, KS (KTOP), 00:00Z

3.5 hours after it, 100 km from the path. November 28, 2005.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Topeka, KS at 00:00Z on 2005-11-28Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 0 joules per kilogram, CIN -55998, lifted condensation level 1512 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Topeka, KS at 00:00Z on 2005-11-28The 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 -122 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 54 knots.19395878Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-55998 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1512 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
54 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-122 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-116 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
6.0 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Topeka radar (KTWX), 58 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 20:32 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
19:28 UTCHAIL 1N PeabodyMarion, KS
19:30 UTCHAIL 1HopeDickinson, KS
19:48 UTCTORNADO4 Sw LincolnvilleMarion, KSTORNADO REPORTED ON THE GROUND.
19:51 UTCTORNADOE MarionMarion, KSTORNADO REPORTED ON THE GROUND EAST OF MARION. NO DAMAGE HAS BEEN REPORTED.
20:02 UTCTORNADO2 Ne LincolnvilleMarion, KSBRIEF TORNADO TOUCHDOWN. NO DAMAGE REPORTED
20:15 UTCTORNADO5 W WilseyMorris, KSFIRE DEPARTMENT SPOTTERS REPORTED A TORNADO ON OR NEAR THE GROUND 1 MILE EAST OF HERINGTON NEAR HIGHWAY 77 IN MORRIS COUNTY.
20:15 UTCTORNADO5 W WilseyMorris, KSTORNADO REPORTED TOUCHING DOWN OR NEAR TOUCH DOWN NEAR DELAVAN.
20:15 UTCTORNADO5 W WilseyMorris, KSTORNADO REPORTED TOUCHING DOWN OR NEAR TOUCH DOWN NEAR DELAVAN.
20:22 UTCTORNADO5 S LatimerMorris, KSSPOTTER REPORTED TORNADO...FOLLOWED TORNADO UNTIL IT LITED NEAR -U- AVE. STORM HAS BEEN DROPPING SEVERAL FUNNELS AS REPORTED BY COUNTY SHERIFF.
20:32 UTCTORNADO8 S ChapmanDickinson, KSTORNADO REPORTED 8 MILES SOUTH OF CHAPMAN...NO DAMAGE OR INJURIES REPORTED AT THIS TIME.
20:34 UTCTSTM WND GST 70EmporiaLyon, KS
20:43 UTCFUNNEL CLOUD7 S Junction CityGeary, KSREPORTED 7-8 MILES SOUTH OF I-70 BY RILEY COUNTY SPOTTERS.
20:43 UTCTORNADO2 Nnw WilseyMorris, KSTORNADO PASSED OVER SPOTTERS HOUSE WITH DEBRIS NEAR WILSEY.
20:43 UTCTORNADO4 Ssw Junction CityGeary, KSSEVERAL TORNADOES REPORTED IN SOUTHWESTERN GEARY COUNTY. SHERIFF DEPUTIES ARE CURRENTLY BLOCKING TRAFFIC NEAR THE I-70 TO I-77 SOUTH INTERCHANGE...AND A COUPLE OF MILES SOUTH ALONG I-77. OFFICER IS FOLLOWING TORNADO NEAR
21:27 UTCTORNADO2 E Junction CityGeary, KSCONFIRMED TORNADO...DAMAGE REPORTED WITH A BARN DESTROYED.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2005 tornado in KansasEvery tornado in Kansas since 1950Warnings in force in Kansas nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of November 27, 2005

64 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
November 271:48 PM CSTF0Marion, KS0.150
November 271:48 PM CSTF0Marion, KS13.050
November 271:50 PM CSTF0Marion, KS2.050$1,000
November 272:04 PM CSTF0Marion, KS0.150
November 272:05 PM CSTF0Morris, KS0.3100
November 272:12 PM CSTF1Morris, KS20.0400$250,000
November 272:32 PM CSTF0Dickinson, KS1.5100
November 272:35 PM CSTF0Lyon, KS1.0100$20,000
November 272:48 PM CSTF0Montgomery, KS0.150
November 272:58 PM CSTF0Morris, KS0.3100
November 273:09 PM CSTF1Geary, KS2.0300$900,000
November 273:15 PM CSTF0Geary, KS0.3100
November 273:21 PM CSTF0Geary, KS2.0150$40,000
November 273:28 PM CSTF0Riley, KS0.3100
November 273:32 PM CSTF0Riley, KS0.3100$10,000
November 273:40 PM CSTF1Yell, AR4.550
November 273:49 PM CSTF0Riley, KS0.3100
November 273:57 PM CSTF0Yell, AR2.740
November 274:06 PM CSTF1Neosho, KS6.080$120,000
November 274:22 PM CSTF0Allen, KS0.250
November 274:25 PM CSTF1Pike, AR13.8401
November 274:42 PM CSTF1Montgomery, AR3.240
November 274:49 PM CSTF1Montgomery, AR4.540
November 274:56 PM CSTF1Garland, AR3.540
November 275:10 PM CSTF1Garland, AR1.250
November 275:19 PM CSTF0Jasper, MO0.075
November 275:20 PM CSTF2Hot Spring, AR4.2100
November 275:23 PM CSTF1Van Buren, AR2.850
November 275:26 PM CSTF2Garland, AR13.81001
November 275:27 PM CSTF1Searcy, AR2.750
November 275:30 PM CSTF1Garland, AR2.1100
November 275:32 PM CSTF1Saline, AR6.1100
November 275:37 PM CSTF2Conway, AR3.9250
November 275:41 PM CSTF3Perry, AR19.0800$4.0 million
November 275:42 PM CSTF2Pope, AR2.3250
November 275:44 PM CSTF1Clay, MO11.075$1.2 million
November 275:45 PM CSTF2Conway, AR11.8250
November 275:59 PM CSTF1Ray, MO2.075$30,000
November 276:00 PM CSTF3Conway, AR2.0150
November 276:09 PM CSTF3Conway, AR15.070018
November 276:15 PM CSTF1Baxter, AR3.7100
November 276:25 PM CSTF1Perry, AR0.825
November 276:26 PM CSTF1Pulaski, AR2.225
November 276:27 PM CSTF2Conway, AR6.1600
November 276:34 PM CSTF2Faulkner, AR2.6400
November 276:37 PM CSTF2Van Buren, AR13.1400
November 276:40 PM CSTF1Fulton, AR1.350
November 276:42 PM CSTF1Ozark, MO1.0100
November 276:46 PM CSTF1Howell, MO3.01002$70,000
November 276:55 PM CSTF1Van Buren, AR3.750
November 276:56 PM CSTF1Howell, MO5.01002$70,000
November 276:59 PM CSTF1Faulkner, AR7.775
November 277:02 PM CSTF1Cleburne, AR2.750
November 277:11 PM CSTF0Faulkner, AR4.040
November 277:19 PM CSTF2Van Buren, AR0.8100
November 277:20 PM CSTF2Cleburne, AR9.21001
November 277:47 PM CSTF0Cleburne, AR1.225
November 277:55 PM CSTF1Izard, AR5.8150
November 278:01 PM CSTF1Sharp, AR0.4100
November 278:02 PM CSTF1Fulton, AR5.8100

All 65 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.