Tornadoes · United States · Kansas · 2007

EF0 tornado, Maple Hill, Kansas, May 1, 2007

This EF0 tornado ran 0.1 miles across Wabaunsee County on May 1, 2007, touching down at 3:07 PM CDT and reaching 50 yards wide. It killed nobody.

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 mphthis tornado

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

  2. EF186 to 110 mph

    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
EF0
Date
May 1, 2007
Touchdown
3:07 PM CDT (20:07 UTC)
Path length
0.1 miles (0.2 km)
Path width
50 yards (46 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Wabaunsee County
Touchdown point
39.080, -96.030
Lift-off point
39.080, -96.030
Record number
0705011407-01

What the Weather Service recorded

Heavy rain during the morning brought some flash flooding to parts of Pottawatomie county. Rock Creek in Louisville spilled out of its banks bringing some lowland flooding. Lowland and small stream flooding occurred over other parts of the county with a few rainfall amounts over 6 inches. By afternoon, several brief tornadoes and numerous funnel clouds were reported in a few other counties as unstable air gave rise to thunderstorms. The thunderstorms also gave locally heavy rain and some flash flooding as well.

Brief touchdown from a mini-supercell.

Brief touchdown from a mini-supercell.

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

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 Topeka, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at May 1, 3:45 AM CDT, 11 hours 22 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 1, 3:45 AM CDT, 11 hours 22 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
345 AM CDT TUE MAY 1 2007

.DISCUSSION...

AN MCV CIRCULATION HAS MIGRATED INTO THE CWA AND WAS NEAR KMHK THIS
MORNING WITH PRECIPITATION EXPANDING ALONG I-70 WEST THROUGH SALINA.
THIS WILL LIKELY LAST THROUGH THE MORNING AND HAVE INCREASED POPS
ACROSS PARTS OF NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST KANSAS. FRONTAL BOUNDARY
FROM NORTHEAST NEBRASKA INTO NORTHEAST COLORADO WITH LITTLE IN THE
WAY OF PRECIPITATION ASSOCIATED WITH IT. UPPER LOW WAS SPINNING OVER
THE TEXAS PANHANDLE MOVING SLOWLY EASTWARD WITH TIME.

PRECIPITATION FORECAST FOR TODAY IS A LITTLE TRICKY WITH RESPECT TO
THE LOCATION OF HEAVY RAINFALL. UPPER LOW WILL MOVE INTO CENTRAL
OKLAHOMA BY 00Z WEDNESDAY WITH DEFORMATION ZONE ACROSS SOUTHEAST AND
EAST CENTRAL KANSAS. PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES OF 1 INCH TO AS HIGH
AS 1.50 INCHES ACROSS SOUTHEAST KANSAS ARE FORECAST TODAY. A BAND OF
HIGH THETA E WILL ARC FROM NORTHWEST ARKANSAS NORTHWEST INTO CENTRAL
KANSAS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. CONVECTION THAT DEVELOPS ON THE
NORTH AND EAST SIDE OF THE CIRCULATION WILL BE SLOW MOVING AND
LIKELY TO HAVE SOME ISOLATED AREAS OF LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN.

TONIGHT AREA OF PRECIPITATION WILL SHIFT SOUTHEAST AND BE MAINLY
ACROSS EAST CENTRAL KANSAS AND SOUTH IN AREA OF 700 MB FRONTOGENESIS
THIS EVENING THEN AS THE UPPER SYSTEM MOVES EAST OVERNIGHT FOCUS
WILL BE MORE OVER MISSOURI AFTER 06Z.

UPPER LOW REMAINS OVER SOUTHEAST KANSAS ON WEDNESDAY WITH FRONT
SOUTH IN OKLAHOMA. EXPECT TO SEE CONVECTION AROUND THE CIRCULATION
WEDNESDAY ACROSS EAST CENTRAL KANSAS.

TROUGH OFF THE WEST COAST THIS MORNING MOVES INTO THE PLAINS
WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY AS CURRENT LOW FILLS OVER EASTERN
KANSAS OR WESTERN MISSOURI. WILL SEE MORE SCATTERED CONVECTION
ACROSS THE CWA ON THURSDAY AS THIS TROUGH MOVES THROUGH WITH BEST
CHANCES ACROSS THE EASTERN CWA IN DEEPER MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY.

POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR UP TO TWO INCHES OF RAINFALL THROUGH THE EVENT
ACROSS EAST CENTRAL KANSAS. PRECIPITATION WILL BE SPREAD OUT OVER
THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS BUT THE SLOW MOVING STORMS COULD LEAD TO
RISES ON AREA STREAMS AND FLOODING OF LOW LYING AREAS.

TEMPERATURES NEXT FEW DAYS WILL BE TRICKY WITH CLOUD COVER AND
PRECIPITATION AND HAVE ADJUSTED THEM DOWN.

MADE LITTLE CHANGE TO THE WEEKEND AS UPPER LOW STAYS OUT WEST AND
SHOULD KEEP PRECIPITATION MAINLY ACROSS THE WESTERN HIGH PLAINS. BUT
DID REMOVE POPS FOR SATURDAY AND LATER SHIFT MAY NEED TO CONSIDER
REMOVING POPS FOR SATURDAY NIGHT AND EVEN SUNDAY AS 00Z ECMWF KEEPS
UPPER SYSTEM OUT WEST THROUGH SUNDAY.

&&

.TOP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE.

&&
Hazardous weather outlook, May 1, 5:14 AM CDT, 9 hours 53 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
514 AM CDT TUE MAY 1 2007

KSZ008>012-020>024-026-034>040-054>056-058-059-021015-
REPUBLIC-WASHINGTON-MARSHALL-NEMAHA-BROWN-CLOUD-CLAY-RILEY-
POTTAWATOMIE-JACKSON-JEFFERSON-OTTAWA-DICKINSON-GEARY-MORRIS-
WABAUNSEE-SHAWNEE-DOUGLAS-LYON-OSAGE-FRANKLIN-COFFEY-ANDERSON-
514 AM CDT TUE MAY 1 2007

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EAST CENTRAL...NORTH
CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST KANSAS.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE LIKELY ALONG AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 70
TODAY AND TONIGHT. SOME OF THE STORMS MAY PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY
RAINFALL. THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS NORTH OF INTERSTATE
70 THROUGH TONIGHT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

A SLOW MOVING WEATHER SYSTEM WILL CONTINUE TO BRING CHANCES OF
THUNDERSTORMS TO THE AREA THROUGH FRIDAY. SOME OF THE STORMS MAY
PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL MAINLY SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 70
THROUGH THURSDAY. RUNOFF FROM THE THUNDERSTORMS MAY PRODUCE
PONDING OF WATER IN LOW LYING AREAS AND SIGNIFICANT WITHIN BANK
RISES IN STREAMS AND CREEKS.

THUNDERSTORMS WILL AGAIN BE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE AREA SUNDAY NIGHT
AND MONDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT RAINFALL AMOUNTS OVER ONE INCH
TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TOPEKA.

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 1, 10:39 AM CDT, 4 hours 28 minutes before
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Local storm report, May 1, 10:57 AM CDT, 4 hours 10 minutes before
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Local storm report, May 1, 11:03 AM CDT, 4 hours 4 minutes before
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Local storm report, May 1, 1:37 PM CDT, 1 hour 30 minutes before
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Local storm report, May 1, 2:04 PM CDT, 1 hour 3 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
204 PM CDT TUE MAY 01 2007

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0150 PM     TORNADO          1 N ALMA                39.03N 96.29W
05/01/2007                   WABAUNSEE          KS   FIRE DEPT/RESCUE

            TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN 2 MILES SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 70 NEAR
            ALMA.

&&

BYRNE
Special weather statement, May 1, 2:14 PM CDT, 53 minutes before
SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
214 PM CDT TUE MAY 1 2007

KSZ024-026-039-012000-
JACKSON-JEFFERSON-SHAWNEE-
214 PM CDT TUE MAY 1 2007

THROUGH 300 PM CDT...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP
AND MOVE WEST AT 20 MPH ACROSS PORTIONS OF NORTHERN JEFFERSON...
NORTHERN SHAWNEE AND SOUTHEAST JACKSON COUNTIES. NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THESE STORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF
PRODUCING PEA SIZE HAIL. FUNNEL CLOUDS MAY ALSO DEVELOP WITH THESE
STORMS. SOME COMMUNITIES THAT COULD BE AFFECTED INCLUDE VALLEY
FALLS...OZAWKIE...MERIDEN...HOYT AND SILVER LAKE.

STAY ALERT TO THE WEATHER IN CASE A WARNING IS ISSUED.

STARK

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

8.1 hours before the tornado, 35 km from the path. May 1, 2007.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Topeka, KS at 12:00Z on 2007-05-01Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 36 joules per kilogram, CIN -148, lifted condensation level 1175 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 2007-05-01The 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 8 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 19 knots.1939Sfc1 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
36 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-148 J/kg
Surface CAPE
11 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1175 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
19 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
13 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
8 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
21 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
5.2 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Topeka (Foe) (FOE), 35 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 Topeka radar (KTWX), 20 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 20:05 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 2007 tornado in KansasEvery tornado in Kansas since 1950Warnings in force in Kansas nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of May 1, 2007

9 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 11:50 PM CDTEF0Wabaunsee, KS0.150
May 12:20 PM CDTEF0Meade, KS0.230
May 13:50 PM EDTEF0Wood, OH0.330
May 13:05 PM CDTEF0McCulloch, TX3.330
May 13:17 PM CDTEF0Wabaunsee, KS0.150
May 13:35 PM CDTEF0McCulloch, TX1.830
May 16:05 PM EDTEF1Crawford, PA2.030$500,000
May 16:15 PM EDTEF0Mercer, PA4.0100$20,000
May 17:40 PM CDTEF0Gillespie, TX0.220

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.