EF0 tornado, Mayetta, Kansas, July 4, 2010

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.

Rating

EF0

Date

July 4, 2010

Touchdown

4:46 PM CDT (21:46 UTC)

Lifted

4:48 PM CDT (21:48 UTC)

On the ground

2 minutes

Path length

2.1 miles (3.3 km)

Path width

75 yards (69 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Property damage

$25,000

County

Jackson County

Touchdown point

39.287, -95.740

Lift-off point

39.306, -95.711

Record number

1007041546-01

A tropical airmass associated with the remnants of Tropical Storm Alex moved into the central plains during the Fourth of July weekend. A strong upper level low pressure system allowed numerous storms to form across the area. As a result several areas reported heavy rain and flooding. Two tornadoes were reported during the afternoon of the 4th. The first tornado formed near Mayetta, and crossed US 75 overturning a vehicle and travel trailer. It also hit a house near Mayetta causing some minor structural damage. A second tornado formed briefly in southern Shawnee county, but caused no damage and dissipated within seconds of forming.

A National Weather Service damage assessment team has confirmed damage south of Mayetta, Kansas on July 4th was caused by an EF-0 tornado.||The tornado formed 3 miles south of Mayetta, Kansas at 4:46 PM CDT. This initial formation was approximately 1 mile west of the intersection of U.S. Highway 75 and 134 Road where a house sustained minor damage. As the tornado crossed Highway 75 a camper was rolled in the northbound lane of U.S. 75.||The tornado continued on to where it impacted a farmstead 1/4 mile east of U.S. 75 and 142 Road. At this location, there were 6 to 8 inch tree branches down along with several trees. Shingle damage was also noted to the home and a camper was tipped over. Another farmstead was struck just to the east. Metal roofing and a metal barn were destroyed along with significant tree damage. The resident reported hearing the tornado and seeing debris blowing around as it hit.||The tornado then crossed 142 Road and dissipated in an alfalfa field where a decent debris field was deposited when the tornado weakened. The tornado ended at 4:48 PM CDT.

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

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 Storm Prediction Center had this point in a General Thunderstorms Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 19:37 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.

Topeka (Top) (TOP), 27 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

The Topeka radar (KTWX), 55 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 21:45 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.

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

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

The live radar over the trackEvery 2010 tornado in KansasEvery tornado in Kansas since 1950Warnings in force in Kansas nowThe forecast where you are

7 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.