Tornadoes · United States · Kansas · 2011

EF0 tornado, Latimer, Kansas, June 19, 2011

This EF0 tornado ran 0.1 miles across Morris County on June 19, 2011, touching down at 8:12 PM CDT and reaching 25 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
June 19, 2011
Touchdown
8:12 PM CDT (01:12 UTC)
Lifted
8:13 PM CDT (01:13 UTC)
On the ground
1 minutes
Path length
0.1 miles (0.2 km)
Path width
25 yards (23 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Morris County
Touchdown point
38.800, -96.900
Lift-off point
38.800, -96.900
Record number
1106191912-01

What the Weather Service recorded

A supercell storm developed during the early evening hours of June 19th across southeast Dickinson, Morris, and Geary Counties. Hail up to the size of baseballs were reported 5 miles east of Woodbine. A brief tornado was also observed 3 miles east of Woodbine. The storm gradually weakened as it moved northeast into Riley County, with mainly quarter size hail in the city of Manhattan.

Storm chasers and trained spotters reported a brief tornado touchdown in an open field. A debris swirl was noted and lasted less than one minute. No damage was done or had been reported.

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

The warnings

15 minutes of warning. NWS TOP issued a tornado warning for this county at 00:57 UTC, 15 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 01:45 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 23:55 UTC and running to 03:55 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
23:55 UTC03:55 UTCTornado WatchTOP
00:40 UTC01:15 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOP
00:57 UTC01:45 UTCTornado WarningTOP
01:42 UTC02:17 UTCTornado WarningTOP
16:00 UTC22:14 UTCWind AdvisoryTOP

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 01:01 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), 00:00Z

1.2 hours before the tornado, 111 km from the path. June 20, 2011.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Topeka, KS at 00:00Z on 2011-06-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 5521 joules per kilogram, CIN -5, lifted condensation level 1172 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°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 2011-06-20The 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 57 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 36 knots.193958Sfc1 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
5521 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-5 J/kg
Surface CAPE
6279 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1172 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
36 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
7 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
57 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
217 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
4.7
Supercell composite
31.5
0-3 km lapse rate
6.2 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Topeka, KS (KTOP), 12:00Z

10.8 hours after it, 111 km from the path. June 20, 2011.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Topeka, KS at 12:00Z on 2011-06-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 1300 joules per kilogram, CIN -726, lifted condensation level 1759 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°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 2011-06-20The 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 473 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 26 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
1300 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-726 J/kg
Surface CAPE
784 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1759 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
26 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
58 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
473 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
559 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
4.3 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Topeka radar (KTWX), 62 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 01:10 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
00:37 UTCHAIL 17 S ChapmanDickinson, KS
00:52 UTCHAIL 1.253 Ne WoodbineDickinson, KS
00:52 UTCHAIL 1.255 Ene WoodbineMorris, KS
00:54 UTCHAIL 2.755 Ene WoodbineMorris, KS
01:01 UTCHAIL 14 W White CityMorris, KS
01:04 UTCFUNNEL CLOUD5 N HeringtonDickinson, KSSPOTTER WAS LOOKING NORTH WHERE THE FUNNEL CLOUD WAS APPROX. 3 MILES EAST OF WOODBINE.
01:12 UTCTORNADO3 E WoodbineMorris, KSBRIEF TORNADO REPORTED BY TRAINED SPOTTER
01:52 UTCHAIL 1.7511 Se Junction CityGeary, KSLASTED 10 MINS.
02:15 UTCHAIL 1E Fort Riley AirfieldGeary, KSON INTERSTATE 70 AT EXIT 303
02:34 UTCHAIL 0.58 S ManhattanGeary, KS
02:53 UTCHAIL 1E ManhattanRiley, KS
02:54 UTCHAIL 1ManhattanRiley, KS
02:56 UTCHAIL 1.754 Nnw ManhattanRiley, KSMOST OF THE HAIL WAS QUARTER-SIZE

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2011 tornado in KansasEvery tornado in Kansas since 1950Warnings in force in Kansas nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of June 19, 2011

13 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 191:57 AM CDTEF0Crawford, MO1.360
June 191:58 AM CDTEF2Crawford, MO2.8803$150,000
June 193:48 AM CDTEF1Perry, IL3.22501$550,000
June 196:31 AM CDTEF0Perry, IN0.265
June 196:39 AM CDTEF2Breckinridge, KY1.060$50,000
June 196:43 AM CDTEF0Breckinridge, KY0.160$5,000
June 193:00 PM CDTEF0Winnebago, IA0.230
June 193:55 PM CDTEF0Dodge, WI0.120
June 195:44 PM MDTEF0Dundy, NE1.550$35,000
June 195:59 PM MDTEF0Sedgwick, CO0.150
June 196:01 PM MDTEF0Dundy, NE1.950
June 198:20 PM CDTEF0Red Willow, NE2.575
June 1910:07 PM CDTEF0Atchison, MO0.540

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.