Tornadoes · United States · Kansas · 2012

EF1 tornado, Burdett Rozel Arpt to Timken, Kansas, April 14, 2012

From Burdett Rozel Arpt to Timken, this EF1 tornado ran 4.7 miles across Pawnee and Rush counties on April 14, 2012, touching down at 3:24 PM CDT and reaching 100 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 mph

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

  2. EF186 to 110 mphthis tornado

    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
EF1
Date
April 14, 2012
Touchdown
3:24 PM CDT (20:24 UTC)
Lifted
3:32 PM CDT (20:32 UTC)
On the ground
8 minutes
Path length
4.7 miles (7.5 km)
Path width
100 yards (91 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Counties
Pawnee and Rush counties
Touchdown point
38.315, -99.411
Lift-off point
38.363, -99.352
Record number
1204141424-01

What the Weather Service recorded

A vigorous upper level system combined with copious moisture and an advancing warm front to produce widespread thunderstorms, some producing tornadoes.

Damage was done to trees and an outbuilding. The tornado moved into Rush county at 3:30 PM CDT.

The tornado moved in from Pawnee county at 3:30 PM CDT and did damage to trees.

This was a brief and small tornado.

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

The forecast that day

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a High Risk, with a 0.45 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 19:43 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.

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 Dodge City, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Apr 14, 1:24 PM CDT, 2 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 14, 1:24 PM CDT, 2 hours before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 14, 1:43 PM CDT, 1 hour 41 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DODGE CITY KS
143 PM CDT SAT APR 14 2012

KSZ030-031-043>046-061>066-074>081-084>090-151200-
TREGO-ELLIS-SCOTT-LANE-NESS-RUSH-HAMILTON-KEARNY-FINNEY-HODGEMAN-
PAWNEE-STAFFORD-STANTON-GRANT-HASKELL-GRAY-FORD-EDWARDS-KIOWA-
PRATT-MORTON-STEVENS-SEWARD-MEADE-CLARK-COMANCHE-BARBER-
143 PM CDT SAT APR 14 2012 /1243 PM MDT SAT APR 14 2012/

...A SIGNIFICANT SEVERE WEATHER OUTBREAK POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND
EARLY EVENING...

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL...SOUTH
CENTRAL...SOUTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL KANSAS.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

A HIGH THREAT OF SEVERE TO TORNADIC THUNDERSTORMS WILL EXIST THIS
AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING IN RESPONSE TO A STRONG AREA OF LOW
PRESSURE PUSHING A DRYLINE ACROSS THE OUTLOOK AREA. THE HIGHEST
THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER WILL EXIST EAST OF A WAKEENEY TO LIBERAL LINE.
STRONG ATMOSPHERIC WIND SHEAR IN COMBINATION WITH A VERY UNSTABLE
AIRMASS WILL ALLOW THESE STORMS TO QUICKLY BECOME SEVERE.

STORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING VERY LARGE HAIL UP TO BASEBALL
SIZE IN DIAMETER ALONG WITH DAMAGING WINDS UP TO 80 MPH. IN
ADDITION...CONDITIONS WILL BE VERY FAVORABLE FOR SEVERAL TORNADIC
STORMS WITH A FEW OF THESE POSSIBLY PRODUCING VERY STRONG
TORNADOES...ESPECIALLY EAST OF HIGHWAY 283. HEAVY RAIN MAY ALSO
PRODUCE SOME AREAS OF FLASH FLOODING THROUGH MID EVENING.

A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF WESTERN AND CENTRAL KANSAS
THROUGH 1 AM CDT TONIGHT. PLEASE SEE THE LATEST WEATHER MESSAGE FOR
ADDITIONAL DETAILS.

A RED FLAG WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR LOCATIONS GENERALLY WEST OF
HIGHWAY 83 OVER WESTERN KANSAS THROUGH 9 PM CDT. PLEASE SEE THE
LATEST FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTERS WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON AND LASTING INTO
EARLY EVENING OVER CENTRAL KANSAS...ESPECIALLY EAST OF A WAKEENEY TO
LIBERAL LINE.

EMERGENCY MANAGERS...LAW ENFORCEMENT AND SPOTTER GROUPS SHOULD
MAKE PREPARATIONS NOW FOR QUICK DEPLOYMENT THIS AFTERNOON.

&&

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT OUR WEBPAGE AT HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/DDC

AWJ

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 14, 2:15 PM CDT, 1 hour 9 minutes before
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Local storm report, Apr 14, 2:51 PM CDT, 33 minutes before
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Local storm report, Apr 14, 3:03 PM CDT, 21 minutes before
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Local storm report, Apr 14, 3:13 PM CDT, 11 minutes before
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Local storm report, Apr 14, 3:14 PM CDT, 10 minutes before
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Local storm report, Apr 14, 3:20 PM CDT, 4 minutes before
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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.

Dodge City, (KDDC), 12:00Z

8.4 hours before the tornado, 78 km from the path. April 14, 2012.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Dodge City, at 12:00Z on 2012-04-14Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 1516 joules per kilogram, CIN -96, lifted condensation level 527 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, Dodge City, at 12:00Z on 2012-04-14The 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 413 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 54 knots.1939587897Sfc1 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
1516 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-96 J/kg
Surface CAPE
461 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
527 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
54 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
33 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
413 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
432 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
11.6
0-3 km lapse rate
5.1 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Dodge City, (KDDC), 00:00Z

3.6 hours after it, 78 km from the path. April 15, 2012.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Dodge City, at 00:00Z on 2012-04-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 2712 joules per kilogram, CIN -59, lifted condensation level 1140 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, Dodge City, at 00:00Z on 2012-04-15The 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 369 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 84 knots.1939587897117Sfc1 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
2712 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-59 J/kg
Surface CAPE
3731 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1140 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
84 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
29 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
369 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
445 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
6.0
Supercell composite
30.6
0-3 km lapse rate
8.0 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Great_bend (GBD), 46 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 Dodge City radar (KDDC), 82 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 20:24 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 2012 tornado in KansasEvery tornado in Kansas since 1950Warnings in force in Kansas nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of April 14, 2012

83 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 1411:38 AM CDTEF1Pawnee, KS4.1100$35,000
April 1412:14 PM CDTEF1Rush, KS17.2200$125,000
April 141:23 PM CDTEF0Russell, KS0.575
April 141:34 PM CDTEF0Russell, KS1.875
April 141:43 PM CDTEF0Russell, KS2.975
April 141:57 PM CDTEF1Ford, KS33.7200
April 142:03 PM CDTEF1Mitchell, KS4.0300$100,000
April 142:10 PM CDTEF0Nuckolls, NE3.140
April 142:24 PM CDTEF1Clark, KS6.3150
April 142:28 PM CDTEF0Monona, IA0.425
April 142:30 PM CDTEF0Thayer, NE0.025
April 142:56 PM CDTEF0Thayer, NE0.360$350,000
April 143:28 PM CDTEF1Edwards, KS9.3100
April 143:49 PM CDTEF0Woodward, OK4.030
April 143:59 PM CDTEF1Woodward, OK0.530
April 143:59 PM CDTEF1Comanche, KS10.9125
April 144:04 PM CDTEF0Rush, KS0.975
April 144:25 PM CDTEF1Stafford, KS9.8150
April 144:26 PM CDTEF0Woodward, OK0.230
April 144:33 PM CDTEF0Woods, OK0.330
April 144:35 PM CDTEF1Stafford, KS14.3150
April 144:44 PM CDTEF0Pratt, KS2.3100
April 144:50 PM CDTEF0Barton, KS0.550
April 144:50 PM CDTEF0Johnson, NE2.8100
April 144:56 PM CDTEF2Johnson, NE5.8440
April 145:02 PM CDTEF0Kingman, KS0.550
April 145:07 PM CDTEF0Johnson, NE3.8100
April 145:08 PM CDTEF0Pratt, KS2.375
April 145:18 PM CDTEF0Lincoln, NE0.120
April 145:18 PM CDTEF0Woodward, OK0.230
April 145:21 PM CDTEF1Otoe, NE2.0200
April 145:24 PM CDTEF0Woodward, OK0.230
April 145:27 PM CDTEF0Lincoln, NE0.010
April 145:28 PM CDTEF0Lincoln, NE0.010
April 145:28 PM CDTEF0Lincoln, NE0.020
April 145:28 PM CDTEF2Fremont, IA12.28804
April 145:32 PM CDTEF0Lincoln, NE0.520
April 145:33 PM CDTEF4Rice, KS50.3400
April 145:47 PM CDTEF0Lincoln, NE0.010
April 146:15 PM CDTEF0Woodward, OK0.230
April 146:16 PM CDTEF0Harlan, NE0.840$75,000
April 146:30 PM CDTEF0Kingman, KS1.350
April 146:36 PM CDTEF0Lincoln, NE15.120
April 146:50 PM CDTEF0Saline, KS0.650
April 146:50 PM CDTEF0Woodward, OK0.120
April 146:51 PM CDTEF0Woodward, OK0.250
April 146:52 PM CDTEF2Adams, IA16.68002$5.0 million
April 146:55 PM CDTEF0Kingman, KS0.250
April 146:55 PM CDTEF1Saline, KS15.8100$10,000
April 147:01 PM CDTEF0Major, OK0.130
April 147:06 PM CDTEF1Woods, OK7.2150
April 147:10 PM CDTEF0Reno, KS0.350
April 147:19 PM CDTEF0Woods, OK1.075
April 147:30 PM CDTEF0Woods, OK9.0400
April 147:31 PM CDTEF0Dickinson, KS3.325
April 147:47 PM CDTEF1Alfalfa, OK10.0400
April 147:54 PM CDTEF1Warren, IA0.875$200,000
April 147:57 PM CDTEF0Alfalfa, OK12.0400
April 148:03 PM CDTEF0McPherson, KS0.6100
April 148:05 PM CDTEF1McPherson, KS7.0250

All 84 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.