Tornadoes · United States · Kansas · 2023

EF0 tornado, Stano Station, Kansas, June 23, 2023

This EF0 tornado ran 4.2 miles across Grant County on June 23, 2023, touching down at 9:12 PM CDT and reaching 1 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 23, 2023
Touchdown
9:12 PM CDT (02:12 UTC)
Path length
4.2 miles (6.8 km)
Path width
1 yards (1 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Grant County
Touchdown point
37.620, -101.490
Lift-off point
37.620, -101.490
Record number
2306232012-01

What the Weather Service recorded

Numerous hail and wind reports were observed across far southwestern Kansas. A tornado was also reported.

Public report confirmed tornado north of Big Bow.

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

The warnings

1 minute of warning. NWS DDC issued a tornado warning for this county at 02:11 UTC, 1 minute before the tornado touched down, in force until 02:50 UTC.

The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 20:54 UTC and running to 04:00 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
20:54 UTC04:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WatchDDC
02:11 UTC02:50 UTCTornado WarningDDC
02:51 UTC03:30 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningDDC

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 01:05 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.

Dodge City, (KDDC), 00:00Z

2.2 hours before the tornado, 141 km from the path. June 24, 2023.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Dodge City, at 00:00Z on 2023-06-24Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 2183 joules per kilogram, CIN -132, lifted condensation level 1260 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, Dodge City, at 00:00Z on 2023-06-24The 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 62 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 36 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
2183 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-132 J/kg
Surface CAPE
2461 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1260 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
36 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
16 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
62 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
32 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
-0.0
Supercell composite
-0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
6.6 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Dodge City, (KDDC), 12:00Z

9.8 hours after it, 141 km from the path. June 24, 2023.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Dodge City, at 12:00Z on 2023-06-24Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 457 joules per kilogram, CIN -479, lifted condensation level 1997 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, Dodge City, at 12:00Z on 2023-06-24The 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 253 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 36 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
457 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-479 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1564 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1997 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
36 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
27 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
253 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
262 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
3.7 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Dodge City radar (KDDC), 135 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 02:14 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
01:40 UTCTORNADO7 N Johnson CityStanton, KSThe storm report came via the spotternetwork.
01:40 UTCTORNADO7 N Johnson CityStanton, KSThe storm report came via the spotternetwork.
01:40 UTCTORNADO7 N Johnson CityStanton, KSThe storm report came via the spotternetwork.
02:06 UTCHAIL 2.58 N Big BowStanton, KS
02:06 UTCHAIL 2.58 N Big BowStanton, KS
02:06 UTCHAIL 2.58 N Big BowStanton, KS
02:09 UTCTORNADO5 N Big BowStanton, KSThe storm report came via the spotternetwork.
02:09 UTCTORNADO5 N Big BowStanton, KSThe storm report came via the spotternetwork.
02:09 UTCTORNADO5 N Big BowStanton, KSThe storm report came via the spotternetwork.
02:12 UTCTORNADO6 Ne Big BowGrant, KS
02:12 UTCTORNADO6 Ne Big BowGrant, KS
02:12 UTCTORNADO6 Ne Big BowGrant, KS
02:15 UTCTORNADO2 N Big BowStanton, KSPublic report confirmed a tornado north of Big Bow.
02:15 UTCTORNADO2 N Big BowStanton, KSPublic report confirmed a tornado north of Big Bow.
02:15 UTCTORNADO2 N Big BowStanton, KSPublic report confirmed a tornado north of Big Bow.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2023 tornado in KansasEvery tornado in Kansas since 1950Warnings in force in Kansas nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of June 23, 2023

23 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 2312:30 PM MDTEF0Caribou, ID0.210
June 231:35 PM MDTUnratedSweetwater, WY0.130
June 232:15 PM MDTEF1Natrona, WY10.8100$100,000
June 232:37 PM MDTUnratedNatrona, WY0.750
June 234:33 PM MDTUnratedConverse, WY0.350
June 235:11 PM MDTUnratedPlatte, WY0.050
June 235:29 PM MDTUnratedGoshen, WY3.050
June 235:40 PM MDTEF3Prowers, CO13.1320
June 235:49 PM MDTEF2Campbell, WY3.88008
June 236:03 PM MDTUnratedGoshen, WY0.550
June 236:21 PM MDTEF2Goshen, WY4.78001$100,000
June 236:33 PM MDTEF1Baca, CO8.4100
June 236:44 PM MDTEF1Goshen, WY3.920
June 236:45 PM MDTEF0Weston, WY6.0200
June 237:04 PM MDTUnratedScotts Bluff, NE3.550
June 237:22 PM MDTUnratedScotts Bluff, NE3.250
June 237:38 PM MDTEF2Scotts Bluff, NE2.5700$135,000
June 238:40 PM CDTEF0Stanton, KS0.01
June 237:44 PM MDTEF1Scotts Bluff, NE1.250
June 237:50 PM MDTUnratedScotts Bluff, NE0.550
June 238:05 PM MDTUnratedScotts Bluff, NE0.550
June 239:09 PM CDTEF0Stanton, KS0.01
June 239:51 PM MDTUnratedMorrill, NE0.550

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.