Tornadoes · United States · Missouri · 2005

F0 tornado, Kingdom City, Missouri, September 19, 2005

This F0 tornado ran 0.1 miles across Callaway County on September 19, 2005, touching down at 6:36 PM CDT and reaching 50 yards wide. It killed nobody.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F040 to 72 mphthis tornado

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

  2. F173 to 112 mph

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. F2113 to 157 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. F3158 to 206 mph

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. F4207 to 260 mph

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. F5261 to 318 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
F0
Date
September 19, 2005
Touchdown
6:36 PM CDT (23:36 UTC)
Path length
0.1 miles (0.2 km)
Path width
50 yards (46 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Callaway County
Touchdown point
38.950, -92.030
Lift-off point
38.950, -92.030
Record number
613

What the Weather Service recorded

A small tornado formed in a corn field and caused a distinct path of damage for about 0.1 of a mile.

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

The warnings

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down. One was issued for the county at another hour that day.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
23:18 UTC00:30 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX
23:44 UTC02:45 UTCFlash Flood WarningLSX
23:54 UTC00:22 UTCTornado WarningLSX

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 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 20:04 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.

Springfield, MO (KSGF), 12:00Z

11.6 hours before the tornado, 276 km from the path. September 19, 2005.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Springfield, MO at 12:00Z on 2005-09-19Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 771 joules per kilogram, CIN -346, lifted condensation level 1510 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, Springfield, MO at 12:00Z on 2005-09-19The 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 150 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 32 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
771 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-346 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1007 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1510 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
32 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
28 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
150 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
132 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
3.8 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Springfield, MO (KSGF), 00:00Z

0.4 hours after it, 276 km from the path. September 20, 2005.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Springfield, MO at 00:00Z on 2005-09-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 1475 joules per kilogram, CIN -93, lifted condensation level 1775 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, Springfield, MO at 00:00Z on 2005-09-20The 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 167 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 53 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
1475 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-93 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1535 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1775 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
53 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
21 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
167 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
212 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.3
Supercell composite
4.5
0-3 km lapse rate
6.3 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Columbia (COU), 22 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
21:54 UTC8674230° 5 kt1015.9
22:41 UTC84.273.40° 0 kt1014.6TS
22:54 UTC8275140° 3 kt1014.9TS
23:34 UTC71.668340° 24 kt401017.6+TSRA BR
23:41 UTC69.866.2290° 22 kt361020.7+TSRA BR
23:46 UTC69.866.2360° 16 kt301017.6+TSRA BR
23:58 UTC69.866.290° 11 kt221016.6+TSRA BR
00:09 UTC69.866.2120° 9 kt1017.3-TSRA
00:54 UTC696780° 6 kt1014.9-TSRA
01:21 UTC71.669.8280° 13 kt211017.3+TSRA BR
01:27 UTC69.869.8320° 12 kt211016.9+TSRA BR

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

The radar

The St Louis radar (KLSX), 120 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 23:35 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
22:42 UTCHAIL 1.752 Se BoonvilleCooper, MO
22:50 UTCHAIL 0.884 W ColumbiaBoone, MO
22:55 UTCHAIL 1ColumbiaBoone, MO
22:59 UTCHAIL 0.75ColumbiaBoone, MOREPORTED AT UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI HOSPITAL.
23:11 UTCHAIL 1ColumbiaBoone, MO
23:15 UTCTSTM WND DMGColumbiaBoone, MOA FEW LARGE TREES BLOWN DOWN ON BROADWAY NEAR COLUMBIA POLICE DEPARTMENT.
23:20 UTCTSTM WND DMGCaliforniaMoniteau, MOSEVERAL LARGE TREES AND POWER LINES BLOWN DOWN IN TOWN.
23:35 UTCFLASH FLOODColumbiaBoone, MOESTIMATED 2 TO 3 FEET OF WATER IN FLAT BRANCH PARK IN COLUMBIA.
23:35 UTCFLASH FLOODColumbiaBoone, MOMOVING WATER AND WATER COVERING THE INTERSECTION OF HITT STREET AND ROLLINS ROAD.
23:45 UTCTSTM WND DMGFultonCallaway, MOSEVERAL LARGE TREES BLOWN DOWN.
23:45 UTCTSTM WND DMGJefferson CityCole, MOSEVERAL LARGE TREE LIMBS AND TREES WERE BLOWN DOWN AROUND TOWN.
23:50 UTCTSTM WND DMGCaliforniaMoniteau, MOSEVERAL LARGE TREES AND TREE LIMBS WERE BLOWN DOWN.
00:00 UTCTSTM WND DMG4 E FultonCallaway, MOSEVERAL LARGE TREE LIMBS AND TREES WERE BLOWN DOWN.
00:05 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 W ChamoisOsage, MOSEVERAL TREES BLOWN DOWN...SIZE UNKNOWN.
00:05 UTCTSTM WND DMG4 Se ChamoisOsage, MOLARGE TREE BLOWN DOWN ON A FARM.
00:10 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 N PortlandCallaway, MOSEVERAL LARGE TREES AND TREE LIMBS WERE BLOWN DOWN AND WERE BLOCKING HIGHWAY D.
00:10 UTCTSTM WND GST 70GasconadeGasconade, MOESTIMATED WINDS BETWEEN 65 AND 75 MPH.
00:15 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 S New FlorenceMontgomery, MOTREES BLOWN DOWN SOUTH OF TOWN ON HIGHWAY 19.
00:15 UTCTSTM WND DMGMckittrickMontgomery, MOTREES BLOWN DOWN ALONG HIGHWAY 94 EAST AND WEST OF HIGHWAY 19...HIGHWAY 94 INTERSECTION.
00:20 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 W HermannGasconade, MOTREES BLOWN DOWN...BLOCKING HIGHWAY 100 BETWEEN GASCONADE AND HERMANN.
00:20 UTCTSTM WND DMGHermannGasconade, MOSEVERAL LARGE TREE BRANCHES AND TREES BLOWN DOWN IN TOWN...BLOCKING A FEW STREETS.
00:25 UTCTSTM WND GST 60HermannGasconade, MOTREE BRANCHES BLOWN DOWN.
00:52 UTCHAIL 13 Se ColumbiaBoone, MOAT THE INTERSECTION OF HIGHWAY 63 AND ROUTE AC.
01:05 UTCHAIL 0.754 Sw Prairie HomeCooper, MO
01:10 UTCHAIL 12 S Prairie HomeCooper, MO

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2005 tornado in MissouriEvery tornado in Missouri since 1950Warnings in force in Missouri nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of September 19, 2005

1 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
September 195:15 PM CDTF1Adams, IL1.050

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.