Tornadoes · United States · Missouri · 2006

F0 tornado, Everton to Ash Grove, Missouri, May 3, 2006

From Everton to Ash Grove, this F0 tornado ran 8.0 miles across Dade and Greene counties on May 3, 2006, touching down at 7:56 PM CDT and reaching 25 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
May 3, 2006
Touchdown
7:56 PM CDT (00:56 UTC)
Path length
8.0 miles (12.9 km)
Path width
25 yards (23 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Counties
Dade and Greene counties
Touchdown point
37.330, -93.680
Lift-off point
37.230, -93.550
Record number
463

What the Weather Service recorded

A National Weather Service storm survey revealed that a weak tornado produced intermittent tree damage across rural sections of southeast Dade County. The tornado later tracked into western Greene County.

This tornado is a continuation of the Dade County tornado. A National Weather Service storm survey revealed that a weak tornado caused intermittent tree damage across rural sections of western Greene County.

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

The warnings

44 minutes of warning. NWS SGF issued a tornado warning for this county at 00:12 UTC, 44 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 01:15 UTC.

The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 00:48 UTC and running to 02:03 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
18:05 UTC00:48 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WatchSGF
00:12 UTC01:15 UTCTornado WarningSGF
00:48 UTC02:03 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WatchSGF
01:12 UTC07:15 UTCFlash Flood WarningSGF
09:03 UTC20:03 UTCFlash Flood WatchSGF

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. The outlook in force was issued at 20:03 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), 00:00Z

0.9 hours before the tornado, 45 km from the path. May 4, 2006.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Springfield, MO at 00:00Z on 2006-05-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 1050 joules per kilogram, CIN -6, lifted condensation level 1499 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, Springfield, MO at 00:00Z on 2006-05-04The 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 10 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 31 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
1050 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-6 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1671 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1499 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
31 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
5 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
10 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
67 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
0.8
0-3 km lapse rate
7.7 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Springfield, MO (KSGF), 12:00Z

11.1 hours after it, 45 km from the path. May 4, 2006.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Springfield, MO at 12:00Z on 2006-05-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 0 joules per kilogram, CIN -348, lifted condensation level 796 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, Springfield, MO at 12:00Z on 2006-05-04The 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 -12 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 20 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-348 J/kg
Surface CAPE
3 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
796 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
20 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
6 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-12 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
4.5 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Springfield (SGF), 20 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
23:52 UTC78630° 0 kt1012.9
00:52 UTC7364170° 4 kt1012.9VCTS
01:22 UTC62.657.2350° 32 kt381015.6-TSRA
01:27 UTC5957.2360° 21 kt381016.3+TSRA BR
01:35 UTC5957.220° 18 kt281015.9+TSRA BR
01:41 UTC5957.240° 10 kt1015.2TSRA BR
01:45 UTC60.85960° 6 kt1015.6-TSRA BR
01:52 UTC605950° 6 kt1015.9+TSRA BR
02:12 UTC60.85990° 8 kt1015.6VCTS -RA
02:23 UTC60.857.280° 8 kt1015.2
02:52 UTC6058100° 4 kt1015.2

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

The radar

The Springfield radar (KSGF), 20 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 00:56 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
00:33 UTCHAIL 1GreenfieldDade, MODADE COUNTY 911 REPORTED QUARTER HAIL IN TOWN
00:33 UTCHAIL 1WillardGreene, MO
00:47 UTCTSTM WND DMGEvertonDade, MOSEVERAL TREES DOWNED.
00:56 UTCTSTM WND DMGWalnut GroveGreene, MOTIN ROOF ON HOUSE BLOWN OFF
00:56 UTCTORNADO2 Se EvertonDade, MOA NWS STORM SURVEY REVEALED THAT AN F0 TORNADO PRODUCED INTERMITTENT DAMAGE FROM 2 MILES SOUTHEAST OF EVERTON AND TRACKED INTO GREENE COUNTY TO TWO MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF BOIS DARC.
01:05 UTCTSTM WND DMGAsh GroveGreene, MOTREES AND POWER POLES SNAPPED IN ASH GROVE
01:06 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 N Ash GroveGreene, MOSEVERAL TREES DOWN...SOME AS LARGE AS TWO FEET IN DIAMETER.
01:06 UTCDENSE FOG2 N Ash GroveGreene, MOSEVERAL TREES DOWN...SOME AS LARGE AS TWO FEET IN DIAMETER.
01:10 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Nw HalltownLawrence, MOTREES BLOWN DOWN
01:18 UTCHAIL 12 S WillardGreene, MO
01:20 UTCTSTM WND GST 52SpringfieldGreene, MO52 MPH WIND GUST MEASURED AT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FROM RSOIS EQUIPMENT.
01:33 UTCTSTM WND DMGSpringfieldGreene, MOTREES DOWN ON ELM BETWEEN NATIONAL AND GLENSTONE
01:33 UTCTSTM WND GST 01 S SpringfieldGreene, MO62 MPH WIND MEASURED IN SOUTH SPRINGFIELD
01:39 UTCTSTM WND DMG4 N OzarkChristian, MOPOWER TRANSFORMERS FLASHING NEAR THE GREENE CHRISTIAN COUNTY BORDER NEAR THE INTERSECTION HIGHWAYS 65 AND CC.
01:39 UTCFLASH FLOODSpringfieldGreene, MOWATER OVER ROAD AT 2500 BLOCK OF WEST COLLEGE
01:39 UTCTSTM WND GST 645 S NorthviewWebster, MO64 MPH WIND GUST MEASURED BY HAM RADIO OPERATOR BETWEEN NORTHVIEW AND FORDLAND.
01:53 UTCTSTM WND DMGOzarkChristian, MOTREES AND POWERLINES DOWN IN OZARK
02:10 UTCFLASH FLOOD2 E GreenfieldDade, MOLOW WATER CROSSING FLOODED

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2006 tornado in MissouriEvery tornado in Missouri since 1950Warnings in force in Missouri nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of May 3, 2006

4 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 31:57 PM CDTF0Oregon, MO2.020
May 33:53 PM CDTF0Bourbon, KS to MO11.050
May 36:09 PM CDTF0Crawford, KS0.130
May 36:25 PM CDTF0Barton, MO16.050

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.