Tornadoes · United States · Missouri · 2008

EF0 tornado, Woollam, Missouri, January 7, 2008

This EF0 tornado ran 0.3 miles across Gasconade County on January 7, 2008, touching down at 7:50 PM CST and reaching 50 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
January 7, 2008
Touchdown
7:50 PM CST (01:50 UTC)
Lifted
7:51 PM CST (01:51 UTC)
On the ground
1 minutes
Path length
0.3 miles (0.5 km)
Path width
50 yards (46 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Gasconade County
Touchdown point
38.388, -91.636
Lift-off point
38.392, -91.635
Record number
0801071950-01

What the Weather Service recorded

A strong cold front slid across the region...triggering numerous thunderstorms...so of which became severe.

A tornado touched down just west of the intersection of Route A and Route Y, about 5.5 miles south of Mount Sterling, along the west bank of Crider Creek. The tornado moved to the north northeast across the creek, dissipating in a nearby field. Damage only consisted of a several uprooted trees, as well as some snapped trees and tree limbs.

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.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 19:55 UTC and running to 01:54 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
19:55 UTC01:54 UTCTornado WatchLSX
01:54 UTC07:09 UTCTornado WatchLSX
02:35 UTC03:15 UTCTornado WarningLSX
02:52 UTC03:30 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX
03:04 UTC03:45 UTCTornado WarningLSX
03:43 UTC04:10 UTCTornado WarningLSX
04:01 UTC04:45 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX
06:08 UTC07:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX
10:26 UTC11:15 UTCSevere Thunderstorm 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 0.10 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 01:00 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

1.8 hours before the tornado, 252 km from the path. January 8, 2008.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Springfield, MO at 00:00Z on 2008-01-08Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 765 joules per kilogram, CIN -14, lifted condensation level 955 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 2008-01-08The 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 281 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 58 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
765 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-14 J/kg
Surface CAPE
725 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
955 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
58 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
33 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
281 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
338 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.7
Supercell composite
7.2
0-3 km lapse rate
6.6 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Springfield, MO (KSGF), 12:00Z

10.2 hours after it, 252 km from the path. January 8, 2008.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Springfield, MO at 12:00Z on 2008-01-08Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 40 joules per kilogram, CIN -49, lifted condensation level 693 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 2008-01-08The 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 -46 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 68 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
40 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-49 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
693 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
68 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
69 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-46 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-78 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
-0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
4.1 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The St Louis radar (KLSX), 90 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 01:49 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
02:10 UTCHAIL 12 S New BloomfieldCallaway, MO
02:10 UTCHAIL 1New BloomfieldCallaway, MO
02:13 UTCTSTM WND DMG7 E DixonPhelps, MOPOSSIBLE TORNADO... DAMAGED BUILDINGS... DOWNED POWER LINES... AND UPROOTED TREES IN THE VICINITY OF HIGHWAY C AND COUNTY ROAD 8490.
02:15 UTCTORNADO3 Ne JeromePhelps, MOUNCONFIRMED TORNADO.TWO BARNS AND ONE HOME DESTROYED AT COUNTY ROAD 8490 JUST NORTH OF INTERSTATE 44.
02:37 UTCHAIL 0.7510 Nne SteedmanCallaway, MO
03:00 UTCTSTM WND DMGOwensvilleGasconade, MOAT HIGHWAY 28 AND CUBA STREET IN OWENSVILLE...POWER LINES DOWNED AND TRANSFORMER CAUGHT FIRE.
03:42 UTCTORNADO 16 Nne DoolittlePhelps, MOA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STORM SURVEY REVEALED THAT AN EF-1 TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF HIGHWAY A AND HIGHWAY E. THIS TORNADO TRACKED NORTHEAST INTO MARIES COUNTY. THE TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN AT APPROXIM
03:42 UTCTORNADO6 Nne DoolittlePhelps, MOA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STORM SURVEY REVEALED THAT AN EF-1 TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF HIGHWAY A AND HIGHWAY E. THIS TORNADO TRACKED NORTHEAST INTO MARIES COUNTY. THE TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN AT APPROXIM
03:50 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 Ne VichyMaries, MOPOSSIBLE TORNADO...SEVERAL HOMES SEVERELY DAMAGED OR DESTROYED INCLUDING A MOBILE HOME MOVED FROM ITS FOUNDATION AT THE INTERSECTION OF COUNTY ROAD 449 AND COUNTY ROAD 454. OTHER DAMAGE WEST OF VICHY ON HIGHWAY FF AND SO
03:55 UTCTORNADO 1VichyMaries, MO*** 1 INJ *** DAMAGE RATED EF1 REPORTED IN A PATH FROM 8 MILES SOUTHWEST OF VICHY...THROUGH THE AIRPORT AREA...THEN 4 MILES NORTHEAST OF VICHY. ONE MOBILE HOME DESTROYED JUST NORTHEAST OF TOWN WITH ONE INJURY. 3 AIRPLANE
03:55 UTCTORNADOVichyMaries, MO*** 1 INJ *** DAMAGE REPORTED IN A PATH FROM SOUTHWEST OF VICHY...THROUGH THE AIRPORT AREA...THEN NORTHEAST OF VICHY. ONE MOBILE HOME DESTROYED JUST NORTHEAST OF TOWN WITH ONE INJURY. AIRPLANES DAMAGED. 84KT GUST BY THE
04:04 UTCTSTM WND GST 96VichyMaries, MOMEASURED BY THE VICHY ASOS LOCATED AT THE ROLLA/VICHY AIRPORT. ASOS ALSO MEASURED A RAPID CHANGE IN WIND DIRECTION WITH THE GUST... POSSIBLE ROTATION.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2008 tornado in MissouriEvery tornado in Missouri since 1950Warnings in force in Missouri nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of January 7, 2008

33 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
January 72:22 PM CSTEF0St. Clair, MO0.120
January 72:54 PM CSTEF0Benton, MO0.225$20,000
January 73:30 PM CSTEF3Boone, IL13.11005$4.0 million
January 73:55 PM CSTEF0Audrain, MO0.340
January 74:02 PM CSTEF3Walworth, WI10.820015$14 million
January 74:39 PM CSTEF1Kenosha, WI2.575$7.9 million
January 75:06 PM CSTEF2Barry, MO12.4200$500,000
January 75:22 PM CSTEF1Tazewell, IL3.0100$30,000
January 75:50 PM CSTEF0McDonald, MO0.320
January 75:57 PM CSTEF2Greene, MO6.4200$2.0 million
January 76:29 PM CSTEF3Greene, MO50.4300318$19 million
January 77:28 PM CSTEF0Lawrence, MO6.450$75,000
January 77:32 PM CSTEF2Greene, MO6.7300$1.0 million
January 77:42 PM CSTEF2Webster, MO8.6200$1.0 million
January 78:05 PM CSTEF0Benton, AR0.150
January 78:06 PM CSTEF3Pulaski, MO1.84003$1.0 million
January 78:08 PM CSTEF0Adair, OK0.150
January 78:09 PM CSTEF3Phelps, MO4.7400$110,000
January 78:15 PM CSTEF1McDonald, MO7.4100$300,000
January 78:30 PM CSTEF0Pike, MO5.040
January 78:40 PM CSTEF0Pike, IL2.440
January 78:42 PM CSTEF1Webster, MO5.2150$50,000
January 78:50 PM CSTEF0Benton, AR0.150
January 79:00 PM CSTEF2Laclede, MO5.4300$100,000
January 79:12 PM CSTEF0Barry, MO0.120
January 79:36 PM CSTEF1Christian, MO0.41001$200,000
January 79:40 PM CSTEF1Phelps, MO3.8100$5,000
January 79:57 PM CSTEF0Webster, MO10.650$8,000
January 710:28 PM CSTEF0Cherokee, OK1.8500$25,000
January 710:43 PM CSTEF0Maries, MO11.31001$5.0 million
January 711:09 PM CSTEF1Benton, AR2.685
January 711:38 PM CSTEF0Wagoner, OK0.575
January 711:54 PM CSTEF0Wagoner, OK2.7100

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.