Tornadoes · United States · Missouri · 2008
EF0 tornado, Tigris to Goodville, Missouri, January 8, 2008
From Tigris to Goodville, this EF0 tornado ran 9.7 miles across Douglas County on January 8, 2008, touching down at 3:17 AM CST and reaching 50 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $75,000 of property damage.
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.
EF065 to 85 mphthis tornado
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
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.
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.
EF4166 to 200 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
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.
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 8, 2008
- Touchdown
- 3:17 AM CST (09:17 UTC)
- Lifted
- 3:26 AM CST (09:26 UTC)
- On the ground
- 9 minutes
- Path length
- 9.7 miles (15.5 km)
- Path width
- 50 yards (46 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $75,000
- County
- Douglas County
- Touchdown point
- 36.980, -92.814
- Lift-off point
- 37.019, -92.646
- Record number
- 0801080317-01
What the Weather Service recorded
An unusual mid winter tornado outbreak occurred over southwest and central Missouri. 31 tornadoes struck the region within a 15 hour time frame on 7 January into early morning 8 January. Two tornadoes intensified to EF-3 status while five tornadoes caused EF-2 damage. All other tornadoes during this outbreak were surveyed and given EF-0 and EF-1 status. Multiple training supercells spawned most of these tornadoes that occurred along the Interstate 44 corridor. Toward the end of this episode, a broken squall line spawned numerous EF-0 and EF-1 tornadoes across the southern Missouri Ozarks.
A National Weather Service storm survey revealed that an EF-0 tornado tracked across rural areas of northwest Douglas County. Several barns and outbuildings were either damaged or destroyed with numerous trees snapped or uprooted.
A National Weather Service storm survey revealed that an EF-1 tornado impacted rural areas of northeast Douglas County. This tornado caused significant tree damage and moved a mobile home from its foundation.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The warnings
6 minutes of warning. NWS SGF issued a tornado warning for this county at 09:11 UTC, 6 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 10:15 UTC.
The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 01:49 UTC and running to 11:00 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01:49 UTC | 11:00 UTC | Tornado Watch | SGF |
| 07:20 UTC | 08:30 UTC | Tornado Warning | SGF |
| 09:11 UTC | 10:15 UTC | Tornado Warning | SGF |
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 General Thunderstorms Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 05:58 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
9.3 hours before the tornado, 96 km from the path. January 8, 2008.
- 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
Springfield, MO (KSGF), 12:00Z
2.7 hours after it, 96 km from the path. January 8, 2008.
- 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
The surface observations
Springfield (SGF), 64 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 07:23 UTC | 53.6 | 53.6 | 160° 5 kt | 1005.8 | VCTS -RA | |
| 07:40 UTC | 53.6 | 51.8 | 140° 9 kt | 1005.1 | -TSRA BR | |
| 07:47 UTC | 53.6 | 51.8 | 150° 9 kt | 1005.4 | -TSRA BR | |
| 07:52 UTC | 54 | 52 | 140° 6 kt | 1005.1 | -TSRA BR | |
| 07:59 UTC | 53.6 | 51.8 | 140° 10 kt | 1005.4 | -TSRA | |
| 08:18 UTC | 53.6 | 51.8 | 190° 6 kt | 1006.1 | +TSRA BR | |
| 08:25 UTC | 57.2 | 53.6 | 190° 22 kt | 28 | 1004.4 | +TSRA BR |
| 08:31 UTC | 57.2 | 53.6 | 200° 18 kt | 31 | 1004.4 | TSRA BR |
| 08:35 UTC | 55.4 | 53.6 | 180° 12 kt | 31 | 1004.4 | +TSRA BR |
| 08:48 UTC | 57.2 | 53.6 | 260° 39 kt | 47 | 1007.1 | -TSRA BR |
| 08:50 UTC | 55.4 | 51.8 | 280° 42 kt | 57 | 1007.5 | +TSRA BR |
| 08:52 UTC | 54 | 51 | 280° 32 kt | 57 | 1007.8 | +TSRA BR |
| 08:58 UTC | 51.8 | 48.2 | 290° 24 kt | 57 | 1008.5 | TSRA BR |
| 09:02 UTC | 51.8 | 46.4 | 300° 23 kt | 43 | 1008.5 | -TSRA BR |
| 09:27 UTC | 48.2 | 44.6 | 310° 17 kt | 27 | 1009.8 | -RA |
| 09:52 UTC | 49 | 46 | 320° 16 kt | 20 | 1009.1 | -RA |
| 10:52 UTC | 50 | 47 | 110° 4 kt | 1006.8 | -RA |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Springfield radar (KSGF), 65 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 09:15 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) | Report | Where | County | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 07:10 UTC | FLASH FLOOD | Springfield | Greene, MO | FIELD FLOODED AT 1100 SOUTH SCENIC. WATER OVER ROAD AT SCENIC AND WHITESIDE STREET. |
| 07:27 UTC | HAIL 1.75 | Dogwood | Douglas, MO | |
| 07:29 UTC | HAIL 0.75 | 7 Nnw Hartville | Wright, MO | |
| 07:55 UTC | FLASH FLOOD | 4 Sw Springfield | Greene, MO | WEST BOUNT LANE OF HIGHWAY 60 SOUTHWEST OF TOWN WATER COVERED. |
| 07:57 UTC | FUNNEL CLOUD | 1 N Mountain Grove | Wright, MO | WALL CLOUD SPOTTED ON THE NORTH SIDE OF MOUNTAIN GROVE. |
| 08:40 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 S Battlefield | Greene, MO | POWER LINES DOWN OVER BLUE SPRINGS ROAD. |
| 08:41 UTC | FUNNEL CLOUD | 2 Sw Springfield | Greene, MO | PERSISTENT LOW ROTATING CLOUD JUST NORTHEAST OF GOLDEN AND REPUBLIC ROAD IN SOUTHWEST SPRINGFIELD. |
| 08:41 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 E Springfield | Greene, MO | HARRY COOPER SUPPLY LOST A PORTION OF ITS STORAGE BUILDING. |
| 08:46 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 S Battlefield | Christian, MO | LARGE TREE DOWN ON A HOUSE AND OUTBUILDING BLOWN OVER ON NORTH OLD MILL ROAD SOUTH OF BATTLEFIELD. |
| 08:50 UTC | TSTM WND GST 66 | 4 Nw Springfield | Greene, MO | ASOS OFFICIAL MEASUREMENT OF 66 MPH. |
| 08:50 UTC | TORNADO 1 | 2 Sw Highlandvi | Christian, MO | THIS TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN 1.5 MILES SOUTHWEST OF HIGHLANDVILLE AND MOVED TO THE EAST NORTHEAST THROUGH THE TOWN OF HIGHLANDVILLE...LIFTING 4 MILES EAST NORTHEAST OF THE CITY. THIS TORNADO DAMAGED OR DESTROYED NUMEROUS OU |
| 08:50 UTC | TORNADO | 1 W Springfield | Greene, MO | SPOTTER REPORTED TORNADO ON GROUND AT KANSAS EXPRESSWAY AND BENNET. |
| 08:53 UTC | TSTM WND GST 80 | Nixa | Christian, MO | |
| 08:54 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Springfield | Greene, MO | BUILDING COLLAPSED AT SHERMAN AND CHESTNUT EXPRESSWAY IN SPRINGFIELD. |
| 08:54 UTC | FLASH FLOOD | 4 Nnw Diggins | Webster, MO | WATER OVER THE INTERSECTION OF HIGHWAYS A AND FF...SEVERAL LOCATIONS ON HIGHWAY 60 BETWEEN ROGERSVILLE AND DIGGINS. |
| 08:54 UTC | FLASH FLOOD | Hartville | Wright, MO | WATER COVERING THE INTERSECTION OF HIGHWAYS 5 AND 38 IN TOWN. |
| 08:54 UTC | TSTM WND GST 80 | Springfield | Greene, MO | 80 MPH WIND GUST AT NATIONAL AND ST. LOUIS IN SPRINGFIELD. |
| 08:54 UTC | TSTM WND GST 100 | 2 Sw Springfield | Greene, MO | 100 MPH WINDS JUST SOUTHWEST OF REPUBLIC AND GOLDEN. |
| 08:54 UTC | TORNADO 1 | Springfield | Greene, MO | A NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STORM SURVEY INDICATED THAT THE STORM THAT MOVED OVER DOWNTOWN SPRINGFIELD PRODUCE AN EF1 TORNADO. THE TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF SHERMAN RD AND CHESTNUT EXPRESSWAY COLLAPSIN |
| 08:55 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 4 Nne Nixa | Greene, MO | NUMEROUS TREES DOWNED ALONG FARM ROAD 163 AND FARM ROAD 192 IN SOUTHERN GREENE COUNTY. |
| 08:55 UTC | TSTM WND GST 60 | Spokane | Christian, MO | SHINGLES BLOWN OFF ROOF |
| 08:58 UTC | FUNNEL CLOUD | 2 E Springfield | Greene, MO | FUNNEL CLOUD AT HIGHWAY 65 AND 30. |
| 09:00 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 E Springfield | Greene, MO | BUILDINGS DAMAGED AND POWER OUT AT GLENSTONE AND CHESTNUT. |
| 09:00 UTC | TSTM WND GST 60 | Springfield | Greene, MO | AT REPUBLIC ROAD AND GOLDEN...DEBRIS IS FALLING FROM ANOTHER LOCATION. |
| 09:00 UTC | TORNADO | 3 E Rogersville | Webster, MO | WEBSTER COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGER SUGGESTS THAT AN EF-0 TORNADO TRACKED FROM 3 MILES EAST OF ROGERSVILLE TO 1 MILE NORTHEAST OF DIGGINS. DAMAGE TO STRUCTURES AND TREES WERE OBSERVED. THE TORNADO WIDTH WAS APPROXIMATELY 10 |
| 09:05 UTC | TORNADO | 1 S Branson | Taney, MO | NWS STORM SURVEY FOUND AN EF-0 TORNADO TOUCH DOWN IN THOUSAND HILLS RESORT. THREE CONDOMINIUMS WERE DAMAGED. THE ROOF OF ONE CONDOMINIUM BALCONY WAS RIPPED OFF AND THROWN 75 YARDS INTO THE SIDE OF A FOURTH CONDO. PATH WA |
| 09:06 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Hollister | Taney, MO | TRANSFORMERS SPARKING IN THE HOLLISTER AND BRANSON AREAS. |
| 09:06 UTC | TSTM WND GST 60 | Sparta | Christian, MO | |
| 09:11 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Branson | Taney, MO | ROOF DAMAGE TO THE THOUSAND HILLS CONDOMINIUM COMPLEX. WINDSPREAD TREES AND POWER LINES DOWNED IN THE BRANSON AREA. |
| 09:11 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Hollister | Taney, MO | FOUR MOBILE HOMES DESTROYED FROM FALLING TREES. |
| 09:11 UTC | TSTM WND GST 80 | 2 N Forsyth | Taney, MO | 80 MPH WIND GUST WITH LARGE TREE LIMBS COMING DOWN. |
| 09:15 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Branson | Taney, MO | SEVERAL BUILDINGS DAMAGED IN THE BRANSON AREA. |
| 09:15 UTC | FLASH FLOOD | Nixa | Christian, MO | LOW WATER CROSSINGS ACROSS THE COUNTY UNDER WATER. SEVERAL ROADS WASHED OUT WITH DEBRIS ON ROADWAYS. |
| 09:18 UTC | TORNADO | 8 Wnw Ava | Douglas, MO | EF-0 TORNADO TRACKED FROM O HIGHWAY NEAR ARDEN TO JUST WEST OF HIGHWAY 5 NEAR MOUNT ZION. SEVERAL BARNS AND OUTBUILDINGS DAMAGED OR DESTROYED WITH NUMEROUS TREES SNAPPED OR UPROOTED. THE TORNADO PATH WAS 50 YARDS WIDE WI |
| 09:19 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 4 Ne Seymour | Webster, MO | LARGE BARN DESTROYED BY STRAIGHT LINE WINDS ALONG HIGHWAY V NORTHEAST OF SEYMOUR. |
| 09:23 UTC | TSTM WND GST 58 | Niangua | Webster, MO | 58 MPH WIND GUST MEASURED |
| 09:27 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 5 W Hartville | Wright, MO | SIGNFICANT TREE DAMAGE CAUSED BY STRAIGHT LINE WINDS. |
| 09:28 UTC | FUNNEL CLOUD | 3 Nnw Ava | Douglas, MO | POSSIBLE TORNADO TOUCHDOWN NEAR MOUNT ZION. |
| 09:28 UTC | TSTM WND GST 70 | 4 N Ava | Douglas, MO | 70 MPH GUST IN MOUNT ZION. |
| 09:32 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 5 N Hartville | Wright, MO | SEVERAL TREES DAMAGED OR UPROOTED NORTH OF HARTVILLE DUE TO STRAIGHT LINE WINDS. |
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 8, 2008
22 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 8 | 2:22 AM CST | EF1 | Barry, MO | 4.8 | 100 | $300,000 | ||
| January 8 | 2:31 AM CST | EF1 | Barry, MO | 12.1 | 200 | $2.0 million | ||
| January 8 | 2:37 AM CST | EF1 | Greene, MO | 1.1 | 50 | $50,000 | ||
| January 8 | 2:50 AM CST | EF1 | Christian, MO | 5.0 | 100 | $250,000 | ||
| January 8 | 3:01 AM CST | EF0 | Taney, MO | 2.9 | 20 | $75,000 | ||
| January 8 | 3:16 AM CST | EF0 | Webster, MO | 7.2 | 50 | $15,000 | ||
| January 8 | 3:18 AM CST | EF0 | Webster, MO | 4.7 | 150 | $750,000 | ||
| January 8 | 3:43 AM CST | EF1 | Douglas, MO | 2.2 | 75 | $125,000 | ||
| January 8 | 3:45 AM CST | EF1 | Wright, MO | 11.9 | 150 | $200,000 | ||
| January 8 | 4:20 AM CST | EF0 | Howell, MO | 0.4 | 20 | $1,000 | ||
| January 8 | 4:27 AM CST | EF1 | Shannon, MO | 2.3 | 200 | |||
| January 8 | 4:38 AM CST | EF1 | Shannon, MO | 9.8 | 200 | $75,000 | ||
| January 8 | 4:59 AM CST | EF0 | Oregon, MO | 1.1 | 50 | $1,000 | ||
| January 8 | 8:26 AM CST | EF2 | Pope, AR | 20.5 | 440 | 1 | 2 | $5.3 million |
| January 8 | 12:40 PM CST | EF1 | Stoddard, MO | 4.8 | 120 | $250,000 | ||
| January 8 | 1:26 PM CST | EF0 | Cross, AR | 10.6 | 150 | $25,000 | ||
| January 8 | 1:52 PM CST | EF1 | Poinsett, AR | 0.1 | 25 | $50,000 | ||
| January 8 | 2:20 PM CST | EF1 | Mississippi, AR | 3.5 | 75 | $100,000 | ||
| January 8 | 2:58 PM CST | EF1 | Dyer, TN | 7.8 | 25 | $270,000 | ||
| January 8 | 3:30 PM CST | EF0 | Jefferson, MS | 4.9 | 50 | |||
| January 8 | 5:37 PM CST | EF1 | Simpson, MS | 19.4 | 125 | $400,000 | ||
| January 8 | 6:11 PM CST | EF0 | Rankin, MS | 0.4 | 50 | $12,000 |
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.