Tornadoes · United States · Missouri · 2008
EF1 tornado, Dawson to Bado, Missouri, January 8, 2008
From Dawson to Bado, this EF1 tornado ran 11.9 miles across Wright and Texas counties on January 8, 2008, touching down at 3:45 AM CST and reaching 150 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $200,000 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 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mphthis tornado
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
- EF1
- Date
- January 8, 2008
- Touchdown
- 3:45 AM CST (09:45 UTC)
- Lifted
- 3:53 AM CST (09:53 UTC)
- On the ground
- 8 minutes
- Path length
- 11.9 miles (19.2 km)
- Path width
- 150 yards (137 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $200,000
- Counties
- Wright and Texas counties
- Touchdown point
- 37.190, -92.302
- Lift-off point
- 37.262, -92.097
- Record number
- 0801080345-01
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-1 tornado tracked over rural areas north of Mountain Grove causing damage to a few barns and outbuildings.
This is an extension of the Wright County tornado. A National Weather Service storm survey revealed that an EF-1 tornado tracked across rural areas of southwest Texas County. A few barns and outbuildings sustained damage from this tornado.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The warnings
34 minutes of warning. NWS SGF issued a tornado warning for this county at 09:11 UTC, 34 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 |
| 01:59 UTC | 03:15 UTC | Tornado Warning | SGF |
| 02:39 UTC | 02:51 UTC | Tornado Warning | SGF |
| 03:12 UTC | 09:00 UTC | Flash Flood Warning | SGF |
| 04:19 UTC | 05:30 UTC | Tornado Warning | SGF |
| 05:31 UTC | 05:53 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF |
| 05:55 UTC | 06:27 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF |
| 07:20 UTC | 08:30 UTC | Tornado Warning | SGF |
| 08:39 UTC | 14:00 UTC | Flash Flood Warning | SGF |
| 09:11 UTC | 10:15 UTC | Tornado Warning | SGF |
| 13:29 UTC | 23:00 UTC | Flood Warning | SGF |
| 13:29 UTC | 17:00 UTC | Flood 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
9.8 hours before the tornado, 147 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
2.2 hours after it, 147 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
West Plains (UNO), 47 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 07:53 UTC | 64 | 56 | 170° 13 kt | 23 | 1008.8 | |
| 08:20 UTC | 64.4 | 55.4 | 180° 16 kt | 23 | 1008.8 | |
| 08:53 UTC | 65 | 56 | 180° 13 kt | 27 | 1008.1 | |
| 09:04 UTC | 64.4 | 55.4 | 180° 14 kt | 25 | 1008.1 | |
| 09:44 UTC | 64.4 | 55.4 | 190° 14 kt | 24 | 1007.8 | |
| 09:53 UTC | 64 | 56 | 190° 14 kt | 26 | 1007.5 | |
| 10:19 UTC | 64.4 | 55.4 | 320° 22 kt | 35 | 1010.2 | VCTS |
| 10:25 UTC | 53.6 | 48.2 | 280° 27 kt | 41 | 1010.8 | TSRA |
| 10:27 UTC | 53.6 | 48.2 | 290° 22 kt | 41 | 1010.8 | TSRA BR |
| 10:37 UTC | 51.8 | 48.2 | 290° 13 kt | 26 | 1010.5 | -TSRA BR |
| 10:46 UTC | 51.8 | 48.2 | 280° 13 kt | 19 | 1010.5 | VCTS |
| 10:53 UTC | 52 | 48 | 280° 12 kt | 19 | 1010.5 | -RA |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Springfield radar (KSGF), 106 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 09:45 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 07:27 UTC | HAIL 1.75 | Dogwood | Douglas, MO | |
| 07:29 UTC | HAIL 0.75 | 7 Nnw Hartville | Wright, MO | |
| 07:57 UTC | FUNNEL CLOUD | 1 N Mountain Grove | Wright, MO | WALL CLOUD SPOTTED ON THE NORTH SIDE OF MOUNTAIN GROVE. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 09:35 UTC | TSTM WND GST 70 | 1 S Ava | Douglas, MO | 70 MPH GUST ON THE SOUTH EDGE OF AVA WITH DEBRIS ON THE ROAD. |
| 09:39 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 5 Ne Ava | Douglas, MO | WIND DRIVEN HAIL BREAKING WINDOWS. |
| 09:40 UTC | TORNADO 1 | 4 Nnw Mountain Grove | Wright, MO | AN EF-1 TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN NEAR MOUNTAIN VALLEY ROAD JUST WEST OF HIGHWAY 95. THE TORNADO PROCEEDED EAST NORTHEAST IN TO TEXAS COUNTY. SEVERAL OUTBUILDINGS WERE DESTROYED WITH DAMAGE TO ONE HOME AS WELL. PATH WIDTH WAS |
| 09:40 UTC | TORNADO | 4 Nnw Mountain Grove | Wright, MO | AN EF-1 TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN NEAR MOUNTAIN VALLEY ROAD JUST WEST OF HIGHWAY 95. THE TORNADO PROCEEDED EAST NORTHEAST IN TO TEXAS COUNTY. SEVERAL OUTBUILDINGS WERE DESTROYED WITH DAMAGE TO ONE HOME AS WELL. PATH WIDTH WAS |
| 09:42 UTC | TORNADO 1 | 8 Sw Mountain Grove | Douglas, MO | AN EF-1 TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN NEAR COUNTY ROAD 137 SOUTHWEST OF MOUNTAIN GROVE. THIS TORNADO CAUSED SIGNIFICANT TREE DAMAGE AND MOVED A MOBILE HOME FROM ITS FOUNDATION. THE PATH LENGTH WAS 1.5 MILES WITH A PATH WIDTH OF 7 |
| 09:45 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 8 Ssw Mountain Grove | Douglas, MO | RESIDENT OF FAR NORTHEASTERN DOUGLAS COUNTY REPORTS APPROXIMATELY 100 TREES DOWNED...BOTH SNAPPED AND UPROOTED...LYING IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS. THIS DAMAGE IS NEAR FARM ROAD 137 APPROXIMATELY ONE HALF MILE SOUTH OF HIGHW |
| 09:47 UTC | TORNADO | 5 Nne Mountain Grove | Texas, MO | THIS IS AN EXTENSION OF THE THE WRIGHT COUNTY TORNADO. AN EF-1 TORNADO CONTINUED EAST NORTHEAST IN TO TEXAS COUNTY BEFORE LIFTING 1/4 OF A MILE NORTH OF THE INTERSECTION OF HIGHWAY YY AND RIDGEVIEW ROAD. SEVERAL OUTBUILD |
| 09:48 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 N Ava | Douglas, MO | NUMEROUS TREES DOWN IN MOUNT ZION WITH DEBRIS ACROSS ROADS. |
| 09:48 UTC | FLASH FLOOD | Hartville | Wright, MO | ROADS FLOODED THROUGHOUT HARTVILLE. |
| 09:48 UTC | TSTM WND GST 60 | Hartville | Wright, MO | 60 MPH WINDS WITH DEBRIS STREWN ABOUT. |
| 09:50 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Hartville | Wright, MO | LARGE OAK TREE DOWN. MEASURED 50 MPH WIND GUST. |
| 09:52 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 7 N Mountain Grove | Wright, MO | POSSIBLE TORNADO...GARAGE AND SILO DESTROYED ON GIRLSTOWN ROAD. |
| 09:59 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 S Houston | Texas, MO | SEVERAL LARGE TREES DOWN IN THE AREA. |
| 10:00 UTC | TSTM WND GST 70 | Cabool | Texas, MO | SEVERAL TREES AND LARGE LIMBS DOWN IN THE AREA. SHINGLES BLOWN OFF SOME ROOFS. MINOR BARN DAMAGE. |
| 10:10 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 W Summersville | Texas, MO | WIDESPREAD WIND DAMGE IN A SIX MILE SWATH FROM 3 MILES WEST AND SOUTHWEST OF SUMMERSVILLE TO AREAS SOUTH OF SUMMERSVILLE. ONE ROOF DAMAGED IN TOWN. ONE TRAILER HOME DAMAGED OR DESTROYED OUTSIDE OF TOWN. |
| 10:20 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 S Summersville | Shannon, MO | A BARN WAS DESTROYED BY STRAIGHT LINE WINDS SOUTH OF SUMMERSVILLE. |
| 10:20 UTC | TSTM WND GST 47 | Pomona | Howell, MO | 47 MPH WIND GUST MEASURED AT THE WEST PLAINS MUNICIPAL AIRPORT. |
| 10:20 UTC | TORNADO 0 | 6 W West Plains | Howell, MO | BRIEF EF0 TORNADO TOUCHDOWN 6 MILES WEST OF WEST PLAINS 1 MILE NORTH OF HIGHWAY CC ON CR 5090. |
| 10:24 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 E Summersville | Shannon, MO | NUMEROUS TREES DOWNED ALONG HIGHWAY 106 FOR A SIX TO EIGHT MILE STRETCH NEAR HIGHWAY 106 BETWEEN SUMMERSVILLE AND ALLEY SPRING. |
| 10:30 UTC | TORNADO 1 | 9 Wsw Eminence | Shannon, MO | AN EF-1 TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN NEAR HIGHWAY 106 WEST OF EMINENCE. THE TORNADO UPROOTED AND SNAPPED OFF NUMEROUS TREES. THE PATH LENGTH WAS 1.5 MILES AND THE PATH WIDTH WAS 200 YARDS AT ITS WIDEST POINT. |
| 10:33 UTC | TSTM WND GST 50 | 4 Nne Peace Valley | Howell, MO | 50 MPH WIND GUSTS...PEA SIZED HAIL AND TORRENTIAL RAINFALL |
| 10:33 UTC | TSTM WND GST 50 | 4 Nne Peace Valley | Howell, MO | 50 MPH WIND GUSTS...PEA SIZED HAIL AND TORRENTIAL RAINFALL |
| 10:34 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Alley Spring | Shannon, MO | SIGNIFICANT TREE DAMAGE IN THE ALLEY SPRING AREA DUE TO INTENSE 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 | 3:17 AM CST | EF0 | Douglas, MO | 9.7 | 50 | $75,000 | ||
| 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 | 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.