Tornadoes · United States · Missouri · 2008

EF0 tornado, Tarkio to Milton, Missouri, June 5, 2008

From Tarkio to Milton, this EF0 tornado ran 10.5 miles across Atchison County on June 5, 2008, touching down at 7:59 PM CDT and reaching 100 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $210,000 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.

  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
June 5, 2008
Touchdown
7:59 PM CDT (00:59 UTC)
Lifted
8:04 PM CDT (01:04 UTC)
On the ground
5 minutes
Path length
10.5 miles (16.9 km)
Path width
100 yards (91 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$210,000
County
Atchison County
Touchdown point
40.420, -95.360
Lift-off point
40.269, -95.379
Record number
0806051859-01

What the Weather Service recorded

A complex storm system, brought severe thunderstorms with a few|tornadoes, high winds, hail, and flooding rains to the area, late on|June 5, 2008, into the early morning hours of June 6, 2008.

Brief EF0 tornado touchdown in open country at 1823CST. No damage or injuries reported.

An EF1 tornado entered Atchison County at 18:59CST 2.3 miles east southeast of Milton. It proceeded north northeast and dissipated 1.3 miles east southeast of Tarkio. It damaged 5 sheds and destroyed 3 grain bins. Several power poles were also snapped off.

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

The warnings

20 minutes of warning. NWS EAX issued a tornado warning for this county at 00:39 UTC, 20 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 01:15 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 21:50 UTC and running to 04:53 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
11:32 UTC23:46 UTCFlood WarningEAX
15:00 UTC01:22 UTCWind AdvisoryEAX
21:50 UTC04:53 UTCTornado WatchEAX
23:22 UTC00:00 UTCTornado WarningEAX
23:33 UTC00:05 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningEAX
23:57 UTC00:30 UTCTornado WarningEAX
00:00 UTC08:37 UTCFlash Flood WatchEAX
00:39 UTC01:15 UTCTornado WarningEAX
00:45 UTC07:00 UTCFlash Flood WarningEAX
01:10 UTC01:32 UTCTornado WarningEAX
14:20 UTC14:30 UTCFlood WarningEAX

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 High Risk, with a 0.15 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 20:18 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.

Omaha, NE (KOAX), 00:00Z

1.0 hours before the tornado, 137 km from the path. June 6, 2008.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Omaha, NE at 00:00Z on 2008-06-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 2054 joules per kilogram, CIN -33, lifted condensation level 905 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, Omaha, NE at 00:00Z on 2008-06-06The 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 280 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 72 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
2054 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-33 J/kg
Surface CAPE
2393 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
905 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
72 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
280 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
303 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
4.0
Supercell composite
14.0
0-3 km lapse rate
5.5 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Omaha, NE (KOAX), 12:00Z

11.0 hours after it, 137 km from the path. June 6, 2008.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Omaha, NE at 12:00Z on 2008-06-06Temperature 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 -79110, lifted condensation level 784 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Omaha, NE at 12:00Z on 2008-06-06The 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 -7 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 43 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-79110 J/kg
Surface CAPE
6 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
784 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
43 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-7 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-2 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 radar

The Omaha radar (KOAX), 137 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 01:00 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
23:53 UTCHAIL 12 W LangdonAtchison, MOSPOTTER ALSO REPORTED 45-50 MPH WINDS.
23:53 UTCHAIL 1LangdonAtchison, MOSPOTTER ALSO REPORTED 45-50 MPH WINDS.
23:55 UTCHAIL 0.881 W RockportAtchison, MO
23:55 UTCTORNADOWatsonAtchison, MO911 REPORTING TORNADO ON GROUND NEAR WATSON.
00:09 UTCHAIL 1RockportAtchison, MO
00:23 UTCTORNADO6 E RockportAtchison, MOMULTIPLE TORNADOES ON THE GROUND
00:43 UTCFLOODClearmontNodaway, MODUE TO FLOODING ON THE NODAWAY RIVER. REPORT OF FLOODING ON HWY 71 BETWEEN CLEARMONT AND BRADDYVILLE IA. ALSO...STATE HWY C BETWEEN ELMO AND CLEARMONT IS CLOSED...AS WELL AS SEVERAL GRAVEL ROADS IN THE COUNTY.
00:53 UTCTORNADOCorningHolt, MOLARGE TORNADO ON THE GROUND CROSSING MISSOURI RIVER NEAR HOLT AND ATCHISON COUNTY LINE MOVING NORTHEAST.
00:55 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 S FairfaxAtchison, MOPOWER LINES DOWN ON HIGHWAY 59.
00:55 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 Se FairfaxAtchison, MOGRAIN BIN AND FARM OUTBUILDINGS DESTROYED.
00:55 UTCTORNADOCraigHolt, MOTWO SEMI TRUCKS BLOWN OVER INJURIES UNKNOWN BUT ONE DRIVER REQUIRING EXTRICATION. MILE MARKER 92 ON INTERSTATE 29.
01:04 UTCTORNADO2 Se TarkioAtchison, MOTRAINED SPOTTER REPORTED TORNADO ON THE GROUND BECOMING RAIN-WRAPPED.
01:15 UTCTSTM WND GST 60SkidmoreNodaway, MO
01:20 UTCTSTM WND DMGBurlington JctNodaway, MOROOF OFF A BUILDING AND A FEW POWER LINES DOWN IN BURLINGTON JUNCTION. EM ALSO RELAYED A REPORT OF POWER LINES LEANING NEAR A BUSINESS JUST WEST OF TOWN. DAMAGE POSSIBLY DUE TO A TORNADO. TIME ESTIMATED.
02:00 UTCFLASH FLOOD1 Ne HopkinsNodaway, MOLAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTED WATER DRAINING OFF FIELDS AND ONTO HWY 148 ONE HALF MILE SOUTH OF THE IOWA BORDER JUST NORTH OF HOPKINS. WATER ALSO OVER HWY 148 ONE HALF MILE SOUTH OF HOPKINS.

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 June 5, 2008

40 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 512:15 PM MDTEF0Prowers, CO6.5150$5,000
June 52:30 PM CDTEF0Logan, KS1.025
June 52:41 PM CDTEF0Logan, KS1.025
June 52:59 PM CDTEF1Pratt, KS1.1100$65,000
June 53:13 PM CDTEF0Gove, KS1.025
June 53:39 PM CDTEF0Trego, KS1.075
June 53:40 PM CDTEF2Rock, NE29.950$200,000
June 53:40 PM CDTEF0Trego, KS1.775
June 54:19 PM CDTEF1Clay, KS14.3100
June 54:20 PM CDTEF0Clay, KS4.650
June 54:33 PM CDTEF1Clay, KS10.125
June 55:00 PM CDTEF1Charles Mix, SD9.9100$100,000
June 55:08 PM CDTEF0Washington, KS0.125
June 55:41 PM CDTEF0Marshall, KS0.150
June 56:20 PM CDTEF1Nemaha, NE2.6100
June 56:23 PM CDTEF1Nemaha, NE6.5220
June 56:35 PM CDTEF1Nemaha, NE0.7100
June 56:55 PM CDTEF0Atchison, MO0.125
June 57:02 PM CDTEF0Fremont, IA0.550
June 57:11 PM CDTEF0Fremont, IA1.350
June 57:23 PM CDTEF0Atchison, MO0.125
June 57:24 PM CDTEF0Page, IA1.280
June 57:27 PM CDTEF0Brown, KS0.125
June 57:33 PM CDTEF0Richardson, NE1.3100
June 57:39 PM CDTEF2Richardson, NE to MO18.4880$250,000
June 57:55 PM CDTEF0Holt, MO4.425$2,000
June 58:12 PM CDTEF0Cass, IA1.550
June 58:15 PM CDTEF0Minnehaha, SD1.550
June 58:42 PM CDTEF2Minnehaha, SD2.6100
June 59:00 PM CDTEF1Moody, SD0.850$10,000
June 59:24 PM CDTEF1Union, IA3.0150$25,000
June 510:57 PM CDTEF0Linn, KS1.025$50,000
June 511:15 PM CDTEF0Bates, MO0.350$25,000
June 511:35 PM CDTEF0Okmulgee, OK4.4100$15,000
June 511:49 PM CDTEF1Clarke, IA7.6125
June 512:10 AM CDTEF1Warren, IA18.3150$180,000
June 512:23 AM CDTEF0Lafayette, MO0.325$500
June 512:36 AM CDTEF1Jasper, IA9.8125$75,000
June 512:45 AM CDTEF1Jasper, IA14.31502$250,000
June 512:49 AM CDTEF0Jasper, IA10.975$25,000

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.