Tornadoes · United States · Missouri · 2008
EF0 tornado, Tin Town, Missouri, March 31, 2008
This EF0 tornado ran 0.8 miles across Polk County on March 31, 2008, touching down at 5:06 PM CDT and reaching 50 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $25,000 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
- March 31, 2008
- Touchdown
- 5:06 PM CDT (22:06 UTC)
- Lifted
- 5:07 PM CDT (22:07 UTC)
- On the ground
- 1 minutes
- Path length
- 0.8 miles (1.4 km)
- Path width
- 50 yards (46 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $25,000
- County
- Polk County
- Touchdown point
- 37.418, -93.202
- Lift-off point
- 37.422, -93.188
- Record number
- 0803311606-01
What the Weather Service recorded
Eleven tornadoes and significant flash flooding occurred in response to several clusters of thunderstorms impacting the Missouri Ozarks. The ground was saturated from record rainfall in both the months of February and March.
A National Weather Service storm survey revealed that an EF-0 tornado damaged a home, a barn, and power poles in rural southeast Polk County.
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.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13:45 UTC | 21:00 UTC | Tornado Watch | SGF |
| 14:59 UTC | 16:00 UTC | Tornado Warning | SGF |
| 15:33 UTC | 22:00 UTC | Flood Advisory | SGF |
| 15:34 UTC | 16:15 UTC | Tornado Warning | SGF |
| 18:15 UTC | 00:00 UTC | Flash Flood Warning | SGF |
| 19:30 UTC | 20:45 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF |
| 23:41 UTC | 17:02 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 Slight Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 20:01 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), 12:00Z
10.1 hours before the tornado, 79 km from the path. March 31, 2008.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 640 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -126 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 395 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 596 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 48 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 35 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 336 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 354 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.6
- Supercell composite
- 10.7
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 4.7 K/km
Springfield, MO (KSGF), 00:00Z
1.9 hours after it, 79 km from the path. April 1, 2008.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 25 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -145 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 571 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 51 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 22 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 134 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 88 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 4.6 K/km
The surface observations
Springfield (SGF), 26 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20:12 UTC | 59 | 55.4 | 240° 24 kt | 30 | 1008.1 | +TSRA |
| 20:30 UTC | 57.2 | 55.4 | 210° 14 kt | 1007.1 | +TSRA | |
| 20:52 UTC | 57 | 55 | 150° 9 kt | 1005.4 | -TSRA | |
| 20:59 UTC | 57.2 | 55.4 | 150° 13 kt | 1005.1 | -RA BR | |
| 21:52 UTC | 58 | 56 | 190° 13 kt | 23 | 1006.1 | RA BR |
| 22:10 UTC | 57.2 | 55.4 | 170° 14 kt | 19 | 1004.1 | -RA |
| 22:29 UTC | 57.2 | 55.4 | 180° 15 kt | 1005.8 | -RA | |
| 22:52 UTC | 59 | 56 | 220° 8 kt | 1005.4 | -RA | |
| 23:03 UTC | 59 | 55.4 | 230° 9 kt | 1005.8 | ||
| 23:23 UTC | 59 | 57.2 | 220° 11 kt | 1005.8 | ||
| 23:42 UTC | 59 | 57.2 | 230° 10 kt | 1005.8 | ||
| 23:52 UTC | 59 | 57 | 250° 10 kt | 1006.1 |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Springfield radar (KSGF), 27 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 22:06 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:50 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Buffalo | Dallas, MO | SEVERAL STRUCTURES ON THE WEST SIDE OF TOWN ARE ON THE GROUND. THESE INCLUDE AN APARTMENT COMPLEX, A GAS STATION, AN ANTIQUE MALL, AND FIVE TO SEVEN HOUSES. ON THE EAST SIDE OF TOWN, THE SUPERIOR GEAR BOX COMPANY SUSTAIN |
| 20:10 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Buffalo | Dallas, MO | ALL ROADS TO BUFFALO CLOSED BECAUSE OF STORM DAMMAGE |
| 20:10 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Springfield | Greene, MO | LIMBS DOWN AROUND PARKVIEW HIGH SCHOOL |
| 20:13 UTC | TSTM WND GST 79 | Sse Springfield | Greene, MO | 79 MPH WIND GUST MEASURED ON IN-HOUSE ANEMOMETER AT OZARKS COMMUNITY HOSPITAL. |
| 20:15 UTC | FLASH FLOOD | Springfield | Greene, MO | NUMEROUS STREETS ACROSS THE SPRINGFIELD AREA ARE REPORED FLOODED. SOME OF THE STREETS ARE BECOMING IMPASSABLE...ESPECIALLY THE FLOOD PRONE AREAS. |
| 20:50 UTC | FLASH FLOOD | Lebanon | Laclede, MO | NURMEROUS LOW WATER CROSSINGS ACROSS THE COUNTY ARE BECOMING FLOODED TO INCLUDE EAST HWY 32 1 MILE EAST OF LEBANONN, EVANSTON RD, RIPLEY RD, AND PINE TREE RD. |
| 20:53 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Lebanon | Laclede, MO | ROOF BLOW OFF A BODY SHOP ON THE NORTHEAST OUTER ROAD IN LEBANON. |
| 21:30 UTC | FLASH FLOOD | 2 E Charity | Dallas, MO | FLASH FLOODING OCCURRING IN NUMEROUS LOCATIONS ACROSS SOUTHERN DALLAS COUNTY. |
| 22:10 UTC | FLASH FLOOD | Marshfield | Webster, MO | FLASH FLOODING OF ROADWAYS OCCURING THROUGHOUT MARSHFIELD. |
| 22:15 UTC | FLASH FLOOD | 4 S Diggins | Webster, MO | FLASH FLOODING ALONG FINLEY CREEK. |
| 00:30 UTC | FLOOD | 3 Sse Fordland | Webster, MO | HIGHWAY Z SOUTH OF HIGHWAY 60 ALONG THE FINLEY CREEK IS CLOSED DUE TO FOUR INCHES OF WATER OVER THE BRIDGE. |
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 March 31, 2008
20 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 31 | 1:23 AM CDT | EF0 | Oklahoma, OK | 0.2 | 20 | |||
| March 31 | 1:39 AM CDT | EF1 | Oklahoma, OK | 3.5 | 100 | $450,000 | ||
| March 31 | 5:46 AM CDT | EF1 | Osage, OK | 5.5 | 250 | $50,000 | ||
| March 31 | 7:25 AM CDT | EF0 | Washington, OK | 0.2 | 100 | |||
| March 31 | 9:20 AM CDT | EF0 | Noble, OK | 0.1 | 20 | $5,000 | ||
| March 31 | 9:48 AM CDT | EF0 | Hickory, MO | 3.4 | 100 | $25,000 | ||
| March 31 | 10:09 AM CDT | EF0 | Lawrence, MO | 0.5 | 40 | $20,000 | ||
| March 31 | 10:33 AM CDT | EF0 | Vernon, MO | 0.2 | 10 | |||
| March 31 | 11:59 AM CDT | EF0 | Cedar, MO | 0.6 | 75 | $5,000 | ||
| March 31 | 1:44 PM CDT | EF1 | Ottawa, OK to MO | 5.4 | 200 | $125,000 | ||
| March 31 | 1:59 PM CDT | EF0 | Newton, MO | 3.8 | 80 | 3 | $100,000 | |
| March 31 | 2:17 PM CDT | EF2 | Dallas, MO | 4.7 | 300 | 3 | $1.0 million | |
| March 31 | 2:46 PM CDT | EF2 | Laclede, MO | 1.8 | 75 | $500,000 | ||
| March 31 | 3:05 PM CDT | EF0 | Johnson, TX | 0.8 | 40 | $35,000 | ||
| March 31 | 3:10 PM CDT | EF0 | Johnson, TX | 1.5 | 40 | $75,000 | ||
| March 31 | 4:45 PM CDT | EF0 | Monroe, IL | 1.8 | 30 | |||
| March 31 | 5:12 PM CDT | EF0 | Ozark, MO | 0.2 | 20 | $1,000 | ||
| March 31 | 5:47 PM CDT | EF0 | Howell, MO | 0.0 | 20 | $10,000 | ||
| March 31 | 7:10 PM CDT | EF0 | Choctaw, OK | 0.1 | 75 | |||
| March 31 | 7:31 PM CDT | EF1 | McCurtain, OK | 4.9 | 450 | $10,000 |
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.