Tornadoes · United States · Missouri · 2008
EF0 tornado, Roy to Ava, Missouri, May 2, 2008
From Roy to Ava, this EF0 tornado ran 7.4 miles across Douglas County on May 2, 2008, touching down at 5:52 AM CDT and reaching 250 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.
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
- May 2, 2008
- Touchdown
- 5:52 AM CDT (10:52 UTC)
- Lifted
- 5:58 AM CDT (10:58 UTC)
- On the ground
- 6 minutes
- Path length
- 7.4 miles (11.9 km)
- Path width
- 250 yards (229 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- County
- Douglas County
- Touchdown point
- 36.880, -92.799
- Lift-off point
- 36.934, -92.684
- Record number
- 0805020452-01
What the Weather Service recorded
A few clusters of strong to severe thunderstorms impacted southern Missouri with large hail, damaging winds, and a couple of tornadoes. The two tornadoes were confirmed by a National Weather Service storm survey over Douglas County, including northern sections of the city of Ava.
A National Weather Service storm survey revealed that an EF-0 tornado touched down along Highway AJ approximately one half of a mile east of Highway 76. The tornado lifted near the intersection of Highway 76 and County Road 508. Damage from the tornado was limited to numerous trees.
A National Weather Service storm survey revealed that an EF-0 tornado touched down in the northeast section of Ava. Wind speeds were estimated at 80 mph. Damage was limited to trees and minor house damage.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The warnings
5 minutes of warning. NWS SGF issued a tornado warning for this county at 10:47 UTC, 5 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 11:15 UTC.
The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 10:12 UTC and running to 12:21 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10:12 UTC | 12:21 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SGF |
| 10:47 UTC | 11:15 UTC | Tornado Warning | SGF |
| 11:10 UTC | 11:49 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm 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 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 06:01 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), 00:00Z
10.9 hours before the tornado, 94 km from the path. May 2, 2008.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1112 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -241 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 2116 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1195 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 34 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 21 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 177 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 225 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.8
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 5.8 K/km
Springfield, MO (KSGF), 12:00Z
1.1 hours after it, 94 km from the path. May 2, 2008.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 29 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -385 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 32 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 910 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 66 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 41 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 449 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 489 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- -0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 4.8 K/km
The surface observations
Mountain Home/Baxter County (BPK), 64 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 08:53 UTC | 70 | 63 | 170° 16 kt | 23 | 999.7 | |
| 09:53 UTC | 70 | 63 | 180° 16 kt | 29 | 1000 | |
| 10:53 UTC | 71 | 63 | 190° 12 kt | 27 | 1001.4 | |
| 11:26 UTC | 69.8 | 62.6 | 260° 9 kt | 17 | 1003.4 | VCTS |
| 11:49 UTC | 59 | 55.4 | 210° 11 kt | 27 | 1003.7 | +TSRA BR |
| 11:50 UTC | 59 | 56 | 210° 13 kt | 27 | 1003.7 | +TSRA BR |
| 11:59 UTC | 59 | 57.2 | 200° 8 kt | 20 | 1003.4 | +TSRA BR |
| 12:11 UTC | 59 | 57.2 | 190° 12 kt | 20 | 1003 | +TSRA BR |
| 12:44 UTC | 60.8 | 57.2 | 190° 14 kt | 21 | 1001 | TSRA BR |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Springfield radar (KSGF), 69 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 10:53 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09:22 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Chestnutridge | Christian, MO | TWO BARNS BLOWN DOWN...ROOF BLOW OFF A MODULAR HOME...AND TWO TREES DOWN IN THE CHESTNUTRIDGE AREA. |
| 10:22 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Chestnutridge | Christian, MO | TWO BARNS BLOWN DOWN...ROOF BLOW OFF A MODULAR HOME...AND TWO TREES DOWN IN THE CHESTNUTRIDGE AREA. CORRECTED TIME |
| 10:28 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Branson | Taney, MO | NUMEROUS TREES DOUWN ACROSS TOWN BLOCKING TRAFFIC ON HIGHWAY 76 WESTBOUND. |
| 10:28 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Hollister | Taney, MO | TREES 2 TO 3 FOOT IN DIAMETER AND POWERLINES DOWN. DAMAGE TO MOBLIE HOMES NO INJURIES REPORTED. |
| 10:33 UTC | TSTM WND GST 65 | 3 E Springfield | Greene, MO | |
| 10:33 UTC | TSTM WND GST 70 | Hollister | Taney, MO | |
| 10:34 UTC | TSTM WND GST 60 | Nixa | Christian, MO | |
| 10:39 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Forsyth | Taney, MO | SEVERAL TREES DOWN. |
| 10:40 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Chestnutridge | Christian, MO | TWO BARNS BLOWN DOWN...ROOF BLOW OFF A MODULAR HOME...AND TWO TREES DOWN IN THE CHESTNUTRIDGE AREA. CORRECTED TIME |
| 10:40 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Ozark | Christian, MO | SEVERAL POWER POLES DOWN. POWER OUT TO MUCH OF THE AREA. |
| 10:45 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Oldfield | Christian, MO | REPORTS OF OUTBUILDING DAMAGED AND DEBRIS SCATTERED ACROSS A FIELD. |
| 10:45 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Sparta | Christian, MO | MINOR STRUCTURAL DAMAGE TO AT LEAST ONE HOME. |
| 10:51 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 Sw Walnut Shade | Taney, MO | BILLBOARD DOWN ACROSS THE NORTH BOUND LANE OF HIGHWAY 65 NORTH OF HIGHWAY F. |
| 10:52 UTC | TSTM WND GST 60 | Bradleyville | Taney, MO | PEA SIZE HAIL ALSO REPORTED. |
| 10:56 UTC | TORNADO | 2 Sse Goodhope | Douglas, MO | TORNADO RATED EF0. DAMAGE WAS LIMITED TO TREES. INTERMITTENT DAMAGE PATH ABOUT 7 MILES LONG AND 250 YARDS WIDE. MAX WINDS 80 MPH. TOUCHDOWN WAS NEAR HIGHWAY AJ ABOUT A HALF MILE EAST OF HWY 76. LIFTED SOUTHWEST OF AVA NE |
| 10:57 UTC | TSTM WND GST 75 | Fordland | Webster, MO | |
| 10:58 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 6 E Marshfield | Webster, MO | OUT BUILDING DESTROYED. |
| 10:58 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Bradleyville | Taney, MO | TREE DOWN ACROSS HIGHWAY 76. |
| 10:58 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Goodhope | Douglas, MO | SEVERAL LARGE TREES DOWN. POSSIBLE INJURY REPORTED WITH PERSON TRAPPED BETWEEN TREES. |
| 11:00 UTC | TSTM WND GST 65 | Bruner | Christian, MO | |
| 11:00 UTC | TORNADO | Ava | Douglas, MO | TORNADO RATED AS AN EF 0. BRIEF TORNADO TOUCHDOWN IN THE NORTHEAST PORTION OF AVA. LESS THAN A QUARTER OF A MILE LONG AND 100 YARDS WIDE. MAX WIND SPEED ESTIMATED AT 80 MPH. WIND DAMAGE TO THE SQUARE IN AVA WAS CONSIDERE |
| 11:02 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 4 Sw Ava | Douglas, MO | TREES TWISTED AND BROKEN OFF AND BARN DAMAGE. REPORTED AT THE INTERSECTION OF HIGHWAYS 76 AND KK. |
| 11:02 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Ava | Douglas, MO | DAMAGE TO SCHOOL REPORTED IN TOWN. |
| 11:05 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Ava | Douglas, MO | SEVERAL BUILDINGS IN THE TOWN SQUARE REPORTED HEAVILY DAMAGE. |
| 11:05 UTC | TORNADO | Ava | Douglas, MO | NUMEROUS BUILDINGS IN DOWN TOWN SEVERELY DAMAGED OR DESTROYED. VEHICLE MOVEMENT IS SEVERLY LIMITED DUE TO DEBRIS. NO INJURIES REPORTED AT THIS TIME. |
| 11:07 UTC | TSTM WND GST 56 | Ava | Douglas, MO | WINDOW BLOWN OUT OF THE COURT HOUSE. POWER REPORTED OUT IN TOWN. |
| 11:10 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Duncan | Wright, MO | OUT BUILDINGS DAMAGED. |
| 11:18 UTC | TSTM WND GST 60 | Hartville | Wright, MO | SEVERAL TREES REPORTED DOWN WITH DAMAGE TO A BUILDING REPORTED AS WELL. |
| 11:23 UTC | TSTM WND GST 80 | Norwood | Wright, MO | SEVERAL TREES REPORTED DOWN. |
| 11:28 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 4 E Norwood | Wright, MO | ROOF BLOWN OFF OF OUT BUILDING AT THE INTERSECTION OF HIGHWAYS 60 AND Y. |
| 11:35 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 S Mountain Grove | Wright, MO | ROOF REPORTED OFF A HOME ALONG WITH NUMEROUS TREES DOWN AND TWISTED. TREES AND OUT BUILDINGS DAMAGED ACROSS THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE COUNTY. |
| 11:40 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 Sw Cabool | Texas, MO | TREES DOWN AND A BARN DAMAGED. |
| 11:52 UTC | TSTM WND GST 57 | 2 Nw Cabool | Texas, MO | WIND GUST REPORTED ON HOME WEATHER STATION. REPORTED BY CWIP TEX302. |
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 May 2, 2008
39 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2 | 1:04 AM CDT | EF2 | Douglas, KS | 2.2 | 100 | $260,000 | ||
| May 2 | 1:45 AM CDT | EF0 | Creek, OK | 7.0 | 250 | $20,000 | ||
| May 2 | 1:56 AM CDT | EF3 | Clay, MO | 0.9 | 75 | $4.0 million | ||
| May 2 | 2:03 AM CDT | EF2 | Clay, MO | 1.4 | 75 | $10 million | ||
| May 2 | 3:03 AM CDT | EF1 | Rogers, OK | 9.0 | 500 | 2 | $55,000 | |
| May 2 | 3:03 AM CDT | EF1 | Mayes, OK | 0.5 | 100 | $20,000 | ||
| May 2 | 6:02 AM CDT | EF0 | Douglas, MO | 0.3 | 100 | $100,000 | ||
| May 2 | 8:15 AM CDT | EF3 | Conway, AR | 45.3 | 1,600 | 5 | 24 | $47 million |
| May 2 | 8:28 AM CDT | EF1 | Van Buren, AR | 1.1 | 100 | |||
| May 2 | 8:30 AM CDT | EF1 | Van Zandt, TX | 1.3 | 75 | 8 | $300,000 | |
| May 2 | 9:03 AM CDT | EF1 | Howard, AR | 4.1 | 50 | $100,000 | ||
| May 2 | 10:23 AM CDT | EF1 | Pike, AR | 8.2 | 200 | $100,000 | ||
| May 2 | 11:15 AM CDT | EF2 | Grant, AR | 40.7 | 300 | 1 | 3 | $9.0 million |
| May 2 | 11:21 AM CDT | EF1 | Rusk, TX | 6.4 | 100 | $50,000 | ||
| May 2 | 11:23 AM CDT | EF2 | Dallas, AR | 22.9 | 200 | $3.5 million | ||
| May 2 | 11:55 AM CDT | EF1 | Panola, TX | 3.8 | 200 | $400,000 | ||
| May 2 | 12:56 PM CDT | EF1 | Lonoke, AR | 2.5 | 200 | $1.0 million | ||
| May 2 | 1:01 PM CDT | EF0 | Woodruff, AR | 2.1 | 50 | $3,000 | ||
| May 2 | 1:02 PM CDT | EF1 | Prairie, AR | 1.7 | 250 | |||
| May 2 | 1:05 PM CDT | EF1 | Prairie, AR | 2.6 | 100 | $1,000 | ||
| May 2 | 1:39 PM CDT | EF0 | Dunklin, MO | 0.3 | 25 | $20,000 | ||
| May 2 | 1:40 PM CDT | EF0 | Monroe, AR | 0.3 | 50 | $3,000 | ||
| May 2 | 2:54 PM CDT | EF2 | Mississippi, AR | 3.4 | 150 | 1 | $500,000 | |
| May 2 | 3:18 PM CDT | EF3 | Crittenden, AR | 20.2 | 400 | 4 | $2.0 million | |
| May 2 | 3:51 PM CDT | EF0 | Livingston Parish, LA | 0.1 | 20 | |||
| May 2 | 4:25 PM CDT | EF2 | Dyer, TN | 1.4 | 40 | $40,000 | ||
| May 2 | 5:48 PM CDT | EF2 | Union, MS | 3.1 | 440 | $250,000 | ||
| May 2 | 6:00 PM CDT | EF2 | Union, MS | 0.5 | 100 | $75,000 | ||
| May 2 | 6:12 PM CDT | EF1 | Union, MS | 3.5 | 75 | $50,000 | ||
| May 2 | 6:41 PM CDT | EF1 | Prentiss, MS | 13.8 | 150 | $100,000 | ||
| May 2 | 6:52 PM CDT | EF2 | Chicot, AR | 10.5 | 400 | $1.5 million | ||
| May 2 | 7:32 PM CDT | EF0 | Washington, MS | 3.0 | 50 | |||
| May 2 | 8:01 PM CDT | EF0 | Morehouse Parish, LA | 3.3 | 50 | |||
| May 2 | 8:07 PM CDT | EF1 | Bolivar, MS | 9.7 | 200 | $20,000 | ||
| May 2 | 11:57 PM CDT | EF1 | Montgomery, TN | 0.7 | 50 | $5,000 | ||
| May 2 | 12:00 AM CDT | EF1 | Montgomery, TN | 0.2 | 30 | $20,000 | ||
| May 2 | 12:05 AM CDT | EF1 | Montgomery, TN | 0.5 | 50 | 3 | $20,000 | |
| May 2 | 12:10 AM CDT | EF1 | Montgomery, TN | 0.3 | 50 | $100,000 | ||
| May 2 | 12:49 AM CDT | EF1 | Leflore, MS | 1.3 | 300 | $40,000 |
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.