Tornadoes · United States · Missouri · 2009
EF0 tornado, DeKalb County, Missouri, June 7, 2009
This EF0 tornado ran 0.1 miles across DeKalb County on June 7, 2009, touching down at 8:27 PM CDT and reaching 25 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
- June 7, 2009
- Touchdown
- 8:27 PM CDT (01:27 UTC)
- Lifted
- 8:28 PM CDT (01:28 UTC)
- On the ground
- 1 minutes
- Path length
- 0.1 miles (0.2 km)
- Path width
- 25 yards (23 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- County
- DeKalb County
- Touchdown point
- 39.910, -94.260
- Lift-off point
- 39.910, -94.260
- Record number
- 0906071927-01
The warnings
15 minutes of warning. NWS EAX issued a tornado warning for this county at 01:12 UTC, 15 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 01:45 UTC.
The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 20:45 UTC and running to 03:53 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20:45 UTC | 03:53 UTC | Tornado Watch | EAX |
| 00:12 UTC | 00:45 UTC | Tornado Warning | EAX |
| 00:45 UTC | 01:00 UTC | Tornado Warning | EAX |
| 00:58 UTC | 01:30 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX |
| 01:12 UTC | 01:45 UTC | Tornado Warning | EAX |
| 01:28 UTC | 02:00 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX |
| 01:49 UTC | 02:09 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX |
| 02:23 UTC | 03:00 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX |
| 02:56 UTC | 09:00 UTC | Flood Advisory | EAX |
| 03:13 UTC | 03:45 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX |
| 03:28 UTC | 08:54 UTC | Flood Advisory | EAX |
| 03:38 UTC | 03:52 UTC | Tornado Warning | EAX |
| 03:46 UTC | 04:15 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX |
| 03:53 UTC | 08:39 UTC | Tornado Watch | EAX |
| 14:44 UTC | 01:30 UTC | Flood Warning | EAX |
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 Moderate Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 01:02 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.
Topeka, KS (KTOP), 00:00Z
1.5 hours before the tornado, 156 km from the path. June 8, 2009.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 3425 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -72 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 3701 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1586 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 41 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 14 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 128 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 156 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.4
- Supercell composite
- 3.2
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 6.7 K/km
Topeka, KS (KTOP), 12:00Z
10.5 hours after it, 156 km from the path. June 8, 2009.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 97 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -346 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 641 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 53 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 22 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 84 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 48 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 1.2
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 4.3 K/km
The surface observations
St. Joseph (STJ), 58 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23:53 UTC | 82 | 67 | 110° 9 kt | 1002.7 | ||
| 00:53 UTC | 80 | 67 | 20° 11 kt | 1004.4 | ||
| 01:53 UTC | 80 | 68 | 100° 8 kt | 1004.1 | ||
| 02:53 UTC | 77 | 66 | 100° 5 kt | 1003.7 | VCTS -RA |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Pleasant Hill radar (KEAX), 122 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 01:24 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 00:05 UTC | HAIL 1 | 7 N Savannah | Andrew, MO | INTERSECTION HWY 71 AND ROUTE A. |
| 00:07 UTC | HAIL 1 | 5 S Braymer | Ray, MO | |
| 00:18 UTC | FUNNEL CLOUD | 3 N Amazonia | Andrew, MO | BRIEF FUNNEL CLOUD OBSERVED. |
| 00:39 UTC | HAIL 1 | Lock Springs | Daviess, MO | |
| 00:43 UTC | HAIL 1 | King City | Gentry, MO | BEGAN 5 MINUTES AGO |
| 00:46 UTC | HAIL 2 | 3 S King City | Dekalb, MO | |
| 00:51 UTC | FUNNEL CLOUD | Union Star | Dekalb, MO | LOWERING ROTATING WALL CLOUD. |
| 00:59 UTC | HAIL 1.5 | 3 E Jamesport | Grundy, MO | |
| 01:06 UTC | HAIL 0.75 | King City | Gentry, MO | |
| 01:06 UTC | HAIL 2 | 10 Nw Trenton | Grundy, MO | |
| 01:06 UTC | HAIL 2 | 5 Nw Trenton | Grundy, MO | |
| 01:13 UTC | TORNADO | Amity | Dekalb, MO | TREE BRANCHES DOWN |
| 01:27 UTC | TORNADO | 1 W Weatherby | Dekalb, MO | TORNADO RAIN WRAPPED |
| 01:29 UTC | HAIL 1 | 6 E Fairport | Dekalb, MO | |
| 01:35 UTC | FUNNEL CLOUD | Winston | Daviess, MO | LOWERING ROTATING WALL CLOUD NORTH OF WINSTON TRUCK STOP NEAR INTERSECTION OF I-35 AND HWY 6. |
| 01:47 UTC | HAIL 2 | 6 Nw Winston | Dekalb, MO | |
| 01:54 UTC | HAIL 2.75 | 6 W Gallatin | Daviess, MO | |
| 01:55 UTC | FUNNEL CLOUD | 1 N Altamont | Daviess, MO | |
| 01:55 UTC | HAIL 4 | 6 W Gallatin | Daviess, MO | WINDOWS BREAKING |
| 02:03 UTC | HAIL 4 | 6 W Gallatin | Daviess, MO | GRAPEFRUIT SIZED HAIL HAS BEEN GOING ON AT THIS LOCATION FOR 10 MINUTES. REPORT IS FROM THE WEST SHORE OF LAKE VIKING. |
| 02:07 UTC | HAIL 1 | Gallatin | Daviess, MO | |
| 02:07 UTC | HAIL 2 | Gallatin | Daviess, MO | |
| 02:10 UTC | HAIL 1.75 | Gallatin | Daviess, MO | |
| 02:13 UTC | HAIL 1 | 1 Wsw Gallatin | Daviess, MO | |
| 02:31 UTC | HAIL 1.5 | 2 N Lock Springs | Daviess, MO | |
| 02:48 UTC | HAIL 2.5 | Spring Hill | Livingston, MO | |
| 02:53 UTC | HAIL 1 | 4 N Plattsburg | Clinton, MO | |
| 03:24 UTC | HAIL 0.88 | Osborn | Dekalb, MO | |
| 03:44 UTC | TORNADO | 3 Ne Cameron | Caldwell, MO | SPOTTERS REPORTING POSSIBLE LARGE TORNADO |
| 03:46 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Kidder | Caldwell, MO | TWO TREES DOWN IN CITY PARK. ONE TREE BROKEN IN HALF. |
| 03:48 UTC | HAIL 1 | Winston | Daviess, MO | |
| 03:54 UTC | HAIL 0.75 | 5 W Kingston | Caldwell, MO | |
| 03:59 UTC | TSTM WND GST 60 | Gallatin | Daviess, MO | |
| 04:04 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Gallatin | Daviess, MO | POWERLINES DOWN AND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DAMAGED IN WEST AND SOUTWHEST GALLATIN |
| 04:05 UTC | TORNADO | 5 S Gallatin | Daviess, MO | REPORTED AT THE INTERSECTION OF 13 AND M HWYS |
| 04:17 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Kidder | Caldwell, MO | TWO TREES DOWN IN CITY PARK. ONE TREE BROKEN IN HALF. |
| 04:17 UTC | TSTM WND GST 70 | Gallatin | Daviess, MO | PENNY SIZED HAIL ALSO REPORTED. |
| 04:26 UTC | TSTM WND GST 80 | 1 W Jamesport | Daviess, MO | CAR BLOWN OFF HIGHWAY 6 AT THIS LOCATION |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2009 tornado in MissouriEvery tornado in Missouri since 1950Warnings in force in Missouri nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of June 7, 2009
10 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 7 | 2:03 PM CDT | EF0 | Banner, WY to NE | 5.5 | 25 | |||
| June 7 | 1:05 PM MDT | EF0 | Adams, CO | 0.6 | 50 | $25,000 | ||
| June 7 | 1:50 PM MDT | EF1 | Arapahoe, CO | 5.5 | 100 | 2 | $500,000 | |
| June 7 | 2:23 PM MDT | EF0 | Arapahoe, CO | 0.1 | 50 | $10,000 | ||
| June 7 | 2:27 PM MDT | EF1 | Elbert, CO | 0.2 | 50 | $75,000 | ||
| June 7 | 2:43 PM MDT | EF0 | Elbert, CO | 0.1 | 150 | |||
| June 7 | 5:17 PM CDT | EF0 | Cass, IA | 0.2 | 25 | |||
| June 7 | 6:33 PM CDT | EF0 | Dallas, IA | 1.9 | 125 | $10,000 | ||
| June 7 | 8:13 PM CDT | EF0 | DeKalb, MO | 0.1 | 25 | |||
| June 7 | 10:44 PM CDT | EF0 | Caldwell, MO | 0.1 | 25 |
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.