Tornadoes · United States · Missouri · 2009

EF2 tornado, Pure Air to Clay, Missouri, May 13, 2009

From Pure Air to Clay, this EF2 tornado ran 5.8 miles across Adair County on May 13, 2009, touching down at 6:09 PM CDT and reaching 150 yards wide. It killed 2 people and injured 6, and did $5.0 million 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 mph

    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 mphthis tornado

    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
EF2
Date
May 13, 2009
Touchdown
6:09 PM CDT (23:09 UTC)
Lifted
6:20 PM CDT (23:20 UTC)
On the ground
11 minutes
Path length
5.8 miles (9.3 km)
Path width
150 yards (137 m)
Deaths
2
Injuries
6
Property damage
$5.0 million
County
Adair County
Touchdown point
40.232, -92.595
Lift-off point
40.220, -92.486
Record number
0905131709-01

What the Weather Service recorded

During the evening of May 13, 2009, a series of powerful supercell storms developed ahead of a cold front, pushing southward out of Iowa and Nebraska. These supercell storms produced a wide array of severe weather, with large hail up to the size of golf balls and winds up to 60 mph reported. These storms marched across eastern Kansas and northern Missouri during the evening hours, with a strong supercell storm producing tornadic activity in parts of northeast Missouri. Damage surveys conducted|by the National Weather Service, in conjunction with emergency management, have|found evidence of three tornadoes in Sullivan and Adair counties. All tornadoes|appeared to have been produced by the same supercell thunderstorm. There were|three fatalities. Moderate to severe damage was reported, in the Kirksville area.

An EF1 tornado touched down around 5 miles west of Novinger at 16:43 CST, and paralled Highway 6 as it moved east. The tornado lifted around 2 miles east of Novinger at 16:55 CST. The tornado destroyed a house and out building west of Novinger. On the south side of Novinger, a mobile home was destroyed and power poles and lines were downed. Additional power poles and trees were damaged, before the tornado lifted.

An EF2 tornado touched down at 17:09 CST, 2 miles north-northwest of Kirksville. This tornado traveled east over northern portions of Kirksville, before lifting at 17:20 CST, 2 miles west-southwest of the town of Clay. This tornado killed two people and damaged numerous homes in northern Kirksville. Ten homes were destroyed and fifteen others suffered major damage. Up to 186 other buildings and homes had minor to moderate damage. Two dealerships suffered major damage. Several farmsteads suffered damage east of Kirksville.

The deaths

2 direct deaths are recorded for this tornado, each with what Storm Data knows of it.

AgeSexWhereKind
47MOutside/Open AreasDirect
29FOutside/Open AreasDirect

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

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the tornado touched down, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Kansas City, MO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at May 13, 3:35 PM CDT, 2 hours 34 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 13, 3:35 PM CDT, 2 hours 34 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO
335 PM CDT WED MAY 13 2009

.DISCUSSION...

PREFRONTAL TROUGH HAS JUST PASSED THROUGH KSTJ AND NOW ENTERING THE
XTRM NWRN CORNER OF THE KC METRO. DUE TO ACCELERATION OF THE SFC
BNDRY IT APPEARS THAT AT LEAST THE NWRN PORTION OF THE METRO IS
LIKELY NOT TO EXPERIENCE ANY SIGNIFICANT CONVECTION. OTHERWISE...FOR
ADDITIONAL DETAILS ON THIS AFTN AND EVE CONVECTIVE THREAT...REVIEW
MESOSCALE DISCUSSION ISSUED EARLIER THIS AFTN.

BY LATE THIS EVENING...THE FRONT WILL HAVE CLEARED THE CWFA WITH
COOLER AND DRIER AIR SURGING SE. THIS WILL INSURE A PLEASANT DAY ON
THURSDAY WITH A WEAK SFC HI IN CONTROL.

ATTENTION QUICKLY SHIFTS TO THE CONVECTIVE THREAT THURSDAY NIGHT AND
FRIDAY...IN ADVANCE OF THE NEXT UPPER TROUGH.

PREFER THE QUICKER NAM IN THE INITIATION OF CONVECTION DUE TO
ISENTROPIC LIFT. IT WILL GENERALLY BE CONFINED TO THE SRN CWFA
THURSDAY EVENING AND ACROSS MAINLY THE NRN CWFA LATE THURSDAY NIGHT.
SEVERE THREAT LOOKS LOW...BUT CANNOT RULE OUT SMALL HAIL.

A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS MISSOURI FRIDAY AND FRIDAY NIGHT. SHEAR
IS NOT THAT IMPRESSIVE...BUT GIVEN MODERATE INSTABILITY...SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS ARE PSBL. IN ADDITION...HAVE CONCERN ABOUT POTENTIAL
FOR AT LEAST LOCALIZED FLOODING THURSDAY NGT AND FRIDAY DUE TO
REPETITIVE ROUNDS OF RAINFALL.

DB

MEDIUM RANGE (SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY)...

MEDIUM RANGE MODELS ARE IN EXCELLENT AGREEMENT DEPICTING WEAK
NEGATIVE HEIGHT ANOMALIES ACROSS EASTERN CANADA...WITH STRONGER
BUILDING POSITIVE HEIGHT ANOMALIES OVER THE WRN CONUS. ALL
TOLD...THIS PERIOD WILL FEATURE WEAK NWLY FLOW TRANSITIONING TO
STRONG RIDGING...WITH VIRTUALLY NO PRECIPITATION CHANCES AFTER
SATURDAY AFTERNOON. GIVEN THE MODEL CONSISTENCY...AGREEMENT...AND
EXTREMELY LOW ENSEMBLE SPREAD...CONFIDENCE IN THIS MEDIUM RANGE CAN
BE TERMED WELL ABOVE AVERAGE.

FOLLOWING FROPA SATURDAY...FELT MORE THAN JUSTIFIED IN LOWERING
TEMPERATURES AND DEWPOINTS INTO THE FIRST PART OF NEXT WEEK...WITH
A MODIFIED CONTINENTAL CANADIAN AIRMASS ADVECTING THROUGH THE ENTIRE
CNTRL CONUS. THIS PERIOD SHOULD FEATURE BELOW AVERAGE
TEMPERATURES...BEFORE SIGNIFICANT MIDLEVEL HEIGHT RISES BUILD INTO
THE PLAINS BY MIDWEEK...ALLOWING TEMPERATURES TO INCREASE TO NEAR OR
ABOVE AVERAGE LEVELS. BASED ON H5 HEIGHTS IN EXCESS OF 582DM ALONG
WITH A DRY ATMOSPHERE...MAY NEED TO BUMP TEMPS UP A CATEGORY OR
TWO...AND WILL REASSESS THIS TOMORROW. OTHERWISE...WEATHER FOR THIS
MEDIUM RANGE PERIOD LOOKS SPECTACULAR BY ANY STANDARD.

21

&&

.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 112 PM CDT WED MAY 13 2009/

.MESOSCALE DISCUSSION...

COLD FRONT CURRENTLY EXTENDS FROM NEAR KOMA-KGBD...THOUGH THE
SOUTHWARD ACCELERATION HAS SLOWED SOMEWHAT AS POST FRONTAL PRESSURE
RISES HAVE DIURNALLY WEAKENED...AND BECOME MORE CENTERED ACROSS THE
HIGH PLAINS OF WRN KS/NEBR. MORNING CONVECTION ON THE LEADING EDGE
OF A VERY STOUT EML HAS BEGUN TO QUICKLY WANE OVER NORTHEAST
MISSOURI...AND THIS STRONG CAPPING SHOULD HOLD ACROSS THE CWA IN AN
INCREASINGLY UNSTABLE WARM SECTOR INTO THE MID AFTERNOON HOURS.

FIRST CONCERN IS TIMING OF INITIAL DEEP CONVECTION ALONG AND AHEAD
OF THE COLD FRONT THIS AFTERNOON. ANALYSIS OF 12Z TOP SOUNDING
SHOWS A VERY IMPRESSIVE CAPPING INVERSION AT H7 (+11C)...WITH MODEL
FORECASTS ACTUALLY SHOWING THIS CAP NOSE TEMPERATURE INCREASING TO
+13C BY 18Z. VISIBLE SATELLITE IMAGERY SUPPORTS MIDLEVEL WARMING
WITH SEVERAL SOUTHWARD PROPAGATING GRAVITY WAVES AND A TRAPPED SC
LAYER. HOWEVER...MODELS ALSO SHOW A TREMENDOUS EROSION OF THIS WARM
LAYER BETWEEN 18Z-21Z ALONG THE SFC FRONT...AND IN COINCIDENCE WITH
INCREASING DYNAMICAL LIFT ON THE SRN FLANK OF AN IMPINGING WAVE AND
INCREASING UPPER LEVEL DIVERGENCE. FEEL INITIATION WILL OCCUR DURING
THE MID AFTERNOON HOURS ALONG ONE OF THE CURRENT SC BANDS (AND
ESPECIALLY WHERE ANY OF THESE BANDS INTERSECT OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES
FROM THIS MORNINGS CONVECTION) AS MIDLEVEL TEMPERATURES
COOL...RELEASING MODERATE INSTABILITY (CURRENT ANALYSIS ALREADY
INDICATES 1000-2000 J/KG MLCAPE ACROSS ERN KANSAS/WRN MISSOURI).

SECOND CONCERN IS PREFERRED STORM MODE THROUGH THE CONVECTIVE
LIFECYCLE. PROFILERS AND RUC ANALYSIS ALREADY INDICATE WINDS IN THE
H9-H8 LAYER VEERING SUBSTANTIALLY...AND DIURNALLY WEAKENING...WITH
THE MAJORITY OF THE FORECAST AREA ON THE SRN FRINGES OF DEEP LAYER
SHEAR SUPPORTIVE OF SUPERCELLULAR CONVECTION. THOUGH BULK SHEAR
VALUES WILL CERTAINLY INCREASE DURING THE AFTERNOON AS ENERGY SINKS
SLIGHTLY TOWARDS THE REGION (0-6KM SHEAR FORECAST 40-50KT...WITH
0-3KM SHEAR NEAR 30KT)...VEERED LOW LEVEL WINDS WILL PRODUCE NEARLY
STRAIGHT LINE HODOGRAPHS...MORE SUPPORTIVE FOR SPLITTING/MERGING
SUPERCELLS. GIVEN FORECAST TEMP/DEWPOINTS NEAR 83F/68F UPON
INITIATION YIELDING MLCAPES AS HIGH AS 3000 J/KG (AND SIGNIFICANT
CAPE WITHIN THE ELEVATED HAIL GROWTH REGION)...FEEL VERY LARGE HAIL
WILL BE THE BIGGEST THREAT INITIALLY. THOUGH AN ISOLATED TORNADO
CANNOT BE RULED OUT ALONG ANY MORE DEFINED BOUNDARY WHERE STREAMWISE
VORTICITY WOULD BE MAXIMIZED AND STRETCHED AND TILTED WITHIN THE
UPDRAFT COLUMN...THE COMBINATION OF LOWER THAN OPTIMAL FORECAST
0-1KM AND 0-3KM SRH...AND LCL/S INCREASING TO NEAR 1400M WOULD
PRECLUDE A MORE EXTENSIVE THREAT IN TIME AND SPACE. IN
ADDITION...ANALYSIS OF DCAPES ALREADY IN EXCESS OF 1000 J/KG ALONG
WITH THE LINEAR FORCING AND THE SOUTHWARD MOVING COLD FRONT WOULD
READILY PROMOTE ANY BROKEN SUPERCELLS QUICKLY CONGEALING INTO AN
ORGANIZED LINEAR SYSTEM DOMINATED BY COLD POOL GENERATION AND
OUTFLOW. THEREFORE...SEVERE THEREAT IS EXPECTED TO SHIFT MORE
TOWARDS A SMALLER HAIL AND DAMAGING WIND THREAT INTO THE EARLY
EVENING HOURS AS THE EXPECTED LINEAR SYSTEM PROPAGATES INTO CNTRL
MISSOURI.

FYI...MOST REGIONAL UPPER AIR SITES ENCOMPASSING THE WARM SECTOR OF
THE SYSTEM ARE PLANNING TO RELEASE SPECIAL 18Z SOUNDINGS...WHERE CAP
STRENGTH AND WIND PROFILES WILL BE OF PRIMARY IMPORTANCE.

21

PREVIOUS DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 435 AM CDT WED MAY 13 2009/

WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWING A VIGOROUS SHORT WAVE TROUGH PUSHING
INTO THE NORTHERN PLAINS. IN RESPONSE...EARLY MORNING AREA PROFILERS
REVEALING A VERY IMPRESSIVE 60-70+KT LLJ NOSING ACROSS EASTERN
KANSAS INTO WESTERN MISSOURI. THIS HAS SET UP QUITE AN EFFICIENT LLVL
MOISTURE TRANSPORT WITH LATEST RUC ANALYSIS DEPICTING 15-17C H85 TDS
ADVECTING INTO THE AREA. IN ADDITION...STOUT EML ALSO ADVECTING NORTH
AND EASTWARD WHICH WILL HAVE IMPLICATIONS ON SENSIBLE WEATHER FOR
THIS AFTERNOON.

FIRST CONCERN IS WITH MORNING CONVECTIVE POTENTIAL WITH ONGOING
MCS ATTM ACROSS EASTERN NEBRASKA. RELATIVELY LONG LIVED CONVECTIVE
CLUSTER NOW ACROSS SOUTH-CENTRAL NEBRASKA WILL CONTINUE EAST THIS
MORNING FED BY INTERACTION WITH STRONG LLJ. CURRENT THINKING IS MAIN
COMPLEX WILL RIDE MAINLY EAST ACROSS PORTIONS OF IOWA WHILE
ATTEMPTING TO DIVE SOUTHWARD TOWARD HIGHER THETA E AIR MASS. HOWEVER
AREA TO THE SOUTH WILL PRESENT A TOUGHER ENVIRONMENT AS THE ACTIVITY
BATTLES THE STRENGTHENING EML. IN ADDITION...SCATTERED CONVECTION IS
DEVELOPING ACROSS CENTRAL AND EASTERN MISSOURI...LIKELY TIED TO THE
EDGE OF EML WHERE THETA E AIR MASS IS MORE EASILY ALLOWED TO ACHIEVE
VERTICAL DISPLACEMENT. ALSO...WILL HAVE TO WATCH POTENTIAL FOR
CONVECTION TO DEVELOP ABOVE EML ACROSS PORTIONS OF EASTERN KANSAS
INTO WESTERN MISSOURI WHERE MUCAPE VALUES OF 2-3K J/KG AND 30-40 KTS
OF 0-6KM SHEAR VALUES WOULD SUPPORT ELEVATED SUPERCELLS CAPABLE OF
LARGE HAIL.

CONCERN THEN TURNS TO CONVECTIVE POTENTIAL FOR THIS
AFTERNOON/EVENING AND ASSOCIATED SEVERE THREAT WITH MUCH DEPENDING
ON EVOLUTION OF MORNING ACTIVITY. BY EARLY/MID AFTERNOON 90-100KT H5
JET WILL PUNCH INTO THE NORTHERN/CENTRAL PLAINS...NOSING INTO THE
UPPER MIDWEST/GREAT LAKES BY THIS EVENING. AS THIS OCCURS...SFC
BAROCLINIC BOUNDARY WILL SLIDE SOUTH INTO NORTHWEST MISSOURI BY THE
EARLY AFTERNOON HOURS...SERVING AS THE FOCUS FOR CONVECTIVE
INITIATION AS CONVECTIVE TEMPS ARE REACHED AND SUFFICIENT FRONTAL
CONVERGENCE IS REALIZED. FAVORABLE MID AND UPPER FLOW WILL SPREAD
ACROSS THE REGION DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS...COUPLED WITH 30-40KT
SOUTHWESTERLY LLJ. THIS WILL PRESENT SUFFICIENT DEEP LAYER SHEAR TO
SUPPORT SUPERCELL STRUCTURE ALONG WITH BOWING SEGMENTS. SHOULD
SUFFICIENT SUN PREVAIL BY THIS AFTERNOON...SBCAPE VALUES SHOULD
APPROACH 2-3K J/KG ALONG AND AHEAD OF THE FRONT SUPPORTING VIGOROUS
INITIAL UPDRAFT POTENTIAL AS CONVECTION INITIATES. SOME INDICATIONS
SUGGEST PRECIP MAY HOLD OFF UNTIL NEAR 20-21Z WHEN THE FRONT WOULD
BE ROUGHLY ALONG A UNIONVILLE TO KANSAS CITY LINE. INITIAL UPDRAFTS
WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LARGE HAIL...SOME POSSIBLY VERY LARGE
GIVEN DEGREE OF INSTABILITY PRESENT AND EXPECTED SUPERCELL MODE.
ALSO SOME POTENTIAL FOR TORNADIC DEVELOPMENT...ESPECIALLY EARLY ON
IN THE CONVECTIVE LIFE CYCLE AS LLVL SHEAR WILL BE FAIRLY
STRONG...MORE SO TOWARDS CENTRAL PORTIONS OF MISSOURI. IN
ADDITION...INFLUENCE OF ANY OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES IS YET TO BE
DETERMINED...HOWEVER MORNING ACTIVITY MAY CERTAINLY LEAVE REMNANT
BOUNDARIES FOR CONVECTION TO INTERACT...ENHANCING LOCALIZED
STREAMWISE VORTICITY AND SUBSEQUENT TORNADO POTENTIAL. IN
CONTRAST...SHOULD ANY EFFECTIVE OUTFLOW BOUNDARY SHIFT FAR ENOUGH
SOUTH...THIS MAY SPELL TROUBLE FOR SEVERE POTENTIAL.

TIMING OF CONVECTIVE EVOLUTION IS UNCERTAIN ATTM...HOWEVER ACTIVITY
SHOULD EVENTUALLY CONGEAL INTO A FORWARD PROPAGATING MCS WITH
INCREASING POSSIBILITIES FOR A DAMAGING WINDS THREAT GIVEN DEGREE OF
WIND FIELDS. THIS WILL LIKELY BE ESPECIALLY RELEVANT ACROSS PORTIONS
OF CENTRAL/EASTERN MISSOURI WHERE LLJ WILL BE STRONGER. DUE TO SLOWER
PROGRESSION OF FRONTAL BOUNDARY...KEPT SOME HIGHER POPS ACROSS THE
SOUTHERN COUNTIES THROUGH THIS EVENING...ALTHOUGH CONVECTIVELY
INDUCED COLD POOLS MAY ACCELERATE ACTIVITY THIS EVENING.

EXPECTING A BREAK ON THURSDAY AS SFC RIDGING BUILDS INTO THE AREA AS
THE BAROCLINIC BOUNDARY SHIFTS SOUTH. THIS WILL BE FAIRLY SHORT LIVED
AS RETURN FLOW ESTABLISHES BY THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY MORNING.
AGAIN SOME POTENTIAL FOR ELEVATED SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS AS 40-50KT
LLJ NOSES INTO THE AREA. SYNOPTIC COLD FRONT THEN PUSHES INTO THE
AREA BY FRIDAY AFTERNOON/EVENING WITH ANOTHER ROUND OF
SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE. WITH AMPLE TIME FOR AIR MASS
RECOVERY AND INFLUENCE OF APPROACHING SHORT WAVE TROUGH...POTENTIAL
FOR ANOTHER ROUND OF STRONG TO SEVERE CONVECTION CERTAINLY SEEMS
POSSIBLE.

WITH REPEATED ROUNDS OF SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE NEXT FEW
DAYS...AREAL/RIVER FLOODING WILL HAVE TO BE WATCHED.

DEROCHE

AVIATION...

A COLD FRONT WAS ENTERING EXTREME NWRN MO EARLY THIS AFTN. THE FRONT
WILL MOVE THROUGH KSTJ AROUND 20Z AND KMCI/KMKC BTWN 21Z-23Z. A
STRONG CAP WAS PRECLUDING THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT AT THE CURRENT
TIME...AND IT IS DOUBTFUL WHETHER THUNDERSTORMS CAN DEVELOP IN THE
KSTJ TERMINAL BEFORE THE FRONT GOES THROUGH. HOWEVER...FOR KMCI/KMKC
A LINE OF BKN THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED BTWN 21Z-23Z WITH A WIND
SHIFT AFT 23Z. STRONG WINDS...HAIL AND IFR CONDITIONS MAY ACCOMPANY
THE STORMS. ONCE THE FRONT MOVES THROUGH...DRIER AIR IS EXPECTED
WITH VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED THROUGH THE NIGHT.

DB

&&

.EAX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MO...NONE.
KS...NONE.
Hazardous weather outlook, May 13, 12:58 PM CDT, 5 hours 11 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO
1258 PM CDT WED MAY 13 2009

KSZ025-057-060-102>105-MOZ001>008-011>017-020>025-028>033-037>040-
043>046-053-054-141800-
ATCHISON KS-MIAMI-LINN KS-DONIPHAN-LEAVENWORTH-WYANDOTTE-
JOHNSON KS-ATCHISON MO-NODAWAY-WORTH-GENTRY-HARRISON-MERCER-
PUTNAM-SCHUYLER-HOLT-ANDREW-DE KALB-DAVIESS-GRUNDY-SULLIVAN-ADAIR-
BUCHANAN-CLINTON-CALDWELL-LIVINGSTON-LINN MO-MACON-PLATTE-CLAY-
RAY-CARROLL-CHARITON-RANDOLPH-JACKSON-LAFAYETTE-SALINE-HOWARD-
CASS-JOHNSON MO-PETTIS-COOPER-BATES-HENRY-
1258 PM CDT WED MAY 13 2009

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHWEST...NORTH CENTRAL
AND WEST CENTRAL MISSOURI...AS WELL AS EXTREME EASTERN KANSAS.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

...WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER EPISODE LIKELY THIS AFTERNOON...

A COLD FRONT CURRENTLY MOVING INTO FAR NORTHWEST MISSOURI EARLY THIS
AFTERNOON WILL CONTINUE TO PUSH SOUTH...AND REACH TO NEAR A ST
JOESPH TO GRANT CITY LINE BY THE MID AFTERNOON...AND TO NEAR A
KANSAS CITY TO LANCASTER LINE BY LATE AFTERNOON. THUNDERSTORMS ARE
EXPECTED TO RAPIDLY DEVELOP ALONG AND AHEAD OF THIS FRONT BY THE
MIDDLE OF THE AFTERNOON...TAPPING INTO A MODERATELY UNSTABLE AIRMASS
SOUTH OF THE FRONT. THESE STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO QUICKLY BECOME
SEVERE...WITH VERY LARGE HAIL INITIALLY THE PRIMARY THREAT. AN
ISOLATED TORNADO MAY BE POSSIBLE UPON THE INITIAL THUNDERSTORM
DEVELOPMENT STAGE...THOUGH MORE NUMEROUS STORM DEVELOPMENT SHOULD
ALLOW FOR A LINEAR COMPLEX TO DEVELOP BY THE LATE AFTERNOON HOURS.
AS THIS LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS FILLS IN AND BECOMES MORE
ORGANIZED...THE SEVERE THREAT WILL SHIFT MORE TOWARDS A DAMAGING
WIND EVENT INTO THE EARLY EVENING HOURS....AS THE LINE PROGRESSES
INTO CENTRAL MISSOURI. THE COLD FRONT AND ASSOCIATED LINE OF
THUNDERSTORMS IS EXPECTED TO MOVE SOUTH OF THE OUTLOOK AREA BY THE
MID EVENING HOURS...ENDING THE SEVERE THREAT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

THUNDERSTORMS ARE AGAIN POSSIBLE THURSDAY NIGHT. THE STORMS THURSDAY
NIGHT ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE SEVERE. THUNDERSTORMS WILL GENERALLY BE
RESTRICTED TO NORTHERN MISSOURI ON FRIDAY AS A COLD FRONT MOVES TO
NEAR THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF MISSOURI BY LATE IN THE DAY. DURING THE
EVENING HOURS...THE THUNDERSTORMS THREAT WILL SHIFT TO THE SOUTH OF
INTERSTATE 70 AS THE COLD FRONT CONTINUES TO SHIFT SOUTHEAST. THE
STORMS FOR FRIDAY AND FRIDAY EVENING MAY BE SEVERE WITH LOCALLY HEAVY
RAINFALL.

ALSO OF CONCERN WITH THESE PERIODS OF THUNDERSTORMS THE NEXT SEVERAL
DAYS...THE POSSIBILITY OF LOCALIZED FLOODING OR ADDITIONAL RIVER
FLOODING WILL NEED TO BE MONITORED.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS LIKELY THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS
EVENING...GENERALLY ALONG AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM ST JOSEPH TO GRANT
CITY.

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 13, 5:51 PM CDT, 18 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO
551 PM CDT WED MAY 13 2009

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0548 PM     TORNADO          NOVINGER                40.23N 92.71W
05/13/2009                   ADAIR              MO   AMATEUR RADIO

            TORNADO SPOTTED NEAR NOVINGER...APPROXIMATE WIDTH OF 1/4
            TO 1/2 MILE.

&&

MRD
Local storm report, May 13, 5:53 PM CDT, 16 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO
553 PM CDT WED MAY 13 2009

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0535 PM     TORNADO          4 SW MILAN              40.16N 93.18W
05/13/2009                   SULLIVAN           MO   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            DAMAGE TO A MOBILE HOME ON Y HWY.

&&

MRD
Local storm report, May 13, 5:59 PM CDT, 10 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO
559 PM CDT WED MAY 13 2009

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0550 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     5 S KIRKSVILLE          40.12N 92.58W
05/13/2009                   ADAIR              MO   LAW ENFORCEMENT

&&

MRD
Special weather statement, May 13, 6:00 PM CDT, 9 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO
600 PM CDT WED MAY 13 2009

MOZ037-038-132330-
JACKSON-LAFAYETTE-
600 PM CDT WED MAY 13 2009

...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT FOR NORTHERN JACKSON AND WESTERN
LAFAYETTE COUNTIES UNTIL 630 PM CDT...

AT 559 PM CDT...SATELLITE IMAGERY AND NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THAT THUNDERSTORMS WERE RAPIDLY DEVELOPING
NEAR INDEPENDENCE...MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH.

PENNY SIZE HAIL IS EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM.

THIS STORM WILL BE NEAR...
  LAKE TAPAWINGO AND BLUE SPRINGS AROUND 605 PM CDT.
  BUCKNER AND GRAIN VALLEY AROUND 615 PM CDT.
  LEVASY AND OAK GROVE AROUND 620 PM CDT.

THE TOWN OF NAPOLEON IS ALSO IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM.

LAT...LON 3912 9439 3917 9430 3918 9415 3914 9411
      3914 9407 3915 9404 3919 9405 3919 9400
      3915 9401 3915 9400 3899 9399 3902 9450

MJ
Special weather statement, May 13, 6:03 PM CDT, 6 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Local storm report, May 13, 6:09 PM CDT, 0 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

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.

Davenport, (KDVN), 12:00Z

11.2 hours before the tornado, 231 km from the path. May 13, 2009.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Davenport, at 12:00Z on 2009-05-13Temperature 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 -75164, lifted condensation level 556 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°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, Davenport, at 12:00Z on 2009-05-13The 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 332 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 40 knots.193958Sfc1 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
-75164 J/kg
Surface CAPE
3 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
556 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
40 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
28 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
332 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
344 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
3.8 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Davenport, (KDVN), 00:00Z

0.8 hours after it, 231 km from the path. May 14, 2009.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Davenport, at 00:00Z on 2009-05-14Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 1843 joules per kilogram, CIN -22, lifted condensation level 638 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°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, Davenport, at 00:00Z on 2009-05-14The 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 354 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 57 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
1843 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-22 J/kg
Surface CAPE
2739 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
638 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
57 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
354 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
384 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
4.6
Supercell composite
20.3
0-3 km lapse rate
5.5 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Kirksville (IRK), 14 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
00:00 UTC

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

The radar

The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 195 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 23:08 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.

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 May 13, 2009

19 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 135:10 PM CDTEF1Sullivan, MO4.31001$25,000
May 136:33 PM EDTEF0Hillsborough, FL1.430$75,000
May 135:43 PM CDTEF1Adair, MO7.7100$100,000
May 135:52 PM CDTEF0Coffey, KS0.125
May 136:00 PM CDTEF0Coffey, KS0.025
May 136:33 PM CDTEF0Knox, MO9.2200
May 136:49 PM CDTEF0Knox, MO3.1100
May 136:54 PM CDTEF0Kay, OK0.2100
May 136:55 PM CDTEF0Cowley, KS0.875
May 137:20 PM CDTEF1Noble, OK4.650
May 137:20 PM CDTEF1Bourbon, KS12.6300$100,000
May 139:26 PM CDTEF2Caddo, OK7.3250$50 million
May 139:49 PM CDTEF0Labette, KS0.350
May 1310:41 PM CDTEF0Cleveland, OK0.580
May 1311:38 PM CDTEF0Macoupin, IL1.640
May 1312:04 AM CDTEF1Christian, IL0.860$50,000
May 1312:12 AM CDTEF0Shelby, IL0.640$60,000
May 1312:22 AM CDTEF0Shelby, IL1.450$45,000
May 1312:23 AM CDTEF0Vermilion, IL0.150$35,000

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.