Tornadoes · United States · Missouri · 2009

EF0 tornado, Mine La Motte to Cornwall, Missouri, May 8, 2009

From Mine La Motte to Cornwall, this EF0 tornado ran 0.5 miles across Madison County on May 8, 2009, touching down at 12:05 PM CDT and reaching 50 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.

  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
May 8, 2009
Touchdown
12:05 PM CDT (17:05 UTC)
Lifted
12:06 PM CDT (17:06 UTC)
On the ground
1 minutes
Path length
0.5 miles (0.8 km)
Path width
50 yards (46 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Madison County
Touchdown point
37.617, -90.285
Lift-off point
37.617, -90.276
Record number
0905081105-01

What the Weather Service recorded

A large mesoscale convective system moved east across southern Missouri and southern Illinois causing widespread wind damage, as well as hail and a few tornadoes.

A tornado briefly touched down and traveled to the east. Several trees were blown over by the tornado before it lifted and dissipated.

A tornado briefly touched down near the intersection of County roads 229 and 234. The tornado then traveled east along County road 234 for half a mile before lifting and dissipating. It blew down a few trees as well as numerous large tree limbs.

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.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 14:21 UTC and running to 18:21 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
03:27 UTC11:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WatchLSX
03:27 UTC08:50 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WatchLSX
06:29 UTC07:15 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX
14:21 UTC18:21 UTCTornado WatchLSX
15:32 UTC15:58 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX
16:31 UTC17:00 UTCTornado WarningLSX
17:05 UTC17:45 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX
17:31 UTC17:46 UTCTornado WarningLSX

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 17:13 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.

Little Rock, AR (KLZK), 12:00Z

5.1 hours before the tornado, 311 km from the path. May 8, 2009.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Little Rock, AR at 12:00Z on 2009-05-08Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 1297 joules per kilogram, CIN -163, lifted condensation level 606 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, Little Rock, AR at 12:00Z on 2009-05-08The 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 144 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 28 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
1297 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-163 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1796 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
606 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
28 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
27 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
144 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
138 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
2.1
0-3 km lapse rate
4.1 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Little Rock, AR (KLZK), 00:00Z

6.9 hours after it, 311 km from the path. May 9, 2009.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Little Rock, AR at 00:00Z on 2009-05-09Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 2269 joules per kilogram, CIN -19, lifted condensation level 988 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, Little Rock, AR at 00:00Z on 2009-05-09The 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 90 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 35 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
2269 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-19 J/kg
Surface CAPE
3315 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
988 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
15 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
90 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
245 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.6
Supercell composite
10.2
0-3 km lapse rate
5.4 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The St Louis radar (KLSX), 125 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 17:04 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
14:34 UTCHAIL 2.75PotosiWashington, MOTRAINED SPOTTER IN POTOSI REPORTED BASEBALL SIZE HAIL AT THIS TTIME (9...35 AM CDT)
15:02 UTCHAIL 0.72 S Bonne TerreSt. Francois, MOSPORATIC HAIL
15:15 UTCHAIL 0.75Bonne TerreSt. Francois, MOPENNY SIZE HAIL REPORTED 5 MILES NORTH OF BONNE TERRE REPORTED BY AMATEUR RADIO OPERATOR
15:36 UTCHAIL 0.7BloomsdaleSte. Genevieve, MO
15:39 UTCHAIL 1.255 W Ste. GenevieveSte. Genevieve, MOREPORTED BY AMATEUR RADIO OPERATOR
15:45 UTCTSTM WND DMG6 N RedfordReynolds, MONUMEROUS TREES BLOWN DOWN BY HIGH WINDS.
15:50 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 W Bonne TerreSt. Francois, MOSEVERAL 5 INCH LIMBS DOWN.
16:15 UTCFLASH FLOODPotosiWashington, MOREPORTS OF 1 TO 2 FEET OVER WATER OVER MILL STREET IN POTOSI.
16:20 UTCTORNADO2 W McbridePerry, MOPATH VISIBLE IN WHEAT FIELD ALONG COUNTY ROAD 934. DOZENS OF TREES DOWN NEAR THE PATH...APPARENTLY DUE TO INFLOW WINDS. TORNADO CLASSIFIED AS EF0 WITH A PEAK WIND OF 65 MPH. PATH LENGTH WAS 2.2 MILES WITH AN AVERAGE PATH
16:29 UTCTORNADO4 Se CaledoniaIron, MOTORNADO ON THE GROUND IN THE VICINITY OF THE INTERSECTION OF MISSOURI HIGHWAYS 32 AND 21 SLIGHTLY SOUTH OF THE WASHINGTON COUNTY LINE
16:30 UTCTSTM WND DMG6 N RedfordReynolds, MOTREES DOWN EVERYWHERE.
16:38 UTCTSTM WND DMGLestervilleReynolds, MOTREES DOWN THROUGHOUT TOWN.
16:40 UTCFUNNEL CLOUD2 W FarmingtonSt. Francois, MO
16:40 UTCTSTM WND DMG5 S PotosiWashington, MOTREES ACROSS BOTH LANES OF MISSOURI HIGHWAY 21.
16:45 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 Se Iron MountainSt. Francois, MOWIRES AND TREES DOWN OVER THE ROADS WITHIN THE IRON MOUNTAIN LAKE RESORT.
16:45 UTCTSTM WND GST 76Iron MountainSt. Francois, MOAT 1145 AM CDT AMATEUR RADIO OPERATOR REPORTED 76 MPH IN IRON MOUNTAIN
16:47 UTCFLASH FLOOD2 N Bonne TerreSt. Francois, MOWATER OVER THE ROAD NORTH OF BONNE TERRE RESULTING IN ROAD CLOSURES BOTH NORTH AND SOUTH ALONG MISSOURI HIGHWAY 67
16:50 UTCFUNNEL CLOUDFarmingtonSt. Francois, MO
16:50 UTCTSTM WND DMG4 S ArcadiaIron, MOALONG HIGHWAY 21 RADIO TOWER KNOCKED DOWN.
16:50 UTCTSTM WND GST 87FredericktownMadison, MOTREES DOWN...POWER OUTAGES ACROSS TOWN
16:55 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 E Park HillsSt. Francois, MOAT INTERSECTION OF HIGHWAY 67 AND ROSENER ROAD ... POWER LINES DOWN.
16:57 UTCTORNADO3 W FarmingtonSt. Francois, MOTORNADO TOUCHED DOWN ON THE HILLSIDE TO THE WEST OF FARMINGTON ... DISTANCE ESTIMATED.
16:59 UTCFLASH FLOOD2 Sse PotosiWashington, MOFLOODING AROUND SPOTTERS HOME...2.62 INCHES OF RAIN SO FAR.
16:59 UTCTSTM WND GST 604 W FarmingtonSt. Francois, MOSEVERAL LARGE TREES DOWN WEST SIDE OF STE FRANCOIS COUNTY MO
17:00 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 W Doe RunSt. Francois, MOTWO POWER POLES SNAPPED ALONG HIGHWAY W.
17:02 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 N FarmingtonSt. Francois, MOMULTIPLE TREES DOWN ESTIMATED AT 10 INCHES IN DIAMETER AT THE INTERSECTION OF CURRENT ROAD AND OLD HIGHWAY 67
17:04 UTCTSTM WND DMGDoe RunSt. Francois, MOLARGE TREE UPROOTED IN DOE RUN ALONG HIGHWAY W.
17:05 UTCTSTM WND DMGFarmingtonSt. Francois, MOHALF A ROOF TORN OF A HOUSE AT INTERSECTION OF LIBERTY AND JEFFERSON.
17:07 UTCTSTM WND DMGIrontonIron, MOBROWN SHOE BUILDING SUSTAINED ROOF DAMAGE. ALSO 30 TO 40 FEET TREES UPROOTED IN IRONTON.
17:07 UTCTSTM WND GST 601 N Park HillsSt. Francois, MOTRACKOR TRAILER OVERTURNED 1 MILE NORTH OF PARK HILL ON HIGHWAY 67 SOUTHBOUND. HIGHWAY 67 IS BLOCKED SOUTHBOUND
17:08 UTCTSTM WND DMGPilot KnobIron, MOESTIMATED STRAIGHT LINE WINDS GUSTING AT 50 TO 70 MPH BRINGING DOWN MULTIPLE TREES ESTIMATED AT 12 TO 15 INCH DIAMETER SIZE
17:10 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 N FredericktownMadison, MOVERY HIGH WINDS. ROOF BLOWN OFF OF BUILDING.
17:10 UTCTSTM WND DMGFarmingtonSt. Francois, MOROOF TORN OFF OF THE EL TAPATIO RESTAURANT.
17:10 UTCFLASH FLOOD2 Se PotosiWashington, MOONE TO TWO FEET OVER NEW DIGGENS ROAD
17:10 UTCTSTM WND GST 70FredericktownMadison, MONUMEROUS TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN IN AND AROUND THE FREDRICKTOWN AREA. SOME OF THE LARGE TREES FELL ON HOMES.
17:15 UTCTSTM WND DMG5 E FredericktownMadison, MOAT THE INTERSECTION OF HIGHWAY 72 AND HIGHWAY F ... SEVERAL HOUSES DAMAGED ALONG WITH TREES DOWN.
17:15 UTCFLASH FLOODBismarckSt. Francois, MOTRAIN TRACK UNDER TIES ARE WASHED AWAY IN THE BISMARCK AREA.
17:15 UTCFLASH FLOODPotosiWashington, MO4 FEET OF WATER OVER JEFFERSON STREET IN POTOIS MO
17:20 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 E Knob LickSt. Francois, MOAT THE INTERSECTION OF HIGHWAY OO AND HIGHWAY T ... TREES DOWN CLOSING THE INTERSECTION.
17:20 UTCTSTM WND DMG4 S ArcadiaIron, MOALONG HIGHWAY 21 RADIO TOWER KNOCKED DOWN.

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 May 8, 2009

45 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 87:53 AM CDTEF1Dade, MO1.9100$35,000
May 88:05 AM CDTEF1Greene, MO3.9100$1.0 million
May 88:14 AM CDTEF1Greene, MO1.875$200,000
May 88:16 AM CDTEF1Polk, MO8.6250$2.0 million
May 88:21 AM CDTEF0Greene, MO3.5100$100,000
May 88:25 AM CDTEF1Taney, MO12.3880$2.6 million
May 88:38 AM CDTEF1Webster, MO3.8400$50,000
May 88:39 AM CDTEF2Douglas, MO2.31,320$200,000
May 88:39 AM CDTEF2Douglas, MO2.5880$20,000
May 88:41 AM CDTEF2Dallas, MO4.34002$2.0 million
May 88:48 AM CDTEF1Douglas, MO1.1200$50,000
May 88:48 AM CDTEF1Ozark, MO1.6440$200,000
May 89:07 AM CDTEF1Wright, MO3.8440$50,000
May 89:19 AM CDTEF0Texas, MO6.8200$50,000
May 89:25 AM CDTEF2Laclede, MO2.0440$500,000
May 89:28 AM CDTEF3Howell, MO2.2800$500,000
May 89:35 AM CDTEF2Howell, MO27.98802$2.5 million
May 89:35 AM CDTEF1Howell, MO10.8880$500,000
May 89:40 AM CDTEF1Texas, MO3.5440$25,000
May 810:25 AM CDTEF1Reynolds, MO1.8440
May 811:20 AM CDTEF0Perry, MO2.250$7,000
May 811:30 AM CDTEF1Jackson, IL3.1100$80,000
May 811:32 AM CDTEF0Jackson, IL0.430
May 812:10 PM CDTEF1Madison, MO0.530
May 81:12 PM CDTEF0Jackson, IL0.140$10,000
May 81:18 PM CDTEF0Franklin, IL0.340
May 81:40 PM CDTEF0Clay, IA0.350
May 81:45 PM CDTEF1Franklin, IL5.5150
May 83:04 PM CDTEF1Barren, KY5.830$50,000
May 84:55 PM EDTEF3Garrard, KY21.1150215
May 85:02 PM EDTEF0McMinn, TN0.120
May 84:15 PM CDTEF1Fentress, TN2.650$150,000
May 85:18 PM EDTEF0Estill, KY0.350$15,000
May 85:58 PM EDTEF2Scott, TN4.5200$90,000
May 86:40 PM EDTEF0Union, TN0.820
May 87:15 PM EDTEF2Claiborne, TN2.2100
May 87:36 PM EDTEF1Grainger, TN9.4100$15,000
May 88:45 PM EDTEF0Washington, TN0.120
May 89:00 PM EDTEF0Dickenson, VA0.6100$5,000
May 88:14 PM CDTEF0Warren, IL0.525
May 89:45 PM EDTEF2Wise, VA1.7120
May 810:25 PM EDTEF0Russell, VA0.120
May 810:27 PM EDTEF2Russell, VA1.1250
May 811:44 PM EDTEF2Alleghany, NC4.92006$200,000
May 811:46 PM EDTEF1Alleghany, NC0.330$5,000

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.