Tornadoes · United States · Missouri · 2010

EF1 tornado, Monett to Monett Arpt, Missouri, May 13, 2010

From Monett to Monett Arpt, this EF1 tornado ran 2.2 miles across Barry County on May 13, 2010, touching down at 7:00 AM CDT and reaching 200 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $500,000 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.

  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 mphthis tornado

    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
EF1
Date
May 13, 2010
Touchdown
7:00 AM CDT (12:00 UTC)
Lifted
7:05 AM CDT (12:05 UTC)
On the ground
5 minutes
Path length
2.2 miles (3.5 km)
Path width
200 yards (183 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$500,000
County
Barry County
Touchdown point
36.908, -93.937
Lift-off point
36.920, -93.901
Record number
1005130600-01

What the Weather Service recorded

Severe thunderstorms associated with a cold pool from an upper level low developed during the early morning hours of May 13th. The storms produced hail, winds up to 60 mph, flooding and three confirmed tornadoes. Tornadoes impacted the communities of Monett, Sparta and Hurley in Missouri. The tornadoes were responsible for destroying one business and damaging at least five others as well as causing minor to moderate damage to two homes, several outbuildings, power poles, high tension utility lines and trees. Heavy rainfall from the storms on the 13th produced flooding across portions of the region as storms developed and moved across a stationary front across the Missouri Ozarks. Several rounds of storms producing heavy rainfall continues the flooding across the region lasting into the 15th before flood waters receded.

A National Weather Service ground survey confirmed an EF-1 tornado initially touched down near the Plymouth Hill subdivision...then tracked through the Casino Park area before destroying the Pizza Hut and damaging several other structures. The tornado lifted near the race track on the eastern edge of Monett. Maximum winds were estimated at 100 to 110 mph with a maximum width of 200 yards.

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.

The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 10:05 UTC and running to 13:00 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
10:05 UTC13:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WatchSGF
11:37 UTC12:30 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningSGF

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 General Thunderstorms Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 05:23 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

0.0 hours before the tornado, 11 km from the path. May 13, 2010.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Springfield, MO at 12:00Z on 2010-05-13Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 139 joules per kilogram, CIN -135, lifted condensation level 570 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, Springfield, MO at 12:00Z on 2010-05-13The 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 259 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 70 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
139 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-135 J/kg
Surface CAPE
35 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
570 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
70 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
41 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
259 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
313 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
10.4
0-3 km lapse rate
5.7 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Springfield, MO (KSGF), 00:00Z

12.0 hours after it, 11 km from the path. May 14, 2010.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Springfield, MO at 00:00Z on 2010-05-14Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 12 joules per kilogram, CIN -433, lifted condensation level 706 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, Springfield, MO at 00:00Z on 2010-05-14The 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 112 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 54 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
12 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-433 J/kg
Surface CAPE
4 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
706 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
54 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
24 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
112 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
219 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
3.7 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Monett (HFJ), 8 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
10:15 UTC73.466.2210° 11 kt1011.5
10:35 UTC71.666.2190° 9 kt1011.5
10:55 UTC71.666.2290° 12 kt161011.9
11:15 UTC66.262.60° 0 kt1011.5
11:35 UTC64.462.660° 7 kt1011.5
11:55 UTC69.866.2180° 8 kt1011.9
12:15 UTC60.860.8330° 15 kt331014.6
12:35 UTC60.860.80° 0 kt1015.2
12:55 UTC60.860.80° 0 kt1015.6
13:15 UTC60.860.8140° 7 kt1014.9
13:35 UTC60.860.8140° 11 kt1014.2
13:55 UTC62.660.8130° 15 kt191012.9

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

The radar

The Springfield radar (KSGF), 58 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 12:00 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
11:30 UTCFLASH FLOODJoplinJasper, MOSEVERAL STREETS ARE FLOODED IN THE CITY INCLUDING THE INTERSECTION OF ZORA AND LONEL STREETS.
11:33 UTCTSTM WND DMG5 S GoodmanMcdonald, MOA BARN REPORTED BLOWN DOWN AND BLOCKING BEAMON HOLLOW ROAD.
11:45 UTCTSTM WND DMG10 W MonettNewton, MOCARS BLOWN OFF ROAD WEST OF MONETT. FUNNEL CLOUD ALSO REPORTED AT THE SAME TIME.
11:53 UTCFLASH FLOODJoplinJasper, MOSEVERAL STREETS ARE FLOODED IN THE CITY INCLUDING THE INTERSECTION OF ZORA AND LONEL STREETS.
12:00 UTCTORNADO1 Ssw MonettBarry, MONWS GROUND SURVEY CONFIRMS AN EF1 TORNADO INITIALLY TOUCHED DOWN NEAR PLYMOUTH HILL SUBDIVISION...THEN TRACKED THROUGH THE CASINO PARK AREA BEFORE DESTROYING THE PIZZA HUT AND DAMAGING SEVERAL OTHER STRUCTURES. THE TORNA
12:11 UTCTSTM WND DMGMonettBarry, MOSEVERAL POWER POLES DOWN IN THE CITY.
12:19 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 E MonettBarry, MODAMAGE TO A BARN AND ROOF. SILO DESTROYED.
12:19 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 Ese MonettBarry, MOTREES DOWN AND A TRAILER BLOWN OVER ON ITS SIDE ON FARM ROAD 2020.
12:26 UTCTSTM WND DMG4 W Reeds SpringStone, MOLARGE TREE LIMBS DOWN.
12:30 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 S AuroraLawrence, MOTREE DOWN.
12:42 UTCTORNADO4 Ese HurleyStone, MOA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STORM SURVEY REVEALED THAT A WEAK EF-0 TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN IN RURAL STONE COUNTY. MINOR DAMAGE OCCURRED TO A HOME WHILE NUMEROUS TREES WERE DESTROYED. WIND SPEEDS WERE ESTIMATED AT 75 MPH. THE

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2010 tornado in MissouriEvery tornado in Missouri since 1950Warnings in force in Missouri nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of May 13, 2010

15 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 134:19 AM CDTEF1Creek, OK20.01,000$75,000
May 134:43 AM CDTEF2Tulsa, OK22.7500$750,000
May 134:45 AM CDTEF1Tulsa, OK14.1500$125,000
May 134:52 AM CDTEF2Okmulgee, OK6.0300$200,000
May 135:04 AM CDTEF2Wagoner, OK5.15502$400,000
May 135:05 AM CDTEF2Rogers, OK6.0450$750,000
May 135:09 AM CDTEF0Rogers, OK3.1700$10,000
May 135:17 AM CDTEF2Rogers, OK8.71,0002$350,000
May 135:37 AM CDTEF1Cherokee, OK4.0200$10,000
May 135:51 AM CDTEF1Cherokee, OK4.0200
May 136:05 AM CDTEF1Ottawa, OK8.0500$25,000
May 136:24 AM CDTEF1Washington, AR0.175
May 137:42 AM CDTEF0Stone, MO0.350$10,000
May 138:00 AM CDTEF0Christian, MO4.3200$50,000
May 131:47 AM EDTEF1Van Wert, OH2.1150

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.