Tornadoes · United States · Missouri · 2011
EF0 tornado, Shelbina to Lakenan, Missouri, February 27, 2011
From Shelbina to Lakenan, this EF0 tornado ran 2.0 miles across Shelby and Monroe counties on February 27, 2011, touching down at 6:48 PM CST and reaching 20 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
- February 27, 2011
- Touchdown
- 6:48 PM CST (00:48 UTC)
- Lifted
- 6:50 PM CST (00:50 UTC)
- On the ground
- 2 minutes
- Path length
- 2.0 miles (3.3 km)
- Path width
- 20 yards (18 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Counties
- Shelby and Monroe counties
- Touchdown point
- 39.657, -92.035
- Lift-off point
- 39.660, -91.998
- Record number
- 1102271848-01
What the Weather Service recorded
A quasi-stationary frontal boundary was the main focusing mechanism for a round of significant severe weather over the forecast area. A strong shortwave moved along the boundary triggering widespread showers and thunderstorms. Numerous reports of large hail, damaging winds and 22 tornadoes occurred with this system.
The tornado initially touched down 1.5 miles south of Shelbina just west of Highway 15, damaging a small storage building and scattering debris across Highway 15. The tornado then continued to the east-northeast, severely damaging a large metal farm building. The debris from this building was blown downwind over half a mile. The maximum damage was rated EF1, with a maximum wind speed around 90 mph. Total length of this tornado was around a mile, with a maximum width of 20 to 30 yards.
The tornado initially touched down just southwest of the intersection of Highway 15 and Route WW, in far north central Monroe County, damaging several metal machine sheds and tossing debris over a quarter of a mile downwind. The tornado continued moving east-northeast crossing into far southern Shelby County. The damage was rated EF0, with a maximum wind speed around 80 mph and a width of 20 yards. The total overall length of the tornado for both Monroe and Shelby counties was 2 miles.
As the tornado crossed from far north central Monroe County into southern Shelby County it struck a farmstead just north of County Line Road. At this location two small grain bins were destroyed, one of which was wrapped around a power pole a quarter of a mile to the east. A larger grain bin was partially shifted off its foundation, and suffered a partial collapse on its west side. A nearby windmill was also destroyed. The damage was rated EF0, with a maximum wind speed around 80 mph and a width of 20 yards. The total overall length of the tornado for both Monroe and Shelby counties was 2 miles.
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 St. Louis, MO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Feb 27, 5:50 PM CST, 58 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 27, 5:50 PM CST, 58 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED AVIATION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
550 PM CST SUN FEB 27 2011
.DISCUSSION...
/345 PM CST SUN FEB 27 2011/
THERE BE A PLETHORA OF WX HAZARDS TO DEAL WITH OVER THE NEXT 24HRS.
FIRST WILL BE THE SVR WX THREAT. A STRENGTHENING FRONTAL ZONE FROM
JUST S OF KPPQ TO KMYJ WILL REMAIN QUASI-STATIONARY THRU THE EVENING
HRS BEFORE MAKING ITS FINAL PUSH SEWD THRU THE FA. STEEP MID LEVEL
LAPSE RATES...ONLY KEPT AT BAY BY A STOUT CAP...BUT THAT WILL NOT BE
MUCH OF AN ISSUE SOON AS DEEP LIFT FROM A STRONG SHORTWAVE LIFTS
THIS LAYER AND REMOVES THE CAP. THIS SHOULD BE ALL COMING TOGETHER
AROUND 00Z AND WILL CONTINUE THRU THE EVENING AND INTO THE EARLY
OVERNIGHT. FOR MOST AREAS IN THE NRN FA...ROUGHLY N OF I-70...THE
PRIMARY THREAT WILL BE LARGE HAIL WITH A BRIEF SPINUP TORNADO
POSSIBLE WITH ANY SUPERCELLS THAT CROSS THE LO LEVEL FRONTAL ZONE.
FOR THE I-70 CORRIDOR AND AREAS S...A GREATER THREAT FOR DAMAGING
WINDS WILL EXIST TO ACCOMPANY THE LARGE HAIL...AS WELL AS TORNADOES.
THE MODELS STILL HAVE SOME ISSUES WITH EXACT STRUCTURE OF THE
SYSTEM...BUT MOST AGREE THAT A SEPARATION OF PCPN AREAS WILL OCCUR
WITH THE NRN AREA EVOLVING INTO LESS THUNDER AND MORE STRATIFORM
RAIN WITH TIME THIS EVENING AND WILL TEND TO BE A MORE STEADY ZONE
OF PCPN. THE SRN AREA WILL LIKELY GO THRU THE STL METRO AREA AND
AREAS TO THE S AND E...AND WILL BE THE PRIMARY SVR WX THREAT ZONE
WITH THIS SYSTEM. A DRY SLOT IS ULTIMATELY EXPECTED TO PUNCH THRU
LATE THIS EVENING AND EARLY OVERNIGHT AND WIND DOWN THE SVR THREAT
SIGNIFICANTLY.
ANOTHER HAZARD WILL BE FLOODING...AND AN AREAL FLOOD WATCH WAS
ISSUED EARLIER THIS AFTN FOR THE NRN FA TO ADDRESS SMALL CREEKS AND
STREAMS RUNNING OUT OF BANKFULL WITH THE EXPECTED INCH OR SO OF
RAINFALL THAT IS EXPECTED...IN ADDITION TO THE MELTING SNOW PACK AND
ALREADY SATURATED GROUND AND/OR STILL SOMEWHAT FROZEN GROUND
DEPENDING ON EXACTLY WHERE.
YET ANOTHER HAZARD IS DENSE FOG. THIS HAS FORMED WHERE MUCH HIGHER
DWPTS WITH FRONTAL ZONE HAVE INTERSECTED THE REMNANT SNOW PACK AND
PERSISTENT STRATUS TO CREATE A REGION OF POOR VSBYS. BELIEVE THIS
WILL PERSIST UNTIL THE FRONTAL ZONE BEGINS TO MAKE A GO TO THE
SOUTHEAST LATE THIS EVENING OR EARLY OVERNIGHT. DENSE FOG ADVISORY
HAS BEEN ISSUED.
AND FINALLY...SOME WINTRY WX IS EXPECTED AS THE SYSTEM PULLS OUT.
SOME IMPRESSIVE TEMP GRADIENTS EXIST ACROSS MO THANKS TO THIS
FRONTAL ZONE...FROM LOWER 30S JUST N OF IT TO NEAR 70 TO THE S. THIS
COLDER AIR WILL EXPAND SWD...BUT NOT TOO CONFIDENT THE COLD AIR WILL
GET MUCH STRONGER THAN WHAT IS ALREADY THERE AS IT APPEARS TO BE
TAPPED OUT. BELIEVE THE REGION OF LOW-MID 30S TEMPS WILL EXPAND SEWD
WITH THE ADVANCING FRONTAL ZONE LATER TONIGHT AND MONDAY AND THIS
WILL RESULT IN THE LEFTOVER PCPN CHANGING OVER TO SLEET OR SNOW AS
THE WARM WEDGE OF AIR ALOFT ERODES. SOME FZRA POSSIBLE...BUT BELIEVE
THE LACK OF A LARGE AREA OF SUB-FRZG TEMPS WILL LARGELY PRECLUDE
THAT BUT WILL MONITOR CLOSELY THIS EVENING. INITIAL SNOW ACCUMS WITH
SOME SLEET COULD BE NEAR AN INCH WHEN IT ENDS BY LATE MONDAY
MORNING.
DRY WX AND CLEAR SKIES WILL THEN TAKE HOLD FOR MONDAY NIGHT THRU
WEDNESDAY WITH NEAR OR SLIGHTLY ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPS. ANOTHER CDFNT
FOR TUESDAY NIGHT BUT THIS SHOULD PASS THRU WITH LITTLE FANFARE.
FOR THE EXTENDED PERIOD (WEDNESDAY NIGHT - SUNDAY)...ZONAL H500 FLOW
WILL GIVE WAY TO A STRONG SHORTWAVE HEADING INTO NEXT WEEKEND...BUT
THE 00Z/06Z MODELS ARE IN SHARP DISAGREEMENT ON HOW TO HANDLE IT AS
IT MOVES INTO THE CNTRL AND ERN CONUS. THE ECMWF WANTS TO CUT THIS
SYSTEM OFF AND SLOW IT DOWN AND DEEPEN IT OVER THE LOWER MS VALLEY
AND RESULT IN A PROLONGED PCPN EVENT FROM FRIDAY THRU THE END OF THE
PERIOD AT LEAST. THE GFS WANTS TO KEEP THINGS MORE PROGRESSIVE...
WHILE SLOWING DOWN THE TRANSLATIONAL SPEED SOME AND RESULT IN A PCPN
EVENT FROM FRIDAY UNTIL SATURDAY. PREFER THE GFS SOLUTION FOR NOW AS
IT HAS BETTER CONTINUITY AND ACKNOWLEDGES THE NEED TO SLOW THE
TIMING DOWN SOME IF THE SHORTWAVE DIGS AS DEEP AS NOW APPEARS IT
MIGHT...AND SO HAVE PUSHED THE CHANCES FOR RAIN BACK A BIT BUT KEPT
SUNDAY DRY. AT OR SLIGHTLY ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPS WILL ACCOMPANY THE
ZONAL FLOW AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PERIOD...BUT WILL BE CUT BACK TO
BELOW AVERAGE IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE PERIOD GIVEN EXPECTED CLOUDS
AND RAIN AND CDFNT MOVING THRU.
TES
&&
.AVIATION...
/550 PM CST SUN FEB 27 2011/
WARM FRONT HAS REMAINED SOUTH OF KUIN...SO WILL SEE DENSE FOG LINGER
FOR AT LEAST ANOTHER HOUR OR SO TIL THUNDERSTORM COMPLEX MOVES INTO
AREA. STILL SOME UNCERTAINTY ON WHERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL TRACK...SO
JUST KEPT VCTS MENTION FROM 01Z TO 05Z...THEN LINGERING RAIN ON
BACKSIDE OF SYSTEM CHANGING TO ALL SNOW BY 11Z BEFORE COMING TO AN
END AROUND 15Z. WILL SEE CIGS SCATTER OUT BY 21Z MON. AS FOR
WINDS...TO REMAIN FROM THE NORTH...THOUGH WILL SEE GUSTS TO NEAR
25KTS DURING THE DAY ON MONDAY...BEFORE DIMINISHING AS RIDGE BUILDS
IN. AS FOR KCOU...INITIAL COMPLEX MAY REMAIN NORTH OF TAF SITE...SO
FOR NOW JUST HAVE VCTS WITH ADDITIONAL ACTIVITY POSSIBLE TIL FRONT
MOVES THROUGH AROUND 05Z. THEN SEE LINGERING LIGHT RAIN...CHANGING
TO SNOW BY 12Z MON BEFORE COMING TO AN END. WINDS AT KCOU TO REMAIN
FROM THE SOUTH TIL FRONT MOVES THROUGH...THEN VEER TO THE NORTH.
PLEASE REFER TO THE STL DISCUSSION BELOW FOR SUS INFORMATION.
SPECIFICS FOR KSTL...
FOR STL METRO AREA...SOME SHOWERS AND STORMS HAVE DEVELOPED TO THE
SOUTHWEST OF AREA...BUT FEEL BEST CHANCES OF SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE
BETWEEN 04Z AND 07Z. ACTIVITY TO PERSIST OVER REGION THROUGH 09Z
WHEN COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH. EXACT TIMING AND COVERAGE OF STORMS
STILL UNCERTAIN...SO FOR NOW JUST HAVE VCTS MENTIONED IN TAF...THEN
UPDATE AS NEEDED. ONCE FRONT MOVES THROUGH WILL SEE LINGERING RAIN
WITH IT CHANGING OVER TO LIGHT SNOW AND SLEET TOWARDS DAYBREAK
BEFORE COMING TO AN END. AS FOR WINDS...TO PERSIST FROM THE
SOUTH...THEN GRADUALLY VEER TO THE SOUTHWEST...THEN TO THE NORTH
BEHIND THE FRONT. WILL SEE GUSTS TO NEAR 25KTS DURING THE DAY ON
MONDAY...BEFORE DIMINISHING AS RIDGE BUILDS IN AND CIGS SCATTER OUT
AROUND 23Z MON.
BYRD
&&
.LSX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MO...FLOOD WATCH THROUGH LATE TONIGHT FOR AUDRAIN MO-BOONE MO-
CALLAWAY MO-COLE MO-KNOX MO-LEWIS MO-LINCOLN MO-MARION MO-
MONITEAU MO-MONROE MO-MONTGOMERY MO-PIKE MO-RALLS MO-SHELBY
MO.
DENSE FOG ADVISORY UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT FOR AUDRAIN MO-
KNOX MO-LEWIS MO-MARION MO-MONROE MO-PIKE MO-RALLS MO-
SHELBY MO.
IL...FLOOD WATCH THROUGH LATE TONIGHT FOR ADAMS IL-BROWN IL-CALHOUN
IL-GREENE IL-PIKE IL.
DENSE FOG ADVISORY UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT FOR ADAMS IL-BROWN
IL-PIKE IL.
&&
WFO LSXHazardous weather outlook, Feb 27, 4:07 PM CST, 2 hours 41 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO 407 PM CST SUN FEB 27 2011 ILZ058>060-064-065-069-070-074-079-095>102-MOZ018-019-026-027- 034>036-041-042-047>052-059>065-072>075-084-085-099-281200- GREENE IL-MACOUPIN IL-MONTGOMERY IL-BOND IL-FAYETTE IL-CLINTON IL- MARION IL-WASHINGTON IL-RANDOLPH IL-ADAMS IL-BROWN IL-PIKE IL- CALHOUN IL-JERSEY IL-MADISON IL-ST. CLAIR IL-MONROE IL-KNOX MO- LEWIS MO-SHELBY MO-MARION MO-MONROE MO-RALLS MO-PIKE MO-BOONE MO- AUDRAIN MO-MONITEAU MO-COLE MO-OSAGE MO-CALLAWAY MO-MONTGOMERY MO- LINCOLN MO-GASCONADE MO-WARREN MO-ST. CHARLES MO-FRANKLIN MO- ST. LOUIS MO-ST. LOUIS CITY MO-JEFFERSON MO-CRAWFORD MO- WASHINGTON MO-ST. FRANCOIS MO-STE. GENEVIEVE MO-IRON MO- MADISON MO-REYNOLDS MO- 407 PM CST SUN FEB 27 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN AND CENTRAL MISSOURI AS WELL AS WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT AN OUTBREAK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IS EXPECTED MAINLY FOR THIS EVENING...ALTHOUGH IT MAY CONTINUE PAST MIDNIGHT FOR SOME AREAS. FOR AREAS MAINLY NORTH OF INTERSTATE 70...LARGE HAIL IS EXPECTED TO BE THE MAIN SEVERE THREAT. FOR AREAS ALONG AND SOUTH OF THE INTERSTATE 70 CORRIDOR...THE SEVERE THREATS WILL INCLUDE LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...AND POSSIBLY A FEW TORNADOES. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON CONVECTIVE WATCHES...PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST STORM PREDICTION CENTER WATCH PRODUCTS. THE COMBINATION OF SATURATED GROUND OR PARTIALLY FROZEN GROUND WITH EXISTING AND MELTING SNOW COVER AND A PERSISTENT AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL RESULT IN AN INCREASED RISK FOR FLOODING FROM STREAMS AND SMALL RIVERS TONIGHT FOR AREAS IN NORTHEAST AND CENTRAL MISSOURI AND WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS. PLEASE SEE THE FLOOD WATCH PRODUCT FOR FURTHER INFORMATION. WIDESPREAD DENSE FOG...REDUCING VISIBILITIES TO ONE QUARTER MILE OR LESS AT TIMES...IS EXPECTED ACROSS PARTS OF CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST MISSOURI AND WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS THROUGH THIS EVENING WITH IMPROVEMENT EXPECTED BY MIDNIGHT. PLEASE SEE THE DENSE FOG ADVISORY PRODUCT FOR FURTHER INFORMATION. ENOUGH COLD AIR WILL SPILL IN BEHIND THE FRONT TO CHANGE THE PRECIPITATION OVER TO SLEET AND SNOW AFTER MIDNIGHT FOR PARTS OF NORTHEAST MISSOURI AND WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS. MINOR ACCUMULATIONS OF SNOW AND SLEET ARE POSSIBLE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY SNOW AND SOME SLEET IS EXPECTED FOR MONDAY MORNING FOR AREAS MAINLY TO THE NORTH AND EAST OF SAINT LOUIS. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED TO BE LESS THAN AN INCH. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS LIKELY ANYTIME FROM THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT. TES
In the hours before
Local storm report, Feb 27, 6:36 PM CST, 12 minutes before
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</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), 00:00Z
0.8 hours before the tornado, 253 km from the path. February 28, 2011.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -97360 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 485 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 86 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 7 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 101 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 136 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 0.6 K/km
The surface observations
Kirksville (IRK), 66 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 00:00 UTC |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The St Louis radar (KLSX), 157 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 00:46 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 2011 tornado in MissouriEvery tornado in Missouri since 1950Warnings in force in Missouri nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of February 27, 2011
19 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 27 | 6:21 PM CST | EF0 | Cowley, OK to KS | 3.5 | 75 | |||
| February 27 | 6:34 PM CST | EF0 | Chautauqua, KS | 0.9 | 75 | |||
| February 27 | 6:45 PM CST | EF1 | Shelby, MO | 1.0 | 30 | |||
| February 27 | 8:05 PM CST | EF0 | Pike, MO | 2.3 | 40 | |||
| February 27 | 10:05 PM CST | EF0 | Pike, MO | 1.4 | 40 | |||
| February 27 | 10:15 PM CST | EF1 | Osage, MO | 0.2 | 50 | |||
| February 27 | 10:33 PM CST | EF1 | Gasconade, MO | 0.7 | 175 | |||
| February 27 | 10:53 PM CST | EF1 | Franklin, MO | 9.3 | 200 | |||
| February 27 | 11:03 PM CST | EF1 | Saint Louis, MO | 0.1 | 50 | |||
| February 27 | 11:04 PM CST | EF1 | Saint Louis, MO | 0.4 | 75 | |||
| February 27 | 11:05 PM CST | EF1 | Saint Louis, MO | 0.9 | 200 | |||
| February 27 | 11:06 PM CST | EF1 | Saint Louis, MO | 0.7 | 50 | |||
| February 27 | 11:10 PM CST | EF1 | Saint Louis, MO | 0.6 | 70 | |||
| February 27 | 12:30 AM EST | EF1 | Madison, IN | 0.6 | 40 | $105,000 | ||
| February 27 | 11:35 PM CST | EF1 | Madison, IL | 3.3 | 100 | |||
| February 27 | 11:39 PM CST | EF1 | Madison, IL | 2.4 | 150 | |||
| February 27 | 11:42 PM CST | EF1 | Madison, IL | 2.0 | 50 | |||
| February 27 | 11:45 PM CST | EF2 | Madison, IL | 2.7 | 200 | 1 | ||
| February 27 | 11:57 PM CST | EF1 | Bond, IL | 2.7 | 50 |
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.