Tornadoes · United States · Missouri · 2011
EF0 tornado, Lexington to Higginsville, Missouri, May 22, 2011
From Lexington to Higginsville, this EF0 tornado ran 0.3 miles across Lafayette County on May 22, 2011, touching down at 2:38 PM CDT and reaching 40 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $500 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.
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
- May 22, 2011
- Touchdown
- 2:38 PM CDT (19:38 UTC)
- Lifted
- 2:40 PM CDT (19:40 UTC)
- On the ground
- 2 minutes
- Path length
- 0.3 miles (0.4 km)
- Path width
- 40 yards (37 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $500
- County
- Lafayette County
- Touchdown point
- 39.180, -93.860
- Lift-off point
- 39.180, -93.855
- Record number
- 1105221338-01
What the Weather Service recorded
A cold front helped to generate severe thunderstorms, across portions of Missouri, mainly along the Interstate 70 corridor, in the afternoon hours of May 22, 2011. There were several reports of tornadoes, along with reports of hail and damaging wind.
At 1338CST a brief EF0 tornado touched down 1 mile east of Lexington, and moved east about a third of a mile, before lifting at 1340CST. Law enforcement reported that one outbuilding was destroyed.
At 1425CST a brief EF0 tornado touchdown, was observed by television helicopter, a little over a half north of Higginsville. The tornado moved about a tenth of a mile to the east, and lifted at 1427CST. Touchdown was in an open field with no damage observed.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The forecast that day
The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Slight Risk, with a 0.10 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 16:18 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.
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 22, 11:40 AM CDT, 2 hours 58 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 22, 11:40 AM CDT, 2 hours 58 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO 1140 AM CDT SUN MAY 22 2011 ...UPDATED MESOSCALE DISCUSSION... .DISCUSSION... ...MESOSCALE DISCUSSION... SLIGHTLY MORE UNCERTAINTY REGARDING CONVECTIVE INITIATION... PLACEMENT...AND TIMING AS OPPOSED TO YESTERDAY...WITH VARIOUS OPERATIONAL AND HIGH RESOLUTION DIRECT CONVECTIVE MODELS NOT DEPICTING A PARTICULARLY CONSISTENT PICTURE. IN GENERAL...FAVOR SOME BLEND OF RECENT 3KM HRRR RUNS ALONG WITH 00Z 4 KM NSSL WRF-ARW...AWAITING OUTPUT FROM THE 12Z 4 KM WRF-NMM. IN THE LOW LEVELS...SEVERAL BOUNDARIES ARE DISCERNIBLE ON VISIBLE SATELLITE IMAGERY 1) A SHALLOW GRAVITY WAVE MOVING SOUTHEAST PAST A MOBERLY-CHANUTE LINE AND 2) A PACIFIC FRONT/PSEUDO DRYLINE ASSOCIATED WITH A DEEPER SFC-H8 BOUNDARY AND VEERED WIND PROFILE FROM NEAR LAMONI-TOPEKA. BETTER DEEP CU DEVELOPMENT HAS BEEN NOTED RECENTLY ALONG THE LATTER BOUNDARY DUE TO NOTABLE MOISTURE CONVERGENCE AND WEAKER ELEVATED INHIBITION. UNLIKE YESTERDAY...IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO IDENTIFY ANY DEFINED SHORTWAVE IN SATELLITE IMAGERY WHICH WOULD HELP FOCUS CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT...AND UPSTREAM MIDLEVEL TEMPERATURES IN THE H5 LAYER ARE ACTUALLY WARMER (ALTHOUGH WEAK CAA CAN BE NOTED IN THE CAPPING H8-H7 LAYER). HOWEVER...GIVEN THE IMPRESSIVE CLASSIC PLAINS SEVERE WEATHER 12Z KTOP SOUNDING...ALONG WITH BOUNDARY LAYER MOISTURE CONVERGENCE STRONGER...AND THE WARM SECTOR CHARACTERIZED BY MLCAPES AOA 3000 J/KG ALREADY AT 16Z IN A WEAKLY CAPPED ENVIRONMENT...FEEL DEEPER (AND POSSIBLY EXPLOSIVE) CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT WILL BREACH THE INHIBITION EARLY THIS AFTERNOON ALONG THE SFC-H8 BOUNDARY (MOST LIKELY IN THE VICINITY OF A KMKC-KCDJ-KOTM LINE). BULK 0-6KM SHEAR VALUES IN EXCESS OF 40KT WILL SUPPORT SUPERCELL TYPE STRUCTURES...WITH IMPRESSIVE 0-1KM SHEAR NEAR 30 KT SUPPORTING STRONG INFLOW AND LOW LEVEL MESOCYCLOGENESIS (0-1KM AND 0-3KM SRH BOTH APPROACHING 300 M2/S2 IN FAR NERN MISSOURI). GIVEN VEERED BOUNDARY LAYER WIND PROFILES AND ALIGNMENT OF EXPECTED CONVECTIVE CELLS...SOME DESTRUCTIVE INTERFERENCE CAN BE EXPECTED...AS WELL AS DCAPE VALUES WELL IN EXCESS OF 1000 J/KG PROMOTING MORE DOWNDRAFT PRODUCTION. NEVERTHELESS...THERE APPEARS TO BE A SMALL WINDOW FOR ISOLATED TORNADOES UPON INITIAL CONVECTIVE MATURITY TOWARDS THE ERN REACHES OF THE FORECAST AREA. ALL TOLD...GREATEST THREAT STILL APPEARS TO BE THE POTENTIAL FOR GIANT HAIL PRODUCTION WITH ANY STORM THAT FORMS TODAY. MIDLEVEL H7-H5 LAPSE RATES PER 12Z SOUNDINGS AND OBJECTIVE ANALYSIS REMAIN VERY IMPRESSIVE (AOA 8 C/KM)...AND ALTHOUGH THIS MEASURE MAY DECREASE SLIGHTLY TODAY (COMBINATION OF SLIGHT COOLING AT H7 AND WARMING AT H5)...TREMENDOUS AMOUNTS OF CAPE IN THE -10C TO -30C HAIL GROWTH REGION ARE ALREADY EVIDENT (AT LEAST 700 J/KG AT 16Z). SHEAR PARAMETERS WITHIN STORMS WILL PROMOTE ROTATING UPDRAFTS WITH AVAILABLE ENERGY LIKELY EXCEEDING 3500-4000 J/KG BY PEAK HEATING...SUPPORTING HAIL AT LEAST THE SIZE OF GOLF BALLS (IF NOT MUCH BIGGER). EVENTUALLY...STORMS MAY CONGEAL INTO MINI-BOWS AND BROKEN LINES...PUSHING INTO ERN/SRN MISSOURI THIS EVENING. 21 && .PREVIOUS DISCUSSION... /442 AM CDT SUN MAY 22 2011/ THE WET AND ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN EXPERIENCED OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF DAYS WILL CONTINUE TODAY AND INTO THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. THE UPPER LEVEL LOW SITUATED OVER THE NORTHERN PLAINS WILL SLOWLY TRACK EASTWARD...APPROACHING THE GREAT LAKES REGION BY MONDAY. IN ADDITION TO THIS UPPER LEVEL LOW...A SECONDARY TROUGH WILL BEGIN TO MOVE INTO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST TODAY AND DIG SOUTHWARD ACROSS THE WESTERN CONUS BY THE BEGINNING OF THE WEEK. WITH THIS PATTERN IN PLACE...A SOUTHERLY/SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW WILL PERSIST OVER THE SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL PLAINS THROUGH THE BEGINNING OF THE WEEK. FOR TODAY...MAIN FOCUS IS ON THE SURFACE LOW SITUATED OVER CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA AT 09Z THAT WILL PROGRESS EASTWARD THROUGH THE DAY. THE ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT EXTENDED TO THE SOUTH INTO THE CENTRAL PLAINS WILL MOVE EASTWARD ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING...WITH PRECIPITATION FORMING ALONG AND AHEAD OF THIS BOUNDARY. THE BOUNDARY WILL BE SITUATED ACROSS EAST CENTRAL KANSAS THIS MORNING...TRACKING INTO EXTREME EASTERN KANSAS AND WESTERN MISSOURI BY EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. BEFORE THE FRONT MOVES INTO THE AREA...COULD SEE SOME BREAKS IN THE CLOUD COVER THAT WILL HELP WITH THE DIURNAL HEATING. AS THE FRONT MOVES INTO THE AREA...COULD SEE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS INITIATING BETWEEN 17Z-20Z ALONG A LINE STRETCHING FROM BETHANY TO KANSAS CITY TO PAOLA KS. THIS LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS ALONG AND AHEAD OF THE FRONT WILL MOVE EASTWARD ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA THROUGH THE AFTERNOON HOURS...EXITING THE REGION LATE THIS EVENING. MODELS SHOWING PLENTY OF MUCAPE OVER THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON BUT 0-6KM SHEAR LOOKS TO BE FAIRLY LOW...GENERALLY LESS THAN 40KTS...AND LAPSE RATES ARE NOT AS STEEP AS THEY APPROACH THE -10C TO -30C HAIL GROWTH ZONE. WITH THESE CONDITIONS...SOME STORMS COULD BE CAPABLE OF BECOMING SEVERE...WITH LARGE HAIL AND STRONG WINDS BEING THE PRIMARY THREATS. ONCE THIS SYSTEM MOVES EAST OF THE AREA...WILL SEE A BRIEF DRY PERIOD OVERNIGHT EARLY MONDAY MORNING. HOWEVER OUR FOCUS QUICKLY WILL BE SHIFTED TO A SURFACE LOW OVER THE TEXAS/OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES. AN ASSOCIATED WARM FRONT WILL STRETCH EASTWARD INTO SOUTHEAST KANSAS AND SOUTHWEST MISSOURI ON MONDAY...WITH SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING ALONG AND SOUTH OF THIS BOUNDARY. STILL SOME DISCREPANCIES IN THE MODELS WITH THE POSITIONING OF THIS WARM FRONT...WHICH WILL ULTIMATELY AFFECT WHERE THE GREATEST PRECIPITATION CHANCES WILL BE DURING THE DAY ON MONDAY. MODELS SHOW THE FRONT LIFTING NORTHWARD INTO CENTRAL MISSOURI MONDAY AFTERNOON...WHICH WILL SPREAD THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS NORTHWARD INTO THE REGION AND IMPACTING MUCH OF THE AREA BY TUESDAY MORNING. THIS PRECIPITATION WILL LINGER OVER THE REGION INTO WEDNESDAY AS THE SURFACE LOW STARTS TO TRACK EASTWARD...WITH THE LOW EAST OF THE AREA BY THURSDAY. A WEAK RIDGE WILL MOVE INTO THE CENTRAL PLAINS BEHIND THIS SYSTEM...BRINGING DRY CONDITIONS FOR THURSDAY. HOWEVER...COULD SEE AN UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM SWEEP OVER THE REGION FRIDAY/FRIDAY NIGHT BEFORE A LARGER RIDGE STARTS BUILDINGS ACROSS THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS ON SATURDAY. WITH SEVERAL ROUNDS OF PRECIPITATION WITH EMBEDDED CONVECTION EXPECTED TO CONTINUE INTO THE MIDDLE OF THE WEEK...WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE THREAT FOR HEAVY RAINFALL...LOCALIZED FLASH FLOODING AND RIVER FLOODING AS SEVERAL INCHES OF RAIN IS POSSIBLE ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA. ACH && .AVIATION... FOR THE 12Z TAFS...THE LOWER LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE REMAIN QUITE MOIST WITH MVFR CONDITIONS ACROSS THE TERMINALS. CEILINGS WILL ONCE AGAIN RISE TO VFR THIS MORNING DUE TO SOLAR INSOLATION. OTHERWISE...LOW LEVEL DRYING WILL SLOWLY WORK EAST INTO THE TERMINALS LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING. A FEW THUNDERSTORMS MAY ACCOMPANY THE WEAK DRY LINE LATE THIS AFTERNOON BUT THE CHANCES ARE LOW. OTHERWISE...VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TONIGHT. DB && .EAX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MO...NONE. KS...NONE. &&
Hazardous weather outlook, May 22, 1:06 PM CDT, 1 hour 32 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO 106 PM CDT SUN MAY 22 2011 KSZ025-057-060-102>105-MOZ001>008-011>017-020>025-028>033-037>040- 043>046-053-054-231130- 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- 106 PM CDT SUN MAY 22 2011 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 SCATTERED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP EARLY THIS AFTERNOON FROM EAST CENTRAL KANSAS THROUGH NORTHEAST MISSOURI...WITH STORMS MOVING EAST AND SOUTH ACROSS THE OUTLOOK AREA THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING. LOCATIONS EAST OF THE INTERSTATE 35 CORRIDOR WILL BE MOST SUSCEPTIBLE TO EXPERIENCE SEVERE WEATHER...WITH ISOLATED TORNADOES...DAMAGING WIND GUSTS...AND ESPECIALLY VERY LARGE HAIL LIKELY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT...MAINLY FOR LOCATIONS ALONG AND SOUTH OF THE MISSOURI RIVER. THERE WILL BE A SLIGHT THREAT FOR SEVERE WEATHER DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS...WITH LARGE HAIL THE PRIMARY THREAT. ANOTHER WEATHER SYSTEM WILL MOVE ACROSS THE CENTRAL ROCKIES AND INTO THE PLAINS ON TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY...BRINGING ADDITIONAL ROUNDS OF THUNDERSTORMS TO THE REGION. THERE IS A THREAT FOR SEVERE WEATHER LATE TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING...ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE WESTERN PARTS OF THE OUTLOOK AREA. WHILE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS WILL BE THE PRIMARY THREATS...AN ISOLATED TORNADO MAY ALSO BE POSSIBLE. ON WEDNESDAY...THE THREAT FOR SEVERE WILL BE MUSH LOWER. ALTHOUGH PRECIPITATION EVENTS WILL BE SCATTERED AND NOT CONTINUOUS FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL...ESPECIALLY IN THUNDERSTORMS...WILL LIKELY DEVELOP. TOTAL RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK MAY EXCEED SEVERAL INCHES IN SOME LOCATIONS ACROSS THE OUTLOOK AREA. THIS WILL INCREASE THE THREAT FOR LOCALIZED FLASH FLOODING...AND WILL LIKELY PUSH SOME STREAMS AND RIVERS INTO FLOOD THROUGH THIS WEEKEND AND INTO THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON EAST OF THE INTERSTATE 35 CORRIDOR. SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY ALSO BE NEEDED MONDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING...AS WELL AS LATE TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. 21
In the hours before
Special weather statement, May 22, 1:30 PM CDT, 1 hour 8 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO
130 PM CDT SUN MAY 22 2011
MOZ022-023-030-031-221915-
CALDWELL MO-CARROLL MO-LIVINGSTON MO-RAY MO-
130 PM CDT SUN MAY 22 2011
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR NORTHEASTERN RAY...SOUTHWESTERN
LIVINGSTON...NORTHWESTERN CARROLL AND SOUTHEASTERN CALDWELL COUNTIES
UNTIL 215 PM CDT...
AT 129 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A
STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR COWGILL...OR 17 MILES SOUTHEAST OF
HAMILTON...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH.
HAIL UP TO THE SIZE OF NICKELS IS EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM.
LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...
BRAYMER...STET AND LUDLOW.
THIS STORM MAY INTENSIFY....AND A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THIS
AREA. BE CERTAIN TO MONITOR LOCAL RADIO AND TV STATIONS...AS WELL AS
LOCAL CABLE TV OUTLETS....FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.
LAT...LON 3975 9381 3963 9359 3946 9354 3935 9393
3949 9409
TIME...MOT...LOC 1830Z 242DEG 21KT 3953 9386
SFLocal storm report, May 22, 1:40 PM CDT, 58 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO
140 PM CDT SUN MAY 22 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0139 PM HAIL SIBLEY 39.18N 94.20W
05/22/2011 E0.25 INCH JACKSON MO PUBLIC
&&
AJSpecial weather statement, May 22, 1:42 PM CDT, 56 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 22, 1:47 PM CDT, 51 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO
147 PM CDT SUN MAY 22 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0143 PM HAIL BRAYMER 39.59N 93.80W
05/22/2011 E0.25 INCH CALDWELL MO FIRE DEPT/RESCUE
PEA SIZE HAIL AND 30 MPH WINDS REPORTED IN BRAYMER.
&&
AJLocal storm report, May 22, 2:33 PM CDT, 5 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO
233 PM CDT SUN MAY 22 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0225 PM HAIL LEXINGTON 39.18N 93.87W
05/22/2011 M0.75 INCH LAFAYETTE MO PUBLIC
&&
GAMISLocal storm report, May 22, 2:35 PM CDT, 3 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO
235 PM CDT SUN MAY 22 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0226 PM HAIL 1 S BATES CITY 38.99N 94.07W
05/22/2011 M1.00 INCH LAFAYETTE MO PUBLIC
AT HIGHWAY TT AND HIGHWAY Z.
&&
GAMISThe 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), 12:00Z
7.6 hours before the tornado, 155 km from the path. May 22, 2011.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 3011 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -74 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 3000 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 583 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 45 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 31 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 335 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 315 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 3.7
- Supercell composite
- 17.9
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 5.9 K/km
Topeka, KS (KTOP), 00:00Z
4.4 hours after it, 155 km from the path. May 23, 2011.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -70004 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 65 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2684 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 36 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 19 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 53 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 137 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 8.3 K/km
The surface observations
Warrensburg (RCM), 44 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 Pleasant Hill radar (KEAX), 54 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 19:39 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 May 22, 2011
47 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 22 | 2:13 PM CDT | EF1 | Hennepin, MN | 13.6 | 880 | 1 | 48 | $167 million |
| May 22 | 2:33 PM CDT | EF1 | Price, WI to IA, MN | 3.3 | 600 | $4,000 | ||
| May 22 | 2:33 PM CDT | EF2 | Howard, IA to MN | 28.7 | 250 | 3 | $775,000 | |
| May 22 | 2:40 PM CDT | EF2 | Iowa, IA | 3.9 | 75 | $250,000 | ||
| May 22 | 2:52 PM CDT | EF0 | Anoka, MN | 0.2 | 30 | $50,000 | ||
| May 22 | 2:54 PM CDT | EF0 | Iowa, IA | 2.0 | 25 | $10,000 | ||
| May 22 | 3:13 PM CDT | EF0 | Bremer, IA | 0.1 | 30 | |||
| May 22 | 3:16 PM CDT | EF0 | Washington, MN | 2.6 | 75 | $50,000 | ||
| May 22 | 3:25 PM CDT | EF0 | Lafayette, MO | 0.1 | 50 | |||
| May 22 | 3:37 PM CDT | EF1 | Fayette, IA | 7.9 | 70 | $175,000 | ||
| May 22 | 3:58 PM CDT | EF0 | Lafayette, MO | 0.1 | 50 | $3,000 | ||
| May 22 | 4:00 PM CDT | EF1 | Barron, WI | 2.0 | 300 | $200,000 | ||
| May 22 | 4:01 PM CDT | EF0 | Fayette, IA | 1.4 | 50 | $10,000 | ||
| May 22 | 4:05 PM CDT | EF2 | Houston, MN to WI | 13.8 | 150 | $15 million | ||
| May 22 | 4:10 PM CDT | EF0 | Labette, KS | 0.3 | 50 | |||
| May 22 | 4:37 PM CDT | EF1 | Jasper, IN | 0.3 | 33 | $25,000 | ||
| May 22 | 4:47 PM CDT | EF1 | La Crosse, WI | 8.2 | 125 | $920,000 | ||
| May 22 | 4:50 PM CDT | EF1 | Saline, MO | 3.5 | 75 | $230,000 | ||
| May 22 | 5:15 PM CDT | EF2 | Monroe, WI | 64.5 | 800 | 1 | $7.7 million | |
| May 22 | 5:34 PM CDT | EF5 | Joplin tornado, MO | 21.6 | 1,600 | 158 | 1150 | $2.8 billion |
| May 22 | 5:39 PM CDT | EF0 | Price, WI | 1.1 | 350 | $1,000 | ||
| May 22 | 5:52 PM CDT | EF0 | Price, WI | 1.1 | 400 | |||
| May 22 | 6:01 PM CDT | EF0 | Price, WI | 2.1 | 350 | $5,000 | ||
| May 22 | 6:10 PM CDT | EF2 | Newton, MO | 14.1 | 800 | $1.0 million | ||
| May 22 | 6:20 PM CDT | EF0 | Jack, TX | 0.0 | 50 | |||
| May 22 | 6:25 PM CDT | EF1 | Ogle, IL | 29.1 | 200 | $150,000 | ||
| May 22 | 6:26 PM CDT | EF0 | Price, WI | 0.8 | 275 | |||
| May 22 | 6:28 PM CDT | EF1 | Ogle, IL | 1.7 | 200 | $50,000 | ||
| May 22 | 6:33 PM CDT | EF2 | Delaware, OK | 6.7 | 800 | $1.0 million | ||
| May 22 | 6:40 PM CDT | EF1 | Ogle, IL | 0.5 | 100 | $50,000 | ||
| May 22 | 6:42 PM CDT | EF1 | Wagoner, OK | 3.5 | 300 | |||
| May 22 | 6:52 PM CDT | EF3 | Delaware, OK to MO | 17.9 | 1,550 | 4 | $2.0 million | |
| May 22 | 6:55 PM CDT | EF1 | Winnebago, IL | 2.7 | 50 | |||
| May 22 | 6:59 PM CDT | EF1 | Winnebago, IL | 0.9 | 50 | $15,000 | ||
| May 22 | 7:10 PM CDT | EF2 | Stone, MO | 15.7 | 200 | $1.1 million | ||
| May 22 | 7:27 PM CDT | EF1 | Cherokee, OK | 3.0 | 250 | $70,000 | ||
| May 22 | 7:33 PM CDT | EF0 | Green Lake, WI | 0.4 | 30 | $1,000 | ||
| May 22 | 7:47 PM CDT | EF0 | Green Lake, WI | 4.2 | 50 | $5,000 | ||
| May 22 | 7:50 PM CDT | EF0 | Cherokee, OK | 0.1 | 50 | |||
| May 22 | 8:13 PM CDT | EF1 | Delaware, OK | 4.7 | 400 | $25,000 | ||
| May 22 | 8:14 PM CDT | EF2 | Adair, OK | 4.5 | 200 | $250,000 | ||
| May 22 | 8:29 PM CDT | EF0 | Delaware, OK | 1.0 | 100 | |||
| May 22 | 8:30 PM CDT | EF2 | Delaware, OK | 2.9 | 350 | 12 | $400,000 | |
| May 22 | 8:36 PM CDT | EF1 | Delaware, OK | 1.7 | 150 | |||
| May 22 | 8:41 PM CDT | EF0 | Renville, ND | 0.1 | 25 | |||
| May 22 | 8:44 PM CDT | EF1 | Delaware, OK | 0.5 | 100 | |||
| May 22 | 8:54 PM CDT | EF1 | Benton, AR | 2.8 | 450 | $25,000 |
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.