Tornadoes · United States · Missouri · 2011
EF1 tornado, Dogwood to Crabbs, Missouri, May 25, 2011
From Dogwood to Crabbs, this EF1 tornado ran 9.3 miles across Webster and Douglas counties on May 25, 2011, touching down at 1:30 AM CDT and reaching 100 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $20,000 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.
EF065 to 85 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mphthis tornado
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
- EF1
- Date
- May 25, 2011
- Touchdown
- 1:30 AM CDT (06:30 UTC)
- Lifted
- 1:45 AM CDT (06:45 UTC)
- On the ground
- 15 minutes
- Path length
- 9.3 miles (14.9 km)
- Path width
- 100 yards (91 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Counties
- Webster and Douglas counties
- Touchdown point
- 37.030, -92.840
- Lift-off point
- 37.128, -92.725
- Record number
- 1105250030-01
What the Weather Service recorded
A powerful upper level low pressure system moved across the Ozarks causing numerous strong to severe storms to develop with several supercells as well.
A NWS storm survey team determined that an EF-1 tornado touched down one mile southwest of Dogwood and tracked to the northeast to the southeast of Seymour in Webster County. Numerous trees were either snapped or uprooted along that path. Several outbuildings were destroyed or damaged. One home suffered minor roof damage.
This is a continuation of the Douglas County tornado. The tornado continued to down trees as it crossed into Webster County before lifting to the southeast of Seymour.
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 06:22 UTC and running to 10:54 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 00:26 UTC | 06:22 UTC | Tornado Watch | SGF |
| 06:12 UTC | 07:15 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF |
| 06:22 UTC | 10:54 UTC | Tornado Watch | SGF |
| 06:37 UTC | 06:45 UTC | Tornado Warning | SGF |
| 06:55 UTC | 07:33 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF |
| 08:44 UTC | 09:30 UTC | Tornado Warning | SGF |
| 09:03 UTC | 09:26 UTC | Tornado Warning | SGF |
| 15:41 UTC | 21:59 UTC | Tornado Watch | SGF |
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 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 05:57 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), 00:00Z
6.5 hours before the tornado, 93 km from the path. May 25, 2011.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1213 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -94 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 2191 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 941 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 48 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 15 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 106 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 200 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.7
- Supercell composite
- 6.2
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 5.7 K/km
Springfield, MO (KSGF), 12:00Z
5.5 hours after it, 93 km from the path. May 25, 2011.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 2063 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -54 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 1092 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 564 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 36 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 55 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 500 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 405 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 13.7
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 5.1 K/km
The surface observations
Springfield (SGF), 57 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 04:56 UTC | 64.4 | 62.6 | 250° 10 kt | 1005.1 | +TSRA BR | |
| 04:59 UTC | 64.4 | 62.6 | 230° 21 kt | 29 | 1005.1 | +TSRA BR |
| 05:05 UTC | 62.6 | 60.8 | 240° 21 kt | 35 | 1005.1 | +TSRA BR |
| 05:14 UTC | 62.6 | 60.8 | 260° 22 kt | 31 | 1005.4 | +TSRA BR |
| 05:25 UTC | 62.6 | 59 | 260° 16 kt | 22 | 1005.8 | -TSRA |
| 05:52 UTC | 63 | 60 | 250° 15 kt | 18 | 1004.7 | TSRA BR |
| 06:52 UTC | 62 | 60 | 130° 11 kt | 1003 | -TSRA | |
| 07:10 UTC | 62.6 | 60.8 | 180° 9 kt | 18 | 1004.1 | -TSRA |
| 07:52 UTC | 61 | 59 | 160° 13 kt | 22 | 1001 | TS |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Springfield radar (KSGF), 57 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 06:29 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) | Report | Where | County | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 04:53 UTC | HAIL 0.5 | Battlefield | Greene, MO | |
| 06:30 UTC | TORNADO | 1 Sw Dogwood | Douglas, MO | A NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STORM SURVEY TEAM DETERMINED THAT AN EF-1 TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN ONE MILE SOUTHWEST OF DOGWOOD AND TRACKED TO THE NORTHEAST FOR 9 MILES LIFING 3 MILES SOUTHEAST OF SEYMOUR. ALONG THE PATH NUMEROU |
| 07:09 UTC | TSTM WND GST 55 | Hartville | Wright, MO | STORM SPOTTERS ESTIMATE ABOUT 55 MPH WINDS NEAR HARTVILLE |
| 08:55 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 5 W Vanzant | Douglas, MO | PUBLIC REPORTS WINDOW BLOWN OUT OF HOUSE ON CO RD 239 ONE MILE SOUTH OF HWY 76. POSSIBLE TORNADO DAMAGE |
| 09:10 UTC | FUNNEL CLOUD | 5 S Mountain Grove | Douglas, MO | PUBLIC REPORTS FUNNEL CLOUD |
| 09:25 UTC | FUNNEL CLOUD | Cabool | Texas, MO |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
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 25, 2011
93 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 25 | 7:35 AM CDT | EF1 | Macon, IL | 1.0 | 75 | $165,000 | ||
| May 25 | 7:39 AM CDT | EF1 | Macon, IL | 1.5 | 75 | $100,000 | ||
| May 25 | 9:04 AM CDT | EF1 | Kankakee, IL | 5.8 | 50 | $250,000 | ||
| May 25 | 9:13 AM CDT | EF0 | Newton, IN | 0.1 | 20 | $25,000 | ||
| May 25 | 9:19 AM CDT | EF2 | Newton, IN | 1.9 | 300 | $50,000 | ||
| May 25 | 9:24 AM CDT | EF1 | Jasper, IN | 2.9 | 100 | $500 | ||
| May 25 | 9:26 AM CDT | EF1 | Jasper, IN | 1.9 | 100 | $50,000 | ||
| May 25 | 10:45 AM EDT | EF0 | Pulaski, IN | 0.8 | 50 | |||
| May 25 | 10:45 AM CDT | EF0 | Miami, KS | 0.1 | 40 | $5,000 | ||
| May 25 | 11:10 AM CDT | EF0 | Johnson, KS | 0.7 | 60 | $10,000 | ||
| May 25 | 11:22 AM CDT | EF0 | Johnson, KS | 0.1 | 40 | |||
| May 25 | 11:35 AM CDT | EF0 | Cass, MO | 0.1 | 40 | |||
| May 25 | 11:38 AM CDT | EF0 | Johnson, KS | 0.1 | 40 | |||
| May 25 | 12:22 PM CDT | EF2 | Pettis, MO | 2.1 | 500 | 20 | $4.0 million | |
| May 25 | 12:33 PM CDT | EF0 | Clay, MO | 0.1 | 40 | |||
| May 25 | 12:45 PM CDT | EF0 | Clay, MO | 0.1 | 40 | |||
| May 25 | 12:52 PM CDT | EF0 | Pettis, MO | 0.1 | 40 | |||
| May 25 | 1:04 PM CDT | EF0 | Cooper, MO | 0.1 | 40 | |||
| May 25 | 1:07 PM CDT | EF0 | Lafayette, MO | 0.1 | 40 | |||
| May 25 | 2:15 PM CDT | EF1 | Montgomery, MO | 7.1 | 100 | |||
| May 25 | 3:26 PM EDT | EF0 | Van Wert, OH | 0.1 | 40 | |||
| May 25 | 2:56 PM CDT | EF1 | Oregon, MO | 2.5 | 100 | $20,000 | ||
| May 25 | 3:49 PM CDT | EF3 | Carter, MO | 47.4 | 1,200 | 2 | $800,000 | |
| May 25 | 4:13 PM CDT | EF1 | Jackson, AR | 5.5 | 500 | $40,000 | ||
| May 25 | 5:15 PM EDT | EF1 | Decatur, IN | 0.8 | 600 | $500,000 | ||
| May 25 | 5:20 PM EDT | EF1 | Decatur, IN | 0.1 | 400 | $250,000 | ||
| May 25 | 4:35 PM CDT | EF1 | Madison, MO | 5.5 | 40 | |||
| May 25 | 4:37 PM CDT | EF1 | Wayne, MO | 17.8 | 150 | $70,000 | ||
| May 25 | 4:44 PM CDT | EF0 | Carter, MO | 0.5 | 50 | $2,000 | ||
| May 25 | 4:45 PM CDT | EF1 | Des Moines, IA | 4.8 | 100 | $250,000 | ||
| May 25 | 4:46 PM CDT | EF1 | Madison, MO | 5.3 | 440 | |||
| May 25 | 4:47 PM CDT | EF1 | Madison, MO | 4.3 | 580 | |||
| May 25 | 4:51 PM CDT | EF0 | Perry, MO | 0.3 | 60 | $3,000 | ||
| May 25 | 4:58 PM CDT | EF0 | Ripley, MO | 0.7 | 50 | |||
| May 25 | 6:00 PM EDT | EF1 | Huron, OH | 8.0 | 50 | $250,000 | ||
| May 25 | 5:00 PM CDT | EF1 | Des Moines, IA | 3.6 | 50 | $50,000 | ||
| May 25 | 5:14 PM CDT | EF0 | Butler, MO | 0.7 | 40 | |||
| May 25 | 6:14 PM EDT | EF0 | Hardin, OH | 0.2 | 25 | |||
| May 25 | 5:26 PM CDT | EF1 | Bollinger, MO | 13.0 | 250 | $30,000 | ||
| May 25 | 6:06 PM CDT | EF0 | McLean, IL | 0.9 | 25 | $8,000 | ||
| May 25 | 6:09 PM CDT | EF1 | McLean, IL | 10.3 | 75 | $10,000 | ||
| May 25 | 7:10 PM EDT | EF0 | Montgomery, OH | 0.1 | 25 | $5,000 | ||
| May 25 | 6:18 PM CDT | EF1 | Cape Girardeau, MO | 2.1 | 250 | $20,000 | ||
| May 25 | 6:18 PM CDT | EF0 | St. Francis, AR | 1.1 | 100 | |||
| May 25 | 6:28 PM CDT | EF2 | Jefferson, IL | 13.5 | 250 | $4.0 million | ||
| May 25 | 6:30 PM CDT | EF0 | Scott, MO | 0.4 | 50 | $1,000 | ||
| May 25 | 7:30 PM EDT | EF0 | Summit, OH | 4.2 | 50 | $200,000 | ||
| May 25 | 6:39 PM CDT | EF1 | Union, IL | 2.0 | 125 | $150,000 | ||
| May 25 | 6:40 PM CDT | EF1 | Pulaski, IL | 5.5 | 250 | $50,000 | ||
| May 25 | 6:45 PM CDT | EF1 | Pulaski, IL | 10.0 | 120 | $40,000 | ||
| May 25 | 6:48 PM CDT | EF1 | Crittenden, AR | 2.5 | 100 | $500,000 | ||
| May 25 | 6:55 PM CDT | EF2 | Pulaski, IL | 19.9 | 325 | $255,000 | ||
| May 25 | 6:58 PM CDT | EF0 | Champaign, IL | 0.2 | 15 | $5,000 | ||
| May 25 | 7:58 PM EDT | EF3 | Lawrence, IN | 6.8 | 300 | $150,000 | ||
| May 25 | 5:08 PM PDT | EF1 | Glenn, CA | 21.6 | 120 | $200,000 | ||
| May 25 | 5:12 PM PDT | EF1 | Glenn, CA | 26.4 | 120 | $150,000 | ||
| May 25 | 7:18 PM CDT | EF1 | Clay, IL | 1.0 | 75 | $510,000 | ||
| May 25 | 7:35 PM CDT | EF0 | Richland, IL | 0.2 | 10 | |||
| May 25 | 7:57 PM CDT | EF2 | Crawford, IL | 5.5 | 200 | $920,000 | ||
| May 25 | 7:58 PM CDT | EF0 | Union Parish, LA | 5.5 | 150 |
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.