Tornadoes · United States · Missouri · 2012

EF1 tornado, Phillipsburg to Bennett Spgs, Missouri, February 29, 2012

From Phillipsburg to Bennett Spgs, this EF1 tornado ran 0.3 miles across Laclede County on February 29, 2012, touching down at 12:22 AM CST and reaching 75 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
February 29, 2012
Touchdown
12:22 AM CST (06:22 UTC)
Lifted
12:26 AM CST (06:26 UTC)
On the ground
4 minutes
Path length
0.3 miles (0.4 km)
Path width
75 yards (69 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$500,000
County
Laclede County
Touchdown point
37.712, -92.836
Lift-off point
37.713, -92.830
Record number
1202290022-01

What the Weather Service recorded

A strong system moved across the Midwest and brought a round of severe storms to the Ozarks late on the 28th and early on the 29th of February. A squall line with embedded bows and super cellular type storms produced large hail and very strong damaging winds along with several deadly and destructive tornadoes.

An EF-1 tornado tracked from 2 miles northwest of Philipsburg to 1 mile southeast of Lebanon. Several frame homes had roof damaged, one mobile home was destroyed, damage occurred to the roof of the Tracker Marine Boat Plant, the Lowe's Garden Center was severely damaged and numerous trees were uprooted. Several other businesses were damaged.

A brief EF1 tornado touchdown damaged 20 recreational vehicles, a pole barn and numerous trees. An antique shop and two homes also received minor roof damage.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

The warnings

28 minutes of warning. NWS SGF issued a tornado warning for this county at 05:54 UTC, 28 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 06:45 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 04:30 UTC and running to 08:22 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
04:30 UTC08:22 UTCTornado WatchSGF
05:54 UTC06:45 UTCTornado WarningSGF
06:31 UTC06:49 UTCTornado WarningSGF
06:53 UTC07:29 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 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

6.4 hours before the tornado, 124 km from the path. February 29, 2012.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Springfield, MO at 00:00Z on 2012-02-29Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 75 joules per kilogram, CIN -196, lifted condensation level 595 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 2012-02-29The 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 482 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 76 knots.1939587897117136Sfc1 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
75 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-196 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
595 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
76 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
40 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
482 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
563 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
3.4
0-3 km lapse rate
4.9 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Springfield, MO (KSGF), 12:00Z

5.6 hours after it, 124 km from the path. February 29, 2012.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Springfield, MO at 12:00Z on 2012-02-29Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 0 joules per kilogram, CIN -90819, lifted condensation level 2181 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 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 2012-02-29The 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 -103 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 98 knots.1939587897117136Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-90819 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2181 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
98 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
22 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-103 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
149 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
4.5 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Camdenton (H21), 32 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
04:35 UTC60.853.6150° 17 kt231004.4
04:55 UTC60.855.4150° 21 kt271003.7
05:15 UTC60.855.4160° 20 kt241003.4
05:35 UTC60.855.4160° 17 kt231002.4
05:55 UTC62.655.4160° 18 kt271002
06:15 UTC62.655.4160° 19 kt271002.4-RA
06:35 UTC62.657.2210° 26 kt381005.1RA
06:55 UTC5953.6210° 15 kt291004.4-RA
07:15 UTC57.250210° 12 kt201004.7VCTS
07:35 UTC55.448.2210° 16 kt231005.4VCTS
07:55 UTC53.644.6210° 13 kt231005.8
08:15 UTC53.642.8210° 14 kt261005.8

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

The radar

The Springfield radar (KSGF), 73 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 06:23 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
05:48 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 Wnw UrbanaHickory, MOEMERGENCY MANAGEMENT REPORTS ROOF DAMAGE TO A TRAILER AND SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO A SHED.
05:48 UTCBLIZZARD3 Wnw UrbanaHickory, MOEMERGENCY MANAGEMENT REPORTS ROOF DAMAGE TO A TRAILER AND SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO A SHED.
05:50 UTCTSTM WND DMGEse MorrisvillePolk, MOBARN DESTROYED ALONG HWY 215 ON THE EAST SIDE OF MORRISVILLE. PARTIAL ROOF DAMAGE TO A HOUSE. DEBRIS IN TREES.
05:50 UTCHAIL 1.75BolivarPolk, MO
05:56 UTCTORNADO2 Sw BuffaloDallas, MO1 HOUSE DESTROYED ALONG WITH 3 TURKEY BARNS. DAMAGE ALONG WILDLIFE RD.
05:58 UTCTORNADO4 Sse Half WayPolk, MOA NWS SURVEY INDICATED THAT AN EF-1 TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN NEAR THE POLK AND DALLAS COUNTY LINE. ANOTHER LSR WILL HAVE MORE DETAILS ON THIS TRACK INTO DALLAS COUNTY.
06:00 UTCTORNADO1 Nnw FooseDallas, MO*** 1 FATAL, 12 INJ *** THIS TORNADO MOVED FROM POLK INTO DALLAS COUNTY FROM 1 MILE NORTH NORTHWEST OF FOOSE TO 2 MILES EAST OF BUFFALO.
06:05 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Sw BuffaloDallas, MOHOUSES DESTROYED AND MAJOR DAMAGE JUST SW OF BUFFALO. LIKELY A TORNADO
06:18 UTCTORNADO2 Nw PhillipsburgLaclede, MO*** 1 INJ *** AN EF-1 MAGNITUDE TORNADO TRACKED FROM 2 MILES NORTHWEST OF PHILLIPSBURG TO 1 MILE SOUTHEAST OF LEBANON SEVERAL HOMES WERE DAMAGED AND TREES UPROOTED. ONE MOBILE HOME WAS DESTROYED.
06:19 UTCTSTM WND DMGBennett SpringsLaclede, MOSTRUCTURAL DAMAGE TO 15 TRAILERS ROLLED
06:20 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 Sw BuffaloDallas, MODEBRIS STRUCTURE DAMAGE TREES DOWN POWER LINES DOWN NEAR HWY 32 AND HWY A SW OF LEBANON...ALSO TRACKER TRAILERS BLOWN OFF I-44 FROM POSSIBLE TORNADO
06:20 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 Sw LebanonLaclede, MODEBRIS STRUCTURE DAMAGE TREES DOWN POWER LINES DOWN NEAR HWY 32 AND HWY A SW OF LEBANON...ALSO TRACKER TRAILERS BLOWN OFF I-44 FROM POSSIBLE TORNADO
06:22 UTCTORNADO1 Se Bennett SpringsLaclede, MOA BRIEF TORNADO TOUCHDOWN DAMAGED AROUND 20 RECREATIONAL VEHICLES AND AN ANTIQUE SHOP.
06:25 UTCTORNADO2 Sw LebanonLaclede, MO
06:28 UTCHAIL 1.25LebanonLaclede, MOPICTURE OF HAIL RELAYED BY BROADCAST MEDIA
06:28 UTCTORNADO2 Sw LebanonLaclede, MOTORNADO ON THE GROUND JUST SW OF LEBANON
06:30 UTCHAIL 1.75LebanonLaclede, MO
06:52 UTCTSTM WND DMGWaynesvillePulaski, MOLARGE TREE UPROOTED..CONCRETE WALL BLOWN OVER MINOR BUILDING DAMAGE
06:59 UTCTSTM WND GST 754 N FordlandWebster, MO

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2012 tornado in MissouriEvery tornado in Missouri since 1950Warnings in force in Missouri nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of February 29, 2012

31 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
February 2912:18 AM CSTEF1Laclede, MO11.01505$750,000
February 2912:42 AM CSTEF2Barry, MO1.740014$575,000
February 291:06 AM CSTEF1Phelps, MO18.075
February 291:13 AM CSTEF2Stone, MO24.340047$21 million
February 292:55 AM CSTEF2Madison, MO31.98001$100,000
February 293:34 AM CSTEF2Bollinger, MO7.7120$170,000
February 293:47 AM CSTEF2Cape Girardeau, MO to IL31.93001$350,000
February 294:00 AM CSTEF3Stoddard, MO20.07001$150,000
February 294:24 AM CSTEF1Scott, MO15.775$250,000
February 294:26 AM CSTEF2Williamson, IL14.9300$100,000
February 294:51 AM CSTEF4Harrisburg–Ridgway tornado, IL26.13258108$3.0 million
February 295:00 AM CSTEF2Pulaski, IL to KY22.71505$250,000
February 295:35 AM CSTEF2Massac, IL2.4150$50,000
February 295:57 AM CSTEF1Henderson, KY1.31502$80,000
February 296:03 AM CSTEF1Warrick, IN2.4150$250,000
February 296:40 AM CSTEF0Hopkins, KY0.530$10,000
February 298:45 AM CSTEF1Muhlenberg, KY0.130$30,000
February 298:45 AM CSTEF2Muhlenberg, KY5.52001$100,000
February 299:55 AM ESTEF2Hardin, KY5.0250$200,000
February 299:42 AM CSTEF2Grayson, KY2.02001$50,000
February 2911:05 AM ESTEF2Larue, KY2.5200$200,000
February 2911:12 AM ESTEF2Larue, KY0.9100$20,000
February 291:42 PM ESTEF2Morgan, KY6.3400$100,000
February 2912:47 PM CSTEF1Metcalfe, KY1.0150$10,000
February 291:22 PM CSTEF2Russell, KY7.2150$210,000
February 292:53 PM ESTEF1Pulaski, KY1.560$50,000
February 293:46 PM CSTEF1DeKalb, TN14.83001$700,000
February 294:02 PM CSTEF0White, TN2.250$10,000
February 294:30 PM CSTEF2Cumberland, TN11.11,00027$1.0 million
February 297:30 PM ESTEF0Blount, TN0.8100$25,000
February 2912:32 AM ESTEF0Washington, VA0.670$50,000

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.