Tornadoes · United States · Missouri · 2013

EF1 tornado, St Albans, Missouri, April 10, 2013

This EF1 tornado ran 1.3 miles across Franklin County on April 10, 2013, touching down at 7:38 PM CDT and reaching 200 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.

  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
April 10, 2013
Touchdown
7:38 PM CDT (00:38 UTC)
Lifted
7:39 PM CDT (00:39 UTC)
On the ground
1 minutes
Path length
1.3 miles (2.1 km)
Path width
200 yards (183 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Franklin County
Touchdown point
38.588, -90.787
Lift-off point
38.596, -90.765
Record number
1304101838-01

The damage survey

19 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS LSX, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 100 mph.

  • First Baptist church roof peeled off consistent with straight-line winds 60 to 65 mph. Other trees and minor roof damage noted in Union Missouri.
  • Part of roof removed from motel
  • Many trees twisted and topped with a convergent pattern facing north - northeast.
  • Numerous soft wood trees snapped and thrown in convergent pattern north of levee road.

Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.

What the Weather Service recorded

A strong weather system moved through the region, triggering showers and thunderstorms. There were numerous reports of large hail, as well as damaging winds and three tornadoes.

A tornado touched down in the Labadie Bottoms, north of St. Albans and lifted after traversing, on a slightly curved path, for 1.5 miles east northeast across St. Albans Island. Extensive tree damage was noted along the track. The overall damage was rated EF1. The path length was 1.5 miles and the max damage width was 200 yards.

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

The warnings

21 minutes of warning. NWS LSX issued a tornado warning for this county at 00:17 UTC, 21 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 00:45 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 18:46 UTC and running to 02:00 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
18:46 UTC02:00 UTCTornado WatchLSX
19:43 UTC20:10 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX
22:17 UTC23:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX
23:46 UTC00:07 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX
23:54 UTC00:45 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX
00:11 UTC01:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX
00:13 UTC06:00 UTCFlood AdvisoryLSX
00:17 UTC00:45 UTCTornado WarningLSX
00:21 UTC00:45 UTCTornado WarningLSX
00:25 UTC00:56 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX
00:32 UTC00:46 UTCTornado WarningLSX

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 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 19:36 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.

Lincoln, IL (KILX), 00:00Z

0.6 hours before the tornado, 255 km from the path. April 11, 2013.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Lincoln, IL at 00:00Z on 2013-04-11Temperature 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 -76060, lifted condensation level 587 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°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, Lincoln, IL at 00:00Z on 2013-04-11The 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 140 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 76 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-76060 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
587 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
76 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
24 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
140 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
218 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
2.2
0-3 km lapse rate
1.9 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Lincoln, IL (KILX), 12:00Z

11.4 hours after it, 255 km from the path. April 11, 2013.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Lincoln, IL at 12:00Z on 2013-04-11Temperature 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 -66775, lifted condensation level 497 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°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, Lincoln, IL at 12:00Z on 2013-04-11The 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 118 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 85 knots.1939587897117Sfc1 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
-66775 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
497 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
85 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
14 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
118 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
196 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
3.0 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The St Louis radar (KLSX), 14 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 00:37 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
23:20 UTCHAIL 0.883 Sw WentzvilleSt. Charles, MO
23:47 UTCHAIL 0.753 S RobertsvilleFranklin, MO
23:52 UTCHAIL 12 S CatawissaFranklin, MO
23:54 UTCHAIL 0.7PacificFranklin, MOHEAVY RAIN.
23:55 UTCHAIL 1.752 Nne PacificSt. Louis, MO
23:55 UTCHAIL 2PacificFranklin, MO
23:59 UTCHAIL 1.751 N PacificFranklin, MOALSO HAD A WIND GUST UP TO 55MPH.
00:10 UTCTSTM WND GST 60SullivanFranklin, MO
00:15 UTCTSTM WND GST 1011 Nne SullivanFranklin, MO
00:20 UTCTSTM WND GST 50SullivanFranklin, MO
00:23 UTCTSTM WND DMGUnionFranklin, MOLARGE TREE BLOWN DOWN...BLOCKING INDEPENDENCE DRIVE ON WEST SIDE OF TOWN.
00:24 UTCTSTM WND DMGVilla RidgeFranklin, MOMULTIPLE LARGE TREES BLOCKING COLEMAN ROAD. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR.
00:25 UTCTSTM WND DMGUnionFranklin, MO5 INCH TREE LIMBS DOWN.
00:28 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 N UnionFranklin, MOSTRUCTURAL DAMAGE TO WASHINGTON METAL FABRICATORS BUILDING AT MEYER ROAD AND STATE HWY A NORTH OF UNION.
00:28 UTCTSTM WND GST 602 N UnionFranklin, MOHEAVY RAIN AND 50-60 MPH WINDS AT STATE HWY A AND MEYER DRIVE.
00:30 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Wsw Gray SummitFranklin, MOTREE BLOCKING COLEMAN ROAD AT HIGHWAY 100 NEAR COLEMAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
00:30 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 Nw Villa RidgeFranklin, MOSEVERAL LARGE TREES SNAPPED AT THE BASE AT THE WOLF HOLLOW GOLF CLUB OFF HIGHWAY 100.
00:30 UTCTSTM WND DMGVilla RidgeFranklin, MONUMEROUS TREES AND POWER POLES SNAPPED NEAR THE BASE.
00:31 UTCTSTM WND GST 654 E WashingtonSt. Charles, MO
00:34 UTCWALL CLOUD1 W PacificFranklin, MOROTATING WALL CLOUD AT LAMAR ROAD AND OLD GRAY SUMMIT RROAD
00:36 UTCFUNNEL CLOUDPacificFranklin, MO
00:41 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 N UnionFranklin, MOSTRUCTURAL DAMAGE TO WASHINGTON METAL FABRICATORS BUILDING AT MEYER ROAD AND STATE HWY A NORTH OF UNION.
00:45 UTCTSTM WND GST 65WentzvilleSt. Charles, MOCLOUD ROTATION NOTED.
00:47 UTCTSTM WND GST 40O'FallonSt. Charles, MO40 MPH WIND GUST AT HIGHWAY K AND FEISE ROAD.
00:48 UTCTSTM WND GST 70O'FallonSt. Charles, MOESTIMATED 60-70MPH WIND GUSTS AT PIN OAK PARK.
00:50 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 W Lake St. LouisSt. Charles, MOPOWER POLE SNAPPED ON EAST OUTER ROAD...JUST NORTH OF DAUPHINE DRIVE.
00:50 UTCTSTM WND DMGO'FallonSt. Charles, MOSIDING TAKEN OFF SIDE OF HOUSE AND DEPOSITED IN FRONT YARD NEAR BRYAN ROAD AND I-70.
00:50 UTCTSTM WND GST 50O'FallonSt. Charles, MOWINDS INCREASING AT INTERSECTION OF SALT LICK ROAD HWY 79 AND I-70.
00:51 UTCTSTM WND DMGO'FallonSt. Charles, MOPOWER FLASH REPORTED AT INTERSECTION OF HIGHWAYS 79 AND I-70.
00:53 UTCTSTM WND GST 553 W ChesterfieldSt. Louis, MO
00:53 UTCTSTM WND GST 60St. PetersSt. Charles, MOAT MID RIVERS MALL DRIVE AND THE NORTH SERVICE ROAD AT I-70... WINDS BETWEEN 50 AND 60 MPH.
00:54 UTCTSTM WND DMGSt. PetersSt. Charles, MOBETWEEN MID RIVERS MALL DRIVE AND HIGHWAY 79... POWER FLASHES OBSERVED.
00:55 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 E CottlevilleSt. Charles, MO2 MID-SIZED 20 FT TALL TREES DOWN ALONG HIGHWAY N BETWEEN COTTLEVILLE AND MID RIVERS MALL DRIVE BEHIND SCHNUCKS.
00:55 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 Sw CottlevilleSt. Charles, MO10-INCH BRANCH OFF TREE AT INTERSECTION OF NE END OF OLD GUTERMUTH BYPASS AND NEW GUTERMUTH ROADS.
00:57 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 Ese KampvilleSt. Charles, MOSIDING DAMAGE TO TWO HOMES IN NEW TOWN SUBDIVISION.
00:57 UTCHEAVY RAIN 1.25AugustaSt. Charles, MO1.25 INCHES IN THE PAST HOUR.
01:00 UTCTSTM WND DMG12 Wsw De SotoWashington, MOMOBILE HOME BLOWN OFF ITS FOUNDATION. NO INJURIES. NEAR INTERSECTION OF HIGHWAY 21 AND HIGHWAY 47 NEAR KINGSTON.
01:00 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Ese Orchard FarmsSt. Charles, MOTOPS OF SEVERAL TREES SHEARED OFF NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF HIGHWAY H AND ISLAND ROAD.
01:00 UTCTSTM WND DMGHazelwoodSt. Louis, MOSHINGLES BLOWN FROM ROOFS. SIDING STRIPPED FROM HOMES. SCATTERED DEBRIS. POWER OUTAGE AFFECTS THE AREA. NO INJURIES REPORTED.
01:00 UTCTSTM WND DMGPortage Des SiouxSt. Charles, MOUTILITY POLES AND POWER LINES BLOWN DOWN ALONG HWY 94 BETWEEN PORTAGE DES SIOUX AND WEST ALTON.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2013 tornado in MissouriEvery tornado in Missouri since 1950Warnings in force in Missouri nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of April 10, 2013

8 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 104:20 PM CDTEF2Van Buren, AR17.38005$3.5 million
April 105:07 PM CDTEF1Stone, AR4.1300$200,000
April 105:44 PM CDTEF2Izard, AR1.2100$350,000
April 108:00 PM CDTEF2Saint Louis, MO6.85002$4.0 million
April 108:10 PM CDTEF0City of Saint Louis, MO0.350
April 108:26 PM CDTEF1Lincoln, AR6.7400$500,000
April 108:58 PM CDTEF0Butler, MO1.775$20,000
April 109:05 PM CDTEF0Stoddard, MO1.550$40,000

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.