Tornadoes · United States · Missouri · 2013
EF0 tornado, Lockwood, Missouri, May 19, 2013
This EF0 tornado ran 0.7 miles across Dade County on May 19, 2013, touching down at 12:23 AM CDT and reaching 100 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $250,000 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 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 19, 2013
- Touchdown
- 12:23 AM CDT (05:23 UTC)
- Lifted
- 12:24 AM CDT (05:24 UTC)
- On the ground
- 1 minutes
- Path length
- 0.7 miles (1.0 km)
- Path width
- 100 yards (91 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $250,000
- County
- Dade County
- Touchdown point
- 37.388, -93.967
- Lift-off point
- 37.392, -93.956
- Record number
- 1305192323-01
The damage survey
1 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS SGF, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 98 mph.
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 negatively titled upper level trough developed over the central portions of the country. A slow moving cold front moved into the Missouri Ozarks. This setup caused for several rounds of severe and slow moving thunderstorms which lead to widespread wind damage, large hail, and several low end tornadoes along with isolated flooding due to heavy rainfall.
An EF-0 tornado touched down on the west side of Lockwood at the golf course and city pool area. The tornado tracked east-northeast to the north end of Sycamore St. A grocery store sustained roof damage. Several trees were uprooted and a carport was thrown. Wind speeds were estimated between 70 to 80 mph.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The warnings
10 minutes of warning. NWS SGF issued a tornado warning for this county at 05:13 UTC, 10 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 06:00 UTC.
The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 23:26 UTC and running to 07:04 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23:26 UTC | 07:04 UTC | Tornado Watch | SGF |
| 02:41 UTC | 15:00 UTC | Flash Flood Watch | SGF |
| 05:08 UTC | 05:58 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF |
| 05:13 UTC | 06:00 UTC | Tornado Warning | SGF |
| 09:46 UTC | 16:00 UTC | Flood Advisory | SGF |
| 17:49 UTC | 00:56 UTC | Tornado Watch | SGF |
| 23:14 UTC | 00:00 UTC | Tornado Warning | 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 Moderate Risk, with a 0.10 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 01:01 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
5.4 hours before the tornado, 56 km from the path. May 20, 2013.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 970 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -187 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 1452 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1767 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 37 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 22 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 137 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 248 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 1.3
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 6.8 K/km
Springfield, MO (KSGF), 12:00Z
6.6 hours after it, 56 km from the path. May 20, 2013.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 4 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -445 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1092 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 69 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 17 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 81 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 208 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 4.4
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 3.5 K/km
The radar
The Springfield radar (KSGF), 53 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 05:25 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 04:50 UTC | TSTM WND GST 55 | Carl Junction | Jasper, MO | |
| 04:57 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Oronogo | Jasper, MO | TREE DOWN ACROSS ROADWAY |
| 04:57 UTC | TSTM WND GST 55 | Oronogo | Jasper, MO | |
| 05:02 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Carthage | Jasper, MO | ROAD SIGN DOWN AT I-49 AND FIR ROAD |
| 05:06 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 E Carthage | Jasper, MO | TREE REPORTED DOWN ON HOUSE AT INTERSECTION OF CHESTNUT AND 118. |
| 05:06 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 E Carthage | Jasper, MO | NUMEROUS TREES DOWN...POWERLINES DOWN...OUTBUILDINGS DESTROYED...AND SHINGLE DAMAGE TO HOMES. TIME OF EVENT ESTIMATED. |
| 05:06 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | S Carthage | Jasper, MO | TREE REPORTED DOWN ON HOUSE. |
| 05:06 UTC | TORNADO 1 | 2 E Carthage | Jasper, MO | NWS STORM SURVEY CONFIRMED A TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN BRIEFLY NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF PALIMINO AND 13TH STREET APPROXIMATELY 2 MILES EAST OF CARTHAGE. NUMEROUS TREES WERE UPROOTED...ALONG WITH POWERLINES BLOWN DOWN AND OUTB |
| 05:06 UTC | TORNADO 1 | 2 E Carthage | Jasper, MO | NWS STORM SURVEY CONFIRMED A TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN BRIEFLY NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF PALIMINO AND 13TH STREET APPROXIMATELY 2 MILES EAST OF CARTHAGE. NUMEROUS TREES WERE UPROOTED...ALONG WITH POWERLINES BLOWN DOWN AND OUTB |
| 05:12 UTC | FUNNEL CLOUD | 3 Sw Golden City | Barton, MO | FUNNEL CLOUD REPORTED. |
| 05:23 UTC | TORNADO 0 | 1 Wnw Lockwood | Dade, MO | AN EF-0 TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN ON THE WEST SIDE OF LOCKWOOD AT THE GOLF COURSE AND CITY POOL AREA. THIS TORNADO TRACKED EAST-NORTHEAST TO THE NORTH END OF SYCAMORE ST. A GROCERY STORE SUBSTAINED ROOF DAMAGE. SEVERAL TREES |
| 05:23 UTC | TORNADO | 1 Wnw Lockwood | Dade, MO | AN EF-0 TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN ON THE WEST SIDE OF LOCKWOOD AT THE GOLF COURSE AND CITY POOL AREA. THIS TORNADO TRACKED EAST-NORTHEAST TO THE NORTH END OF SYCAMORE ST. A GROCERY STORE SUBSTAINED ROOF DAMAGE. SEVERAL TREES |
| 05:25 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Lockwood | Dade, MO | SEVERAL OUTBUILDINGS DAMAGED. GROCERY STORE ROOF DAMAGED. CARPORT DAMAGED IN TOWN WITH SEVERAL TREES DOWN. TIME OF EVENT ESTIMATED. |
| 05:25 UTC | TORNADO | 2 E Golden City | Dade, MO | EMERGENCY MANAGER FROM BARTON COUNTY REPORTED A CONE TORNADO 1 MILE SOUTH OF HIGHWAY 126 APPROXIMATELY 2 MILES EAST OF GOLDEN CITY...MOVING EAST. |
| 05:37 UTC | TSTM WND GST 60 | Greenfield | Dade, MO | 60 MPH WINDS ESTIMATED ALONG WITH DIME SIZED HAIL. |
| 05:39 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Greenfield | Dade, MO | TREE REPORTED FALLEN ON CAR. |
| 05:48 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 W Aldrich | Polk, MO | BARN COMPLETELY DESTROYED |
| 06:02 UTC | TORNADO | 1 Nnw Bolivar | Polk, MO | THIS IS A DELAYED REPORT. NWS AND POLK COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT HAVE DETERMINED THAT AN EF-0 TORNADO OCCURRED DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS OF 5/20/13. TORNADO STARTED 1NNW BOLIVAR AROUND 102AM TRAVELED APPROXIMATELY 2 M |
| 06:05 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Nnw Bolivar | Polk, MO | TWO POWER LINES SNAPPED OFF AND OVER THE ROAD AT HIGHWAY 83 AND 425TH ROAD. |
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 May 19, 2013
26 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 19 | 3:10 PM CDT | EF0 | Sumner, KS | 0.6 | 50 | |||
| May 19 | 3:19 PM CDT | EF0 | Sedgwick, KS | 0.8 | 50 | |||
| May 19 | 3:37 PM CDT | EF2 | Sedgwick, KS | 4.6 | 300 | |||
| May 19 | 4:12 PM CDT | EF0 | Sumner, KS | 0.4 | 50 | |||
| May 19 | 4:22 PM CDT | EF1 | Oklahoma, OK | 4.5 | 900 | |||
| May 19 | 4:33 PM CDT | EF1 | Oklahoma, OK | 0.5 | 200 | |||
| May 19 | 4:39 PM CDT | EF0 | Sumner, KS | 0.5 | 50 | |||
| May 19 | 4:40 PM CDT | EF0 | Sumner, KS | 0.4 | 50 | |||
| May 19 | 4:41 PM CDT | EF3 | Oklahoma, OK | 20.8 | 1,200 | 4 | ||
| May 19 | 4:46 PM CDT | EF0 | Cowley, KS | 0.7 | 50 | |||
| May 19 | 4:51 PM CDT | EF1 | Greeley, NE | 0.2 | 25 | $40,000 | ||
| May 19 | 4:55 PM CDT | EF1 | Cowley, KS | 1.8 | 60 | |||
| May 19 | 5:05 PM CDT | EF0 | Marion, KS | 0.5 | 50 | |||
| May 19 | 5:17 PM CDT | EF0 | Dickinson, KS | 0.1 | 25 | |||
| May 19 | 5:27 PM CDT | EF1 | Lyon, KS | 9.0 | 75 | |||
| May 19 | 5:59 PM CDT | EF0 | Cowley, KS | 0.2 | 50 | |||
| May 19 | 6:00 PM CDT | EF4 | Shawnee tornado, OK | 23.0 | 1,500 | 2 | 10 | |
| May 19 | 6:32 PM CDT | EF0 | Dallas, IA | 2.1 | 100 | $4,000 | ||
| May 19 | 6:40 PM CDT | EF0 | Pottawatomie, OK | 2.0 | 30 | |||
| May 19 | 6:45 PM CDT | EF1 | Dallas, IA | 1.4 | 100 | $50,000 | ||
| May 19 | 6:47 PM CDT | EF0 | Creek, OK | 0.2 | 50 | |||
| May 19 | 6:59 PM CDT | EF2 | Lincoln, OK | 7.3 | 450 | |||
| May 19 | 7:07 PM CDT | EF1 | Polk, IA | 4.7 | 150 | $90,000 | ||
| May 19 | 7:17 PM CDT | EF1 | Lincoln, OK | 14.4 | 700 | $50,000 | ||
| May 19 | 8:02 PM CDT | EF0 | Carroll, IL | 0.1 | 50 | |||
| May 19 | 12:06 AM CDT | EF1 | Jasper, MO | 0.5 | 100 | $200,000 |
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.