Tornadoes · United States · Missouri · 2014
EF1 tornado, Saginaw to Wentworth, Missouri, September 1, 2014
From Saginaw to Wentworth, this EF1 tornado ran 2.7 miles across Newton County on September 1, 2014, touching down at 11:14 PM CDT and reaching 400 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.
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
- September 1, 2014
- Touchdown
- 11:14 PM CDT (04:14 UTC)
- Lifted
- 11:15 PM CDT (04:15 UTC)
- On the ground
- 1 minutes
- Path length
- 2.7 miles (4.3 km)
- Path width
- 400 yards (366 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- County
- Newton County
- Touchdown point
- 37.026, -94.427
- Lift-off point
- 36.994, -94.398
- Record number
- 1409012214-01
The damage survey
8 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 94 mph.
- numerous trees damaged, several uprooted
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 cold front moving into the area produced severe thunderstorms with damaging winds, large hail, and isolated tornadoes.
A NWS storm survey revealed that an EF-1 tornado touched down near Reinmiller Road and tracked southeast to Cedar Drive. Numerous trees were either uprooted or snapped with some trees thrown as far as 200 yards. At least one mobile home was severely damaged with a tree that fell through the home. The estimated maximum winds were up to 94 mph.
A NWS storm survey revealed that an EF-1 tornado touched down near Jaguar Road and tracked southeast to near Highway V. Numerous trees were damaged and destroyed along its path. The estimated maximum winds were up to 94 mph.
A NWS storm survey revealed that a small EF-0 tornado touched down near Vixen Road and tracked northeast to near Highway 37. A barn along with some trees were damaged. The estimated maximum winds were up to 70 mph.
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.
The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 22:57 UTC and running to 06:53 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22:57 UTC | 06:53 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SGF |
| 00:00 UTC | 11:51 UTC | Flash Flood Watch | SGF |
| 03:54 UTC | 04:45 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF |
| 04:22 UTC | 05:00 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm 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 Slight Risk, with a 0.05 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
4.2 hours before the tornado, 56 km from the path. September 2, 2014.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 2037 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -13 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 2872 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1123 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 37 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 16 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 129 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 235 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 1.9
- Supercell composite
- 13.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 6.2 K/km
Springfield, MO (KSGF), 12:00Z
7.8 hours after it, 56 km from the path. September 2, 2014.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 7 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -307 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 3 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 935 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 21 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 23 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 234 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 225 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- -0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 4.6 K/km
The radar
The Springfield radar (KSGF), 93 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 04:13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 04:08 UTC | TORNADO 1 | 1 Sse Leawood | Newton, MO | NWS SURVEY DETECTED A BRIEF TORNADO TOUCHDOWN NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF REINMILLER AND BIRCH AS PART OF A LARGER SCALE STRAIGHT LINE WIND DAMAGE PATH. TORNADO DAMAGE WAS LIMITED TO UPROOTED TREES WITH A FEW BEING SNAPPED. |
| 04:13 UTC | TORNADO 1 | 1 E Saginaw | Newton, MO | SAGNINAW 1 TORNADO...A NWS STORM SURVEY REVEALED THAT AN EF-1 TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN NEAR REINMILLER ROAD...AND TRACKED SOUTHEAST TO CEDAR DRIVE. NUMEROUS TREES WERE EITHER UPROOTED...SNAPPED...OR THROWN 200 YARDS. |
| 04:13 UTC | TORNADO | 1 E Saginaw | Newton, MO | SAGNINAW 1 TORNADO...A NWS STORM SURVEY REVEALED THAT AN EF-1 TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN NEAR REINMILLER ROAD...AND TRACKED SOUTHEAST TO CEDAR DRIVE. NUMEROUS TREES WERE EITHER UPROOTED...SNAPPED...OR THROWN 200 YARDS. |
| 04:14 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Leawood | Newton, MO | NUMEROUS TREES AND POWERLINES DOWN ACROSS NORTHWEST PORTIONS OF NEWTON COUNTY. ESTIMATED 70 MPH WIND. |
| 04:14 UTC | TORNADO 1 | 2 E Saginaw | Newton, MO | SAGINAW 2 TORNADO...A NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STORM SURVEY REVEALED THAT AN EF-1 TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN NEAR JAGUAR ROAD...AND TRACKED SOUTHEAST TO NEAR HIGHWAY V. NUMEROUS TREES WERE DAMAGED AND DESTROYED ALONG ITS PATH. |
| 04:15 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 Nw Neosho | Newton, MO | *** 2 INJ *** SEVERAL CAMPER TRAILERS BLOWN OVER JUST EAST OF REDDINGS MILL. 2 MINOR INJURIES REPORTED NEAR THE RIVERBEND CAMPGROUND WITH OVERTURNED CAMPER TRAILER. NUMEROUS LARGE TREES AND POWERLINES DOWN IN NORTHERN NE |
| 04:15 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 Nw Neosho | Newton, MO | SEVERAL TRAILERS BLOWN OVER AT HIGHWAY NN NORTHWEST OF NEOSHO |
| 04:15 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 Nw Neosho | Newton, MO | *** 1 INJ *** NWS STORM SURVEY DETERMINED THAT 75 MPH WINDS OVERTURNED SEVERAL CAMPER TRAILERS JUST EAST OF REDDINGS MILL AT THE RIVERBEND CAMPGROUND. A TRAIL OF DAMAGE TO TREES...POWER LINES...AN APPARTMENT COMPLEX AND |
| 04:23 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 5 Nnw Neosho | Newton, MO | TREE DOWN ACROSS ROAD NEAR INTERSECTION OF KODIAK RD AND HICKORY. |
| 04:36 UTC | TORNADO 0 | 3 Nw Wentworth | Newton, MO | NORTHEAST NEWTON COUNTY TORNADO...A NWS STORM SURVEY REVEALED THAT A SMALL EF-0 TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN NEAR VIXEN ROAD...AND TRACKED NORTHEAST TO NEAR HIGWWAY 37. A BARN ALONG WITH SOME TREES WERE DAMAGED FROM THIS TORNADO |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2014 tornado in MissouriEvery tornado in Missouri since 1950Warnings in force in Missouri nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of September 1, 2014
10 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 1 | 1:47 PM EDT | EF1 | Kalkaska, MI | 4.0 | 125 | $160,000 | ||
| September 1 | 2:16 PM EDT | EF1 | Crawford, MI | 9.1 | 75 | $85,000 | ||
| September 1 | 2:42 PM EDT | EF1 | Otsego, MI | 7.2 | 210 | $215,000 | ||
| September 1 | 2:43 PM EDT | EF0 | Cheboygan, MI | 0.7 | 30 | $20,000 | ||
| September 1 | 7:41 PM CDT | EF0 | Craig, OK | 0.2 | 50 | |||
| September 1 | 8:01 PM CDT | EF0 | Cowley, KS | 3.7 | 100 | |||
| September 1 | 8:25 PM CDT | EF1 | Chautauqua, KS | 7.4 | 100 | |||
| September 1 | 10:43 PM CDT | EF1 | Jefferson, MO | 6.4 | 60 | |||
| September 1 | 11:13 PM CDT | EF1 | Newton, MO | 2.2 | 100 | $50,000 | ||
| September 1 | 11:36 PM CDT | EF0 | Newton, MO | 1.2 | 100 | $10,000 |
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.