Tornadoes · United States · Missouri · 2017
EF0 tornado, Napoleon to Odessa, Missouri, June 17, 2017
From Napoleon to Odessa, this EF0 tornado ran 4.8 miles across Lafayette County on June 17, 2017, touching down at 9:47 PM CDT and reaching 50 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 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
- June 17, 2017
- Touchdown
- 9:47 PM CDT (02:47 UTC)
- Lifted
- 9:53 PM CDT (02:53 UTC)
- On the ground
- 6 minutes
- Path length
- 4.8 miles (7.6 km)
- Path width
- 50 yards (46 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- County
- Lafayette County
- Touchdown point
- 39.068, -94.094
- Lift-off point
- 39.056, -94.007
- Record number
- 1706172047-01
The damage survey
5 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS EAX, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF0. The highest wind the damage implies is 93 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
On the afternoons of June 15 through June 17 mulitple rounds of severe storms raked through western and central Missouri causing widespread wind damage and large hail. A tornado occurred in Lafayette County after dark, causing minor damage to rural areas north of Bates City.
A tornado formed in western Lafayette County late in the evening of June 17, 2017 just north of Bates City and west of Mayview. This tornado remained mostly over rural portions of Lafayette County and caused mostly minor damage to some residences as well as snapping trunks of a few large trees.
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 severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 23:12 UTC and running to 04:52 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17:00 UTC | 20:55 UTC | Heat Advisory | EAX |
| 23:12 UTC | 04:52 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | EAX |
| 02:38 UTC | 03:30 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX |
| 02:49 UTC | 03:15 UTC | Tornado Warning | EAX |
| 03:07 UTC | 03:31 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX |
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 Enhanced Risk, with a 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 01:00 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.
Topeka, KS (KFOE), 00:00Z
2.8 hours before the tornado, 137 km from the path. June 18, 2017.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 4476 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -22 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 6766 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1204 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 52 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 12 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 4 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 103 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- -0.3
- Supercell composite
- -1.9
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 6.4 K/km
Topeka, KS (KFOE), 12:00Z
9.2 hours after it, 137 km from the path. June 18, 2017.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -89282 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 59 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1591 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 62 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 19 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -59 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- -40 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 4.0 K/km
The radar
The Pleasant Hill radar (KEAX), 34 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 02:45 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01:20 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 Nnw Raytown | Jackson, MO | 12 INCH TREE FELL DOWN ON THREE CARS. NO INJURIES REPORTED. |
| 02:05 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 5 Ese Ferrelview | Clay, MO | TREE SNAPPED IN HALF |
| 02:05 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 5 Ne Lake Waukomis | Clay, MO | TREE SNAPPED IN HALF. |
| 02:07 UTC | TSTM WND GST 75 | Riverside | Platte, MO | WENT ON FOR 3-4 MINUTES. |
| 02:10 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Se Gladstone | Clay, MO | 10 INCH DIAMETER TREE FELL ON A CAR. NO ONE WAS INJURED. |
| 02:12 UTC | TSTM WND GST 50 | 1 N Northmoor | Clay, MO | NEAR ENGLEWOOD RD. AND U.S. HWY 169. |
| 02:13 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Ese Gladstone | Clay, MO | DELAYED REPORT: TREE DAMAGE WITH 5 LIMBS SNAPPED OFF, SUBMITTED VIA SOCIAL MEDIA. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR. |
| 02:15 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Nne Gladstone | Clay, MO | NUMEROUS TREES DOWN BETWEEN WALMART AND 66TH TERRACE, APPROXIMATELY 6-8 INCHES IN DIAMETER. |
| 02:15 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Gladstone | Clay, MO | TREES DOWN AT 61ST ST. AND HOWARD AVE. |
| 02:15 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Gladstone | Clay, MO | EM REPORTS GLADSTONE HAS SEVERAL STREETS BLOCKED DUE TO DAMAGE, GOOD PORTION OF THE CITY WITHOUT POWER, PUBLIC WORKS DEPLOYING CREWS FOR DEBRIS REMOVAL. |
| 02:15 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Gladstone | Clay, MO | SPORADIC POWER OUTAGES IN GLADSTONE WITH LIMBS DOWN. |
| 02:17 UTC | TSTM WND GST 58 | 2 Ne Gladstone | Clay, MO | 50 TO 60 MPH EST. WINDS AT 72ND ST. AND ANTIOCH RD. |
| 02:18 UTC | TSTM WND GST 60 | 4 N Oakview | Clay, MO | AT 93RD ST. AND NORTH OAK TRFWY. |
| 02:19 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Sw Kansas City | Jackson, MO | BROADCAST MEDIA REPORTS DAMAGE TO THE BOULEVARDIA EVENT IN THE WEST BOTTOMS. |
| 02:19 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Sw Kansas City | Jackson, MO | BROADCAST MEDIA REPORTS DAMAGE TO THE BOULEVARDIA EVENT IN THE WEST BOTTOMS. THE EVENT HAD TO CLOSE EARLY DUE TO DAMAGE SUSTAINED TO TENTS, FENCES, ETC. |
| 02:25 UTC | TSTM WND GST 60 | 3 Ssw Raytown | Jackson, MO | |
| 02:25 UTC | TSTM WND GST 60 | 4 Nne Oakview | Clay, MO | |
| 02:25 UTC | TSTM WND GST 70 | Oakwood Park | Clay, MO | |
| 02:25 UTC | TSTM WND GST 75 | 3 Nnw Raytown | Jackson, MO | POWER FLASHES OBSERVED. BP GAS STATION SIGN ACROSS FROM KAUFFMAN STADIUM DOWN. |
| 02:25 UTC | TSTM WND GST 80 | 1 N Randolph | Clay, MO | SPOTTER SAW TRANSFORMERS BLOW. REPORTED AT WORLDS OF FUN. |
| 02:29 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 4 Sse Independence | Jackson, MO | 4 TO 6 INCH TREES BLOCKING THE ROAD AT 44TH ST. AND PHELPS RD. |
| 02:29 UTC | TSTM WND GST 65 | 1 E Gladstone | Clay, MO | MULTIPLE TREES DOWN. 61ST ST. AND ANTIOCH RD. |
| 02:30 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 S Independence | Jackson, MO | 3-4 INCH DIAMETER LIMBS DOWN FROM HEALTHY TREES. |
| 02:30 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Oakwood | Clay, MO | 4 IN DIAMETER TREES SNAPPED. |
| 02:30 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Oakwood Park | Clay, MO | BLOWN TRANSFORMER. |
| 02:34 UTC | TSTM WND GST 58 | 4 Ene Raytown | Jackson, MO | 50-60MPH WINDS AT U.S. HWY 40 AND PHELPS RD. |
| 02:40 UTC | TSTM WND GST 60 | 2 Ne Blue Springs | Jackson, MO | |
| 02:43 UTC | TSTM WND GST 70 | 2 Ese Blue Springs | Jackson, MO | VEHICLE SHAKING. TRANSFORMERS BLOWING SOUTH OF SPOTTER'S LOCATION. |
| 02:44 UTC | TSTM WND GST 58 | 4 Sse Independence | Jackson, MO | REPORTED AT LEE'S SUMMIT RD. AND U.S. HWY 40. |
| 02:45 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 E Lee'S Summit | Jackson, MO | 8 INCH DIAMETER HEALTHY TREE BRANCH SNAPPED. |
| 02:52 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Nne Lake Tapawingo | Jackson, MO | 6 IN DIAMETER TREE LIMBS SNAPPED. |
| 02:53 UTC | TORNADO | 4 Nw Odessa | Lafayette, MO | A NWS STORM SURVEY CREW CONFIRMED EF-0 TORNADO DAMAGE. DAMAGE WAS MAINLY TO LARGE TREES BUT ONE RESIDENCE LOST NUMEROUS SHINGLES FROM ITS ROOF. |
| 02:54 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Odessa | Lafayette, MO | TREES AND POWERLINES DOWN IN ODESSA. VIA TWITTER. |
| 02:55 UTC | TSTM WND GST 70 | Oak Grove | Jackson, MO | |
| 03:10 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Sse Gladstone | Clay, MO | 10 INCH DIAMETER HEALTHY MAPLE TREE SNAPPED NEAR THE BASE. |
| 03:10 UTC | TSTM WND GST 70 | 3 Wsw Aullville | Lafayette, MO | AT I-70 AND ROUTE 13. |
| 03:20 UTC | TSTM WND GST 70 | Emma | Lafayette, MO | SAW 3 POWER FLASHES WITH THIS GUST. |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2017 tornado in MissouriEvery tornado in Missouri since 1950Warnings in force in Missouri nowThe forecast where you are
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.