Tornadoes · United States · Missouri · 2017

EF0 tornado, Butterfield to Halley, Missouri, March 9, 2017

From Butterfield to Halley, this EF0 tornado ran 0.1 miles across Barry County on March 9, 2017, touching down at 6:42 PM CST and reaching 100 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $25,000 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 mphthis tornado

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. EF186 to 110 mph

    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
EF0
Date
March 9, 2017
Touchdown
6:42 PM CST (00:42 UTC)
Lifted
6:43 PM CST (00:43 UTC)
On the ground
1 minutes
Path length
0.1 miles (0.2 km)
Path width
100 yards (91 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$25,000
County
Barry County
Touchdown point
36.766, -93.872
Lift-off point
36.766, -93.870
Record number
1703091842-01

The damage survey

3 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS SGF, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF0. The highest wind the damage implies is 85 mph.

  • Multiple uprooted trees and trees snapped.

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

Severe thunderstorms producing numerous reports large hail along with scattered wind damage and a couple of tornadoes impacted Missouri Ozarks and southeastern Kansas Thursday, March 9, 2017.

A National Weather Service survey determined that a tornado damaged a home to the east northeast of Butterfield. Estimated peak wind speed was 75 mph.

A National Weather Service survey determined that an EF-0 tornado uprooted and snapped multiple trees about 6 miles southwest of Jenkins, Missouri. Estimated peak wind speed was 85 mph.

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

The warnings

35 minutes of warning. NWS SGF issued a tornado warning for this county at 00:07 UTC, 35 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 01:00 UTC.

The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 17:10 UTC and running to 02:45 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
17:10 UTC02:45 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WatchSGF
00:03 UTC00:30 UTCTornado WarningSGF
00:07 UTC01:00 UTCTornado WarningSGF
00:28 UTC01:15 UTCTornado WarningSGF
00:42 UTC01:30 UTCTornado WarningSGF
01:12 UTC01:49 UTCTornado WarningSGF
01:31 UTC02:30 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 forecast that day

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Enhanced Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 22:29 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 radar

The Springfield radar (KSGF), 67 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 00:44 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
23:25 UTCHAIL 1.251 Nnw SarcoxieJasper, MOQUARTER TO HALF DOLLAR SIZE HAIL REPORTED ON SOCIAL MEDIA WITH A PICTURE. TIME WAS ESTIMATED BY RADAR.
23:25 UTCHAIL 1.251 N SarcoxieJasper, MOQUARTER TO HALF DOLLAR SIZE HAIL REPORTED ON SOCIAL MEDIA WITH A PICTURE. TIME WAS ESTIMATED BY RADAR.
23:32 UTCHAIL 2.51 N Stotts CityLawrence, MOTENNIS BALL SIZE HAIL REPORTED ON SOCIAL MEDIA WITH A PICTURE. TIME WAS ESTIMATED.
23:34 UTCHAIL 1.52 N FidelityJasper, MOTAKEN FROM THE JASPER COUNTY 911 CENTER SOUTH OF CARTHAGE MO. TIME BASED ON RADAR ESTIMATE.
23:47 UTCHAIL 0.883 N FidelityJasper, MONICKEL HAIL AT MM 50.6 ON I-49.
23:50 UTCHAIL 1.52 S FidelityNewton, MOBETWEEN DIAMOND AND FIDELITY MO AT APPROX 5:50 PM. VIA FACEBOOK PICTURE.
23:50 UTCTORNADO5 E Reeds SpringTaney, MOBRIEF EF-0 TORNADO DESTROYED A WOODEN FRAMED STRUCTURE AND DAMAGED ROOFS TO 3 HOMES. .
00:00 UTCHAIL 0.254 Se HobergLawrence, MOHAIL (1.00) -- -- SPOTTER IS 5 MILES N OF VERONA, MO.
00:01 UTCTORNADO6 Sw JenkinsBarry, MOEF-0 TORNADO WITH MAX ESTIMATED WINDS OF 85 MPH UPROOTED AND SNAPPED SEVERAL TREES.
00:02 UTCFUNNEL CLOUD4 Ssw SarcoxieNewton, MOSPOTTER HAD OBSERVED FUNNEL CLOUD...HAS SINCE DISSIPATED.
00:05 UTCHAIL 2.75WentworthNewton, MOBASEBALL SIZE HAIL REPORTED ON SOCIAL MEDIA WITH A PICTURE. MULTIPLE REPORTS OF DAMAGE TO CARS IN THE AREA. TIME WAS ESTIMATED.
00:22 UTCFUNNEL CLOUDPurdyBarry, MOFUNNEL CLOUD INDICATED NW OF PURDY.
00:22 UTCHAIL 1MonettBarry, MO1.00 HAIL. .
00:22 UTCHAIL 1.751 S MonettBarry, MOGOLF BALL SIZE HAIL REPORTED ON SOCIAL MEDIA WITH A PICTURE. TIME WAS ESTIMATED.
00:24 UTCTSTM WND DMGAuroraLawrence, MOAURORA PD REPORTING RURAL FIRE TRUCK AND PASSENGER VEHICLE BLOWN OFF THE ROADWAY INTO A DITCH ON ROUTE K NORTH OF AURORA AT FARM ROAD 2167.
00:34 UTCHAIL 1MonettBarry, MOQUARTER SIZED HAIL...MONETT WALMART PARKING LOT 634PM.
00:39 UTCHAIL 1SarcoxieJasper, MOQUARTER SIZED HAIL SW OF SARCOXIE...639PM S OF I44.
00:43 UTCTORNADO2 Ene ButterfieldBarry, MONWS STORM SURVEY REVEALED A TORNADO DAMAGED A HOME EAST OF BUTTERFIELD. MAXIMUM WINDS ESTIMATED AT 75 MPH.
00:59 UTCTORNADO3 E ButterfieldBarry, MODAMAGE TO A HOME 3 EAST OF BUTTERFIELD. NOT CONFIRMED. .
00:59 UTCTORNADO3 E ButterfieldBarry, MODAMAGE TO A HOME 3 EAST OF BUTTERFIELD. NOT CONFIRMED. NO INJURIES REPORTED.
01:04 UTCHAIL 1.753 S RacineNewton, MOGOLF BALL SIZE HAIL. .
01:10 UTCHAIL 1.75CassvilleBarry, MOGOLF BALL SIZE HAIL NEAR CASSVILLE REPORTED ON SOCIAL MEDIA WITH A PICTURE. TIME WAS ESTIMATED.
01:11 UTCHAIL 1NeoshoNewton, MOQUARTER SIZED HAIL WORNALL AND SOUTH STREET IN SOUTH CENTRAL NEOSHO. OTHER REPORTS ALSO OF 1.00 HAIL FROM THE PUBLIC.
01:15 UTCHAIL 1.251 S NeoshoNewton, MOHALF DOLLAR SIZE HAIL REPORTED ON SOCIAL MEDIA WITH A PICTURE. TIME WAS ESTIMATED
01:15 UTCHAIL 1.251 S NeoshoNewton, MOHALF DOLLAR SIZE HAIL REPORTED ON SOCIAL MEDIA WITH A PICTURE. TIME WAS ESTIMATED.
01:20 UTCHAIL 1.5GoodmanMcdonald, MOPING PONG SIZE HAIL REPORTED ON SOCIAL MEDIA WITH A PICTURE. TIME WAS ESTIMATED.
01:35 UTCHAIL 0.25GoldenBarry, MOGOLF BALL SIZE HAIL NEAR GOLDEN REPORTED ON SOCIAL MEDIA WITH A PICTURE. TIME WAS ESTIMATED.
01:35 UTCHAIL 1.753 Se Shell KnobBarry, MOGOLF BALL SIZE HAIL NEAR VIOLA, MISSOURI. PICTURE ON SOCIAL MEDIA. TIME WAS ESTIMATED
01:35 UTCHAIL 1.753 Se Shell KnobBarry, MOGOLF BALL SIZE HAIL NEAR VIOLA, MISSOURI. PICTURE ON SOCIAL MEDIA. TIME WAS ESTIMATED.
01:35 UTCHAIL 1.75GoldenBarry, MOGOLF BALL SIZE HAIL NEAR GOLDEN REPORTED ON SOCIAL MEDIA WITH A PICTURE. TIME WAS ESTIMATED.
01:40 UTCHAIL 1Blue EyeStone, MO
01:40 UTCHAIL 1Blue EyeCarroll, AR
01:42 UTCHAIL 1NoelMcdonald, MOQUARTER SIZE HAIL IN NOEL PER LAW ENFORCEMENT.
01:52 UTCTSTM WND DMG5 Ene GoldenStone, MOHOUSE DAMAGE....REPORTS OF WINDOWS BLOWN OUT....CENTRAL CROSSING FIRE RESPONDING.
02:13 UTCHAIL 12 Ssw PinevilleMcdonald, MOQUARTER SIZE HAIL ON HWY 71 JUST SOUTH OF PINEVILLE.
02:25 UTCHAIL 16 Se PinevilleMcdonald, MOQUARTER SIZE HAIL NEAR JANE, MISSOURI. PICTURE WAS FROM SOCIAL MEDIA AND TIME WAS ESTIMATED BY RADAR.

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

The other tornadoes of March 9, 2017

16 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
March 96:25 PM CSTEF2Ripley, MO9.6600$30,000
March 96:32 PM CSTEF1Butler, MO6.3100$25,000
March 96:50 PM CSTEF0Taney, MO0.175$20,000
March 97:00 PM CSTEF0Barry, MO0.1100
March 97:03 PM CSTEF1Stoddard, MO2.375$75,000
March 97:06 PM CSTEF0Taney, MO1.9100$100,000
March 97:14 PM CSTEF1Butler, MO2.7200$500,000
March 97:28 PM CSTEF1Stoddard, MO11.2250$400,000
March 98:00 PM CSTEF0Stoddard, MO0.7100$20,000
March 98:10 PM CSTEF1New Madrid, MO1.1150$50,000
March 98:26 PM CSTEF2Fulton, MO to KY9.7250$270,000
March 98:41 PM CSTEF2Fulton, KY to TN10.2250$1.3 million
March 99:13 PM CSTEF1Calloway, KY5.6150$75,000
March 99:54 PM CSTEF0Carroll, TN1.0150$30,000
March 911:32 PM CSTEF0Marshall, TN3.1100$25,000
March 911:55 PM CSTEF1Moore, TN4.2320

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.