Tornadoes · United States · Missouri · 2017
EF0 tornado, Thayer, Missouri, May 19, 2017
This EF0 tornado ran 0.8 miles across Oregon County on May 19, 2017, touching down at 3:12 AM CDT and reaching 300 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $50,000 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, 2017
- Touchdown
- 3:12 AM CDT (08:12 UTC)
- Lifted
- 3:13 AM CDT (08:13 UTC)
- On the ground
- 1 minutes
- Path length
- 0.8 miles (1.2 km)
- Path width
- 300 yards (274 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $50,000
- County
- Oregon County
- Touchdown point
- 36.531, -91.544
- Lift-off point
- 36.536, -91.535
- Record number
- 1705190212-01
What the Weather Service recorded
Multiple rounds of severe thunderstorms over a two day period produced numerous weak tornadoes and wind damage reports across the Missouri Ozarks. Training of storms led to localized heavy rainfall and minor flooding reports.
An EF-0 tornado touched down on the northeast side of Thayer. Numerous trees were uprooted and damage. Some homes had minor damage. Estimated maximum winds were up to 85 mph.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The warnings
11 minutes of warning. NWS SGF issued a tornado warning for this county at 08:01 UTC, 11 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 08:45 UTC.
The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 05:58 UTC and running to 09:33 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 05:58 UTC | 09:33 UTC | Tornado Watch | SGF |
| 08:01 UTC | 08:45 UTC | Tornado Warning | SGF |
| 00:01 UTC | 01:00 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. The outlook in force was issued at 06:00 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.
Springfield, MO (KSGF), 00:00Z
8.2 hours before the tornado, 206 km from the path. May 19, 2017.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 2055 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -4 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 3169 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1439 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 33 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 12 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 44 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 52 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.2
- Supercell composite
- 2.4
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 7.2 K/km
Springfield, MO (KSGF), 12:00Z
3.8 hours after it, 206 km from the path. May 19, 2017.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -80475 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 968 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 35 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 29 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -97 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 118 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 4.3 K/km
The surface observations
West Plains (UNO), 50 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 06:15 UTC | 160° 6 kt | 1012.9 | ||||
| 06:20 UTC | 150° 6 kt | 1012.9 | ||||
| 06:25 UTC | 160° 6 kt | 1012.9 | ||||
| 06:30 UTC | 160° 7 kt | 1012.5 | ||||
| 06:40 UTC | 150° 6 kt | 1012.5 | ||||
| 06:45 UTC | 150° 7 kt | 1012.2 | ||||
| 06:50 UTC | 160° 5 kt | 1012.2 | ||||
| 06:53 UTC | 73 | 68 | 160° 7 kt | 1012.2 | ||
| 06:55 UTC | 160° 7 kt | 1012.2 | ||||
| 07:00 UTC | 170° 7 kt | 1012.5 | ||||
| 07:05 UTC | 170° 7 kt | 1012.5 | ||||
| 07:10 UTC | 160° 6 kt | 1012.2 | ||||
| 07:20 UTC | 170° 7 kt | 1012.2 | ||||
| 07:25 UTC | 170° 8 kt | 1012.2 | ||||
| 07:30 UTC | 180° 8 kt | 1012.5 | ||||
| 07:40 UTC | 170° 11 kt | 1012.9 | ||||
| 07:50 UTC | 190° 8 kt | 1012.9 | ||||
| 07:53 UTC | 73 | 67 | 180° 8 kt | 1012.5 | ||
| 07:55 UTC | 180° 9 kt | 1012.5 | ||||
| 08:00 UTC | 220° 11 kt | 17 | 1013.5 | |||
| 08:05 UTC | 70 | 64 | 220° 23 kt | 31 | 1015.2 | VCTS -RA |
| 08:10 UTC | 1015.2 | -RA | ||||
| 08:15 UTC | 250° 14 kt | 1015.9 | +RA | |||
| 08:25 UTC | 270° 12 kt | 1015.6 | -RA BR | |||
| 08:30 UTC | 280° 10 kt | 16 | 1015.2 | -RA | ||
| 08:31 UTC | 64 | 61 | 280° 12 kt | 16 | 1015.2 | -TSRA |
| 08:35 UTC | 280° 13 kt | 1015.2 | -RA | |||
| 08:40 UTC | 280° 8 kt | 1014.6 | -RA | |||
| 08:45 UTC | 280° 6 kt | 1014.2 | -RA | |||
| 08:50 UTC | 290° 7 kt | 1013.9 | -RA | |||
| 08:53 UTC | 63 | 61 | 290° 6 kt | 1013.9 | -RA | |
| 09:00 UTC | 260° 5 kt | 1014.2 | ||||
| 09:05 UTC | 260° 3 kt | 1013.9 | ||||
| 09:10 UTC | 230° 4 kt | 1013.9 | ||||
| 09:15 UTC | 230° 5 kt | 1014.2 | ||||
| 09:20 UTC | 220° 5 kt | 1013.9 | ||||
| 09:25 UTC | 220° 5 kt | 1013.9 | ||||
| 09:30 UTC | 220° 5 kt | 1013.9 | ||||
| 09:35 UTC | 220° 7 kt | 1014.2 | ||||
| 09:40 UTC | 210° 6 kt | 1013.9 | ||||
| 09:45 UTC | 220° 5 kt | 1013.5 | ||||
| 09:50 UTC | 200° 3 kt | 1012.9 | ||||
| 09:53 UTC | 63 | 61 | 0° 0 kt | 1012.5 | ||
| 09:55 UTC | 0° 0 kt | 1012.5 | ||||
| 10:05 UTC | 0° 0 kt | 1012.5 | ||||
| 10:10 UTC | 0° 0 kt | 1012.2 |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Springfield radar (KSGF), 183 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 08:14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 08:12 UTC | TORNADO | 1 Nnw Thayer | Oregon, MO | EF-0 TORNADO WITH WINDS OF 85 MPH TOUCHED DOWN ON THE NORTHEAST SIDE OF THAYER. THE TORNADO WAS ABOUT 300 YARDS WIDE AND THREE-QUARTERS OF A MILE LONG. NUMEROUS TREES WERE UPROOTED OR DAMAGED IN A CONCENTRATED AREA ACROS |
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 May 19, 2017
43 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 19 | 1:04 AM CDT | EF0 | Barry, MO | 0.1 | 100 | $50,000 | ||
| May 19 | 1:28 AM CDT | EF0 | Taney, MO | 0.3 | 75 | 1 | $10,000 | |
| May 19 | 1:30 AM CDT | EF1 | Taney, MO | 8.7 | 200 | |||
| May 19 | 1:54 AM CDT | EF0 | Greene, MO | 2.5 | 200 | $100,000 | ||
| May 19 | 2:00 AM CDT | EF0 | Christian, MO | 3.0 | 500 | $100,000 | ||
| May 19 | 2:15 AM CDT | EF1 | Webster, MO | 2.0 | 300 | $10,000 | ||
| May 19 | 3:00 AM CDT | EF0 | Wright, MO | 0.3 | 50 | $5,000 | ||
| May 19 | 4:15 AM CDT | EF1 | Callaway, MO | 1.6 | 50 | |||
| May 19 | 4:23 AM CDT | EF0 | Montgomery, MO | 4.0 | 75 | |||
| May 19 | 2:55 PM CDT | EF1 | McDonald, MO | 2.0 | 10 | $50,000 | ||
| May 19 | 3:10 PM CDT | EF0 | Newton, MO | 4.1 | 300 | $50,000 | ||
| May 19 | 4:22 PM EDT | EF1 | Crawford, IN | 0.2 | 50 | $250,000 | ||
| May 19 | 3:23 PM CDT | Unrated | Runnels, TX | 0.0 | 30 | |||
| May 19 | 3:37 PM CDT | EF0 | Barber, KS | 0.4 | 50 | |||
| May 19 | 3:42 PM CDT | EF1 | Lawrence, MO | 4.2 | 300 | $50,000 | ||
| May 19 | 3:53 PM CDT | EF0 | Barber, KS | 3.0 | 150 | |||
| May 19 | 3:57 PM CDT | EF0 | Lawrence, MO | 1.0 | 100 | $5,000 | ||
| May 19 | 4:05 PM CDT | EF0 | Dade, MO | 0.9 | 100 | |||
| May 19 | 4:11 PM CDT | EF0 | Pratt, KS | 2.2 | 50 | |||
| May 19 | 4:12 PM CDT | EF0 | Dade, MO | 0.5 | 75 | |||
| May 19 | 4:14 PM CDT | EF0 | Pratt, KS | 4.5 | 75 | |||
| May 19 | 4:19 PM CDT | EF0 | Polk, MO | 0.6 | 100 | $5,000 | ||
| May 19 | 4:22 PM CDT | EF0 | Kingman, KS | 0.2 | 50 | |||
| May 19 | 4:53 PM CDT | EF0 | Kingman, KS | 0.3 | 50 | |||
| May 19 | 5:10 PM CDT | EF0 | Kingman, KS | 0.3 | 50 | |||
| May 19 | 5:32 PM CDT | EF0 | Reno, KS | 0.7 | 50 | |||
| May 19 | 5:37 PM CDT | EF0 | Reno, KS | 0.6 | 50 | |||
| May 19 | 6:00 PM CDT | Unrated | Archer, TX | 0.5 | 50 | |||
| May 19 | 6:27 PM CDT | EF1 | Cole, MO | 0.9 | 75 | |||
| May 19 | 7:15 PM CDT | EF0 | Clay, KS | 0.0 | 20 | |||
| May 19 | 7:22 PM CDT | Unrated | Carter, OK | 0.2 | 50 | |||
| May 19 | 7:24 PM CDT | Unrated | Carter, OK | 0.2 | 50 | |||
| May 19 | 7:27 PM CDT | Unrated | Coleman, TX | 0.1 | 25 | |||
| May 19 | 7:31 PM CDT | Unrated | Carter, OK | 0.2 | 50 | |||
| May 19 | 7:47 PM CDT | Unrated | Carter, OK | 2.0 | 400 | |||
| May 19 | 7:48 PM CDT | EF0 | Chase, KS | 0.2 | 50 | |||
| May 19 | 8:09 PM CDT | EF0 | Morris, KS | 0.0 | 25 | |||
| May 19 | 8:25 PM CDT | EF1 | Chase, KS | 0.8 | 60 | |||
| May 19 | 8:38 PM CDT | EF0 | Lyon, KS | 0.0 | 25 | |||
| May 19 | 9:32 PM CDT | Unrated | Johnston, OK | 1.5 | 50 | |||
| May 19 | 9:44 PM CDT | Unrated | Johnston, OK | 2.0 | 50 | |||
| May 19 | 9:56 PM CDT | Unrated | Johnston, OK | 6.0 | 50 | |||
| May 19 | 10:13 PM CDT | Unrated | Coal, OK | 3.0 | 50 |
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.