Tornadoes · United States · Missouri · 2020

EF0 tornado, Archie to Crescent Hill, Missouri, June 4, 2020

From Archie to Crescent Hill, this EF0 tornado ran 1.8 miles across Cass and Bates counties on June 4, 2020, touching down at 2:56 AM CDT and reaching 40 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.

  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
June 4, 2020
Touchdown
2:56 AM CDT (07:56 UTC)
Lifted
3:00 AM CDT (08:00 UTC)
On the ground
4 minutes
Path length
1.8 miles (2.9 km)
Path width
40 yards (37 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Counties
Cass and Bates counties
Touchdown point
38.483, -94.347
Lift-off point
38.466, -94.323
Record number
2006040156-01

What the Weather Service recorded

Two rounds of severe storms came through the Kansas City metro area on back to back nights, both taking place late in the evening and lasting through the overnight hours. Both events were nearly identical in evolution, with a strong QLCS each night producing scattered wind damage. The June 4 QLCS produced a couple weak and brief EF-0 tornadoes that did some minor damage.

A QLCS mesovortex tornado formed within an overnight squall line in rural Cass County. This tornado did minimal damage to trees and structures as it moved into far northern Bates County.

This is a continuation of the brief QLCS mesovortex tornado that formed within an overnight squall line in rural Cass County. This tornado did damage to trees and structures as it moved into far northern Bates County, with the most significant damage occurring in Archie where a large tree fell into a house.

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 07:09 UTC and running to 08:38 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
20:52 UTC01:19 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WatchEAX
06:52 UTC07:30 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningEAX
07:09 UTC08:38 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WatchEAX
07:21 UTC08:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningEAX
07:26 UTC08:15 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningEAX
07:55 UTC08:30 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningEAX
07:59 UTC08:06 UTCTornado WarningEAX
14:56 UTC03:47 UTCFlood WarningEAX

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 Marginal Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 05:41 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 (KTOP), 00:00Z

7.9 hours before the tornado, 127 km from the path. June 4, 2020.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Topeka, KS at 00:00Z on 2020-06-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 2970 joules per kilogram, CIN -42, lifted condensation level 1684 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Topeka, KS at 00:00Z on 2020-06-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 28 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 19 knots.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
2970 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-42 J/kg
Surface CAPE
4129 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1684 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
19 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
7 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
28 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
106 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.2
Supercell composite
4.0
0-3 km lapse rate
7.9 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Topeka, KS (KTOP), 12:00Z

4.1 hours after it, 127 km from the path. June 4, 2020.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Topeka, KS at 12:00Z on 2020-06-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 31 joules per kilogram, CIN -490, lifted condensation level 1365 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Topeka, KS at 12:00Z on 2020-06-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -13 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 48 knots.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
31 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-490 J/kg
Surface CAPE
41 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1365 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
48 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
5 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-13 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
77 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
3.9 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Harrisonville (LRY), 15 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
06:15 UTC7769.8170° 3 kt1009.5
06:35 UTC7769.8160° 3 kt1009.1
06:55 UTC75.269.8160° 4 kt1009.1
07:15 UTC7769.8120° 6 kt1009.5
07:35 UTC7768130° 10 kt1008.8
07:55 UTC69.864.410° 25 kt371013.5+TSRA
08:15 UTC66.264.440° 11 kt1012.9+TSRA
08:35 UTC66.264.470° 9 kt1013.5+TSRA
08:55 UTC64.462.6100° 10 kt1013.5-VCTSRA
09:15 UTC64.462.6100° 6 kt1013.2TSRA
09:35 UTC64.462.6130° 9 kt1012.5VCTSRA
09:55 UTC64.462.6150° 14 kt1011.5RA

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

The radar

The Pleasant Hill radar (KEAX), 38 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 07:58 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
07:20 UTCTORNADO1 Ssw Lake TapawingoJackson, MODAMAGE SURVEY INDICATED THAT THE TORNADO DEVELOPED JUST SSW OF LAKE TAPAWINGO WHERE IT THEN TRAVELED 5.7 MILES TO THE SE BEFORE DISSIPATING NEAR LAKE LATAWANA AROUND 2:33 AM CDT.
07:32 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Nw Lake LotawanaJackson, MOHAM REPORTS FOUR INCH DIAMETER TREE DOWN, 9 TO 10 FEET TALL.
07:32 UTCTSTM WND GST 602 Nw Lake WinnebagoJackson, MO
07:56 UTCTORNADOArchieCass, MODAMAGE SURVEY INDICATED THE TORNADO DEVELOPED ON THE EAST SIDE OF ARCHIE WHERE IT THEN TRAVELED 1.7 MILES TO THE SE CROSSING INTERSTATE 49 BEFORE DISSIPATING APPROXIMATELY 2 MILES SE OF ARCHIE AROUND 3:00 AM CDT.
07:58 UTCTSTM WND DMGArchieCass, MOKMBC NEWS 9 SHOWED VIDEO OF A LARGE TREE DOWN ON A HOUSE IN ARCHIE. TIME ESTIMATED BY RADAR.
08:52 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 Se HortonVernon, MODAMAGING THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS DAMAGED SOME TREES AND SNAPPED AN ANTENNA POLE IN HALF AT A FARM NORTH OF NEVADA.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2020 tornado in MissouriEvery tornado in Missouri since 1950Warnings in force in Missouri nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of June 4, 2020

4 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 42:20 AM CDTEF0Jackson, MO5.740
June 45:44 PM CDTEF0Gibson, TN1.960$15,000
June 44:45 PM MDTUnratedDundy, NE0.830
June 46:51 PM CDTEF0Carroll, TN15.190$50,000

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.