Tornadoes · United States · Missouri · 2021

EF0 tornado, Ike to Walnut Shade, Missouri, April 28, 2021

From Ike to Walnut Shade, this EF0 tornado ran 0.1 miles across Taney County on April 28, 2021, touching down at 9:30 AM CDT and reaching 50 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
April 28, 2021
Touchdown
9:30 AM CDT (14:30 UTC)
Lifted
9:31 AM CDT (14:31 UTC)
On the ground
1 minutes
Path length
0.1 miles (0.1 km)
Path width
50 yards (46 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$25,000
County
Taney County
Touchdown point
36.739, -93.250
Lift-off point
36.739, -93.248
Record number
2104280830-01

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 76 mph.

  • Tree fell on home. Trees uprooted and branches snapped. Wet soil conditions.

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

Heavy rain developed over southern Missouri on the night of the 27th and continued through the evening of the 28th as a slow moving cold front moved across the region and interacted with a moist and unstable airmass over the region. Several inches of rain fell in a short period of time during the early morning of the 28th and led to flash flooding in Reeds Spring and at Roaring River State Park, where numerous campers were evacuated. Between 1.50 and 5 inches of rain fell across much of the Ozarks in a 24 hour period. Some readings indicated that as much as 2.5 inches of rain fell in about a 30 minute period In Barry and Stone Counties. In addition to the flooding, several brief tornadoes occurred in Barry, Christian and Douglas Counties.

A National Weather Service storm survey determined that an EF0 tornado with winds estimated at 70 mph briefly touched down. Along the very short 50 yard wide path, several trees were snapped and a home suffered minor damage.

A National Weather Service storm survey determined that an EF0 tornado with estimated winds of 70 mph touched down with a path of a half mile in length and a width of 50 yards. Along the path of this brief touchdown, several snapped and uprooted trees were noted along with minor residential damage. One large tree was uprooted and fell onto a home causing significant damage.

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

The warnings

16 minutes of warning. NWS SGF issued a tornado warning for this county at 14:14 UTC, 16 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 14:45 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
05:00 UTC08:37 UTCFlash Flood WatchSGF
14:14 UTC14:45 UTCTornado WarningSGF
14:18 UTC15:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningSGF
14:33 UTC15:56 UTCTornado WatchSGF
14:33 UTC20:30 UTCFlash Flood WarningSGF
14:37 UTC15:45 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningSGF
14:43 UTC15:06 UTCTornado WarningSGF
15:15 UTC21:15 UTCFlash Flood WarningSGF
15:21 UTC16:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningSGF
19:29 UTC00:00 UTCFlood 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 Marginal Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 12:46 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), 12:00Z

2.5 hours before the tornado, 52 km from the path. April 28, 2021.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Springfield, MO at 12:00Z on 2021-04-28Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 34 joules per kilogram, CIN -105, lifted condensation level 1441 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, Springfield, MO at 12:00Z on 2021-04-28The 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 84 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 41 knots.1939587897Sfc1 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
34 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-105 J/kg
Surface CAPE
174 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1441 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
41 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
19 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
84 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
127 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
6.3 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Springfield, MO (KSGF), 00:00Z

9.5 hours after it, 52 km from the path. April 29, 2021.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Springfield, MO at 00:00Z on 2021-04-29Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 48 joules per kilogram, CIN -143, lifted condensation level 761 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, Springfield, MO at 00:00Z on 2021-04-29The 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 320 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 52 knots.1939587897Sfc1 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
48 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-143 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1000 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
761 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
52 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
37 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
320 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
258 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
2.3
0-3 km lapse rate
5.6 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Branson West Muni (FWB), 14 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
12:35 UTC66.266.270° 5 kt1012.9-RA BR
12:55 UTC66.266.280° 6 kt111012.2-RA BR
13:15 UTC66.266.2 6 kt1012.5-TSRA FG
13:35 UTC66.266.260° 8 kt141011.9VCTS RA BR
13:55 UTC66.266.280° 13 kt221009.8VCTS RA BR
14:15 UTC66.266.2280° 22 kt301011.2-TSRA BR
14:35 UTC62.662.6290° 10 kt201011.5-TSRA FG
14:55 UTC62.662.6240° 7 kt1012.5-RA BR
15:15 UTC62.662.6230° 4 kt1012.5VCTS RA BR
15:35 UTC62.662.6 5 kt101012.9-RA FG
15:55 UTC62.662.60° 0 kt1013.5VCTS RA BR
16:15 UTC62.662.6 4 kt1013.9-RA FG

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

The radar

The Springfield radar (KSGF), 57 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 14:32 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
14:20 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 E Silver Dollar CityStone, MOMULTIPLE TREES DOWN AND LIGHT TOWERS BLOWN OVER INDIAN POINT ROAD.
14:25 UTCTSTM WND DMGBransonTaney, MOLARGE TREES DOWN ON HIGHWAY 76 NEAR THE HIGHROAD AND SHEPHERD OF THE HILLS OUTDOOR THEATER.
14:30 UTCTORNADO3 W Walnut ShadeTaney, MONWS STORM SURVEY DETERMINED AN EF0 TORNADO WITH WINDS ESTIMATED AT 70 MPH BRIEFLY TOUCHED DOWN AT THIS LOCATION. MINOR RESIDENTIAL DAMAGE AND SNAPPED TREES WERE OBSERVED. PATH WIDTH WAS 50 YARDS.
14:37 UTCTORNADO2 N Walnut ShadeTaney, MOCORRECTS PREVIOUS TORNADO REPORT FROM 2 N WALNUT SHADE. NWS STORM SURVEY DETERMINED AN EF0 TORNADO WITH WINDS ESTIMATED AT 76 MPH BRIEFLY TOUCHED DOWN AT THIS LOCATION. MINOR RESIDENTIAL DAMAGE ALONG WITH SNAPPED AND UPR
14:37 UTCTORNADO2 N Walnut ShadeTaney, MONWS STORM SURVEY DETERMINED AN EF0 TORNADO WITH WINDS ESTIMATED AT 70 MPH BRIEFLY TOUCHED DOWN AT THIS LOCATION. MINOR RESIDENTIAL DAMAGE ALONG WITH SNAPPED AND UPROOTED TREES WERE OBSERVED. ONE LARGE TREE FELL INTO A HO
14:46 UTCFLASH FLOODBransonTaney, MONUMEROUS REPORTS OF FLOODING IN AND AROUND BRANSON INCLUDING ROARK VALLEY AND VETERANS BOULEVARD. ALSO A REPORT OF 2.5 INCHES OF RAIN IN 30 MINUTES NEAR TABLE ROCK LAKE DAM.
14:50 UTCHEAVY RAIN 1.75Shell KnobBarry, MO1.75 INCHES OF RAIN BETWEEN 7 AM AND 945 AM.
14:55 UTCFLASH FLOODCape FairStone, MOSEVERAL VEHICLES IN THE WATER AT HIGHWAY 173 NORTH OF HIGHWAY 76. ALL OCCUPANTS ARE RESCUED.
14:56 UTCTORNADO5 Wnw GarrisonChristian, MONWS STORM SURVEY DETERMINED AN EF0 TORNADO WITH WINDS ESTIMATED AT 76 MPH BRIEFLY TOUCHED DOWN AT THIS LOCATION. TREES WERE UPROOTED AND A SHED WAS DESTROYED. PATH WIDTH WAS 50 YARDS AND LENGTH WAS AROUND A HALF MILE.
15:02 UTCFLASH FLOOD3 E Cape FairStone, MOWATER OVER HIGHWAY 76 AT MULE BARN RD.
15:03 UTCFLASH FLOOD2 Se CassvilleBarry, MO76 CLOSED BOTH E AND W BOUND DUE TO FLOODING.
15:05 UTCFLASH FLOOD5 Wnw Eagle RockBarry, MOMO 112 CLOSED BOTH WAYS DUE TO FLOODING.
15:27 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Nne AvaDouglas, MOTHREE LARGE OUTBUILDINGS DAMAGED TO DESTROYED. DEBRIS BLOWN NORTHERLY. DELAYED REPORT FROM PREVIOUS NWS SURVEY.
15:29 UTCFLASH FLOOD3 Sse Ponce De LeonChristian, MOSEVERAL RESIDENCES FLOODED NEAR HIGHWAYS 176 AND 160.
15:30 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Ese OldfieldChristian, MOTHE ROOF WAS TORN OFF A HOME EAST OF OLDFIELD.
15:30 UTCFLASH FLOODReeds SpringStone, MOPICTURE ON SOCIAL MEDIA OF FLOODING THROUGH REEDS SPRING, MO.
16:20 UTCFLASH FLOOD3 Nne CassvilleBarry, MOROUTE Y CLOSED BOTH WAYS DUE TO FLOODING.
16:24 UTCFLASH FLOOD1 Ene Ponce De LeonChristian, MOROUTE V CLOSED BOTH WAYS DUE TO FLOODING.
16:51 UTCFLASH FLOOD5 Nnw AvaDouglas, MOHIGHWAY Y AT COWSKIN CREEK NORTHWEST OF AVA IS FLOODED.
17:30 UTCFLASH FLOOD4 Sse KirbyvilleTaney, MOROUTE J CLOSED BOTH WAYS DUE TO FLOODING.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2021 tornado in MissouriEvery tornado in Missouri since 1950Warnings in force in Missouri nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of April 28, 2021

10 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 286:01 AM CDTUnratedAdair, OK1.5100
April 286:06 AM CDTEF1Adair, OK7.1225$50,000
April 289:37 AM CDTEF0Taney, MO0.650$125,000
April 289:55 AM CDTEF0Christian, MO0.450$5,000
April 2810:57 AM CDTEF1Pittsburg, OK7.4300$25,000
April 2811:13 AM CDTEF0Douglas, MO1.9100$250,000
April 282:50 PM CDTEF1Bollinger, MO3.4225
April 286:53 PM CDTEF1Henry, TN6.74001$600,000
April 287:33 PM CDTEF1Medina, TX1.8600$500,000
April 287:36 PM CDTUnratedColes, IL0.125

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.