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.
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
- 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) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 05:00 UTC | 08:37 UTC | Flash Flood Watch | SGF |
| 14:14 UTC | 14:45 UTC | Tornado Warning | SGF |
| 14:18 UTC | 15:00 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF |
| 14:33 UTC | 15:56 UTC | Tornado Watch | SGF |
| 14:33 UTC | 20:30 UTC | Flash Flood Warning | SGF |
| 14:37 UTC | 15:45 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF |
| 14:43 UTC | 15:06 UTC | Tornado Warning | SGF |
| 15:15 UTC | 21:15 UTC | Flash Flood Warning | SGF |
| 15:21 UTC | 16:00 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF |
| 19:29 UTC | 00:00 UTC | Flood 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 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.
- 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
Springfield, MO (KSGF), 00:00Z
9.5 hours after it, 52 km from the path. April 29, 2021.
- 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
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) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12:35 UTC | 66.2 | 66.2 | 70° 5 kt | 1012.9 | -RA BR | |
| 12:55 UTC | 66.2 | 66.2 | 80° 6 kt | 11 | 1012.2 | -RA BR |
| 13:15 UTC | 66.2 | 66.2 | 6 kt | 1012.5 | -TSRA FG | |
| 13:35 UTC | 66.2 | 66.2 | 60° 8 kt | 14 | 1011.9 | VCTS RA BR |
| 13:55 UTC | 66.2 | 66.2 | 80° 13 kt | 22 | 1009.8 | VCTS RA BR |
| 14:15 UTC | 66.2 | 66.2 | 280° 22 kt | 30 | 1011.2 | -TSRA BR |
| 14:35 UTC | 62.6 | 62.6 | 290° 10 kt | 20 | 1011.5 | -TSRA FG |
| 14:55 UTC | 62.6 | 62.6 | 240° 7 kt | 1012.5 | -RA BR | |
| 15:15 UTC | 62.6 | 62.6 | 230° 4 kt | 1012.5 | VCTS RA BR | |
| 15:35 UTC | 62.6 | 62.6 | 5 kt | 10 | 1012.9 | -RA FG |
| 15:55 UTC | 62.6 | 62.6 | 0° 0 kt | 1013.5 | VCTS RA BR | |
| 16:15 UTC | 62.6 | 62.6 | 4 kt | 1013.9 | -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) | Report | Where | County | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14:20 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 E Silver Dollar City | Stone, MO | MULTIPLE TREES DOWN AND LIGHT TOWERS BLOWN OVER INDIAN POINT ROAD. |
| 14:25 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Branson | Taney, MO | LARGE TREES DOWN ON HIGHWAY 76 NEAR THE HIGHROAD AND SHEPHERD OF THE HILLS OUTDOOR THEATER. |
| 14:30 UTC | TORNADO | 3 W Walnut Shade | Taney, MO | NWS 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 UTC | TORNADO | 2 N Walnut Shade | Taney, MO | CORRECTS 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 UTC | TORNADO | 2 N Walnut Shade | Taney, MO | NWS 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 UTC | FLASH FLOOD | Branson | Taney, MO | NUMEROUS 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 UTC | HEAVY RAIN 1.75 | Shell Knob | Barry, MO | 1.75 INCHES OF RAIN BETWEEN 7 AM AND 945 AM. |
| 14:55 UTC | FLASH FLOOD | Cape Fair | Stone, MO | SEVERAL VEHICLES IN THE WATER AT HIGHWAY 173 NORTH OF HIGHWAY 76. ALL OCCUPANTS ARE RESCUED. |
| 14:56 UTC | TORNADO | 5 Wnw Garrison | Christian, MO | NWS 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 UTC | FLASH FLOOD | 3 E Cape Fair | Stone, MO | WATER OVER HIGHWAY 76 AT MULE BARN RD. |
| 15:03 UTC | FLASH FLOOD | 2 Se Cassville | Barry, MO | 76 CLOSED BOTH E AND W BOUND DUE TO FLOODING. |
| 15:05 UTC | FLASH FLOOD | 5 Wnw Eagle Rock | Barry, MO | MO 112 CLOSED BOTH WAYS DUE TO FLOODING. |
| 15:27 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Nne Ava | Douglas, MO | THREE LARGE OUTBUILDINGS DAMAGED TO DESTROYED. DEBRIS BLOWN NORTHERLY. DELAYED REPORT FROM PREVIOUS NWS SURVEY. |
| 15:29 UTC | FLASH FLOOD | 3 Sse Ponce De Leon | Christian, MO | SEVERAL RESIDENCES FLOODED NEAR HIGHWAYS 176 AND 160. |
| 15:30 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Ese Oldfield | Christian, MO | THE ROOF WAS TORN OFF A HOME EAST OF OLDFIELD. |
| 15:30 UTC | FLASH FLOOD | Reeds Spring | Stone, MO | PICTURE ON SOCIAL MEDIA OF FLOODING THROUGH REEDS SPRING, MO. |
| 16:20 UTC | FLASH FLOOD | 3 Nne Cassville | Barry, MO | ROUTE Y CLOSED BOTH WAYS DUE TO FLOODING. |
| 16:24 UTC | FLASH FLOOD | 1 Ene Ponce De Leon | Christian, MO | ROUTE V CLOSED BOTH WAYS DUE TO FLOODING. |
| 16:51 UTC | FLASH FLOOD | 5 Nnw Ava | Douglas, MO | HIGHWAY Y AT COWSKIN CREEK NORTHWEST OF AVA IS FLOODED. |
| 17:30 UTC | FLASH FLOOD | 4 Sse Kirbyville | Taney, MO | ROUTE 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.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 28 | 6:01 AM CDT | Unrated | Adair, OK | 1.5 | 100 | |||
| April 28 | 6:06 AM CDT | EF1 | Adair, OK | 7.1 | 225 | $50,000 | ||
| April 28 | 9:37 AM CDT | EF0 | Taney, MO | 0.6 | 50 | $125,000 | ||
| April 28 | 9:55 AM CDT | EF0 | Christian, MO | 0.4 | 50 | $5,000 | ||
| April 28 | 10:57 AM CDT | EF1 | Pittsburg, OK | 7.4 | 300 | $25,000 | ||
| April 28 | 11:13 AM CDT | EF0 | Douglas, MO | 1.9 | 100 | $250,000 | ||
| April 28 | 2:50 PM CDT | EF1 | Bollinger, MO | 3.4 | 225 | |||
| April 28 | 6:53 PM CDT | EF1 | Henry, TN | 6.7 | 400 | 1 | $600,000 | |
| April 28 | 7:33 PM CDT | EF1 | Medina, TX | 1.8 | 600 | $500,000 | ||
| April 28 | 7:36 PM CDT | Unrated | Coles, IL | 0.1 | 25 |
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.