Tornadoes · United States · Missouri · 2021
EF2 tornado, Redford, Missouri, December 10, 2021
This EF2 tornado ran 6.9 miles across Reynolds County on December 10, 2021, touching down at 10:05 PM CST and reaching 300 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.
EF065 to 85 mph
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 mphthis tornado
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
- EF2
- Date
- December 10, 2021
- Touchdown
- 10:05 PM CST (04:05 UTC)
- Lifted
- 10:11 PM CST (04:11 UTC)
- On the ground
- 6 minutes
- Path length
- 6.9 miles (11.0 km)
- Path width
- 300 yards (274 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- County
- Reynolds County
- Touchdown point
- 37.272, -90.887
- Lift-off point
- 37.302, -90.768
- Record number
- 2112102205-01
The damage survey
12 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS LSX, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF2. The highest wind the damage implies is 130 mph.
- House roof largely ripped off, walls remained though structure not well built. Single wide also damaged and moved approx. 14ft.
- Most of well-built residence lost roof. Barn completely destroyed. Numerous large trees snapped and debris strewn into trees.
- Uprooted trees seen in hi-res satellite imagery.
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
Numerous severe thunderstorms formed ahead of an approaching cold front during the late afternoon and evening of Friday December 10th, 2021. Large hail, damaging winds and five tornadoes occurred across central and eastern Missouri as well as south central Illinois. Unfortunately two of the tornadoes were very strong (rated EF-3 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale) and responsible for 7 fatalities (one near Defiance, Missouri and six at an Amazon Facility near Edwardsville, Illinois). The Defiance, MO tornado tracked within one mile of the NWS St. Louis office in the Missouri Research Park near Weldon Spring, MO leading to the staff sheltering while NWS Kansas City provided service backup. This is only the third time in the office's existence that the staff had to shelter. The damage from the Defiance, MO EF3 tornado was estimated at $684,186 and is unknown for the remaining tracks at this time but early estimates are well into the millions due to the damage sustained at the Amazon facility near Edwardsville, IL.
A tornado touched down around 10:05 PM CST to the northeast of Ellington, southwest of County Road 440, snapping numerous trees rated EF1 damage. The tornado proceeded east- northeast across Sinking Creek and damaged a house and single-wide trailer along County Road 428, as well as continuing to snap numerous trees. As the tornado continued east-northeast and crossed County Road 447, it intensified to an EF2 and completely tore off the roofs of two homes off of County Road 442 and County Road 442B. The home off of County Road 442B was where the most significant damage was observed, as it also lost an exterior wall. Two outbuildings were also destroyed by the tornado, and significant tree damage was observed. The tornado crossed the Black River and weakened, though it still caused EF1 damage to trees and power lines on County Road 456, where it lifted around 10:11 PM CST. Overall, the tornado was rated EF2 with a path length of 6.86 miles and max path width of 300 yards. No deaths or injuries were reported.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The forecast that day
The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Moderate Risk, with a 0.15 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 00:47 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.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the tornado touched down, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS St. Louis, MO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Dec 10, 5:56 PM CST, 4 hours 9 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 10, 5:56 PM CST, 4 hours 9 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion...Updated Aviation National Weather Service Saint Louis MO 556 PM CST Fri Dec 10 2021 .SHORT TERM... (Through Late Saturday Night) Issued at 316 PM CST Fri Dec 10 2021 A low pressure system currently centered over eastern Kansas will continue to move to the northeast through the remainder of the evening. A tight pressure gradient associated with the system is strengthening southerly winds at the surface, promoting warm air and moisture advection into our region and prompting northward movement of the warm front. Locations south and east of St. Louis have reached dewpoints exceeding 60F, quite anomalous for December. Although the CWA has been shrouded in clouds all day, the atmosphere is destabilizing ahead of tonight's cold frontal passage. Thunderstorms are expected ahead of and along the cold front tonight. Convective initiation should begin from 00z to 02z, but with earlier initialization across southeast Missouri between 23z and 01z. Thunderstorms that do develop ahead of the front will initially be scattered and supercellular in nature, transitioning to linear with embedded supercells over time. They will propagate rapidly across our CWA once initiated. 0-6 km bulk shear values of 70+ kts will be present, as well as CAPE values of around 500 to 1000 J/kg. The better instability will be confined to southeast Missouri and southwest Illinois, giving this region the best potential to see the strongest thunderstorms. The primary threats associated with these storms will be damaging winds, hail, and tornadoes. Thunderstorms will also line the cold front, making multiple waves of storms possible for southeast Missouri and southwest Illinois. The cold front will be exiting the area by 12z Saturday, leaving us with gusty winds in excess of 30 kts. These winds will diminish through the morning. Temperatures will drop behind the cold front to near normal. However, the cool-down will be short lived. Jaja .LONG TERM... (Sunday through Next Friday) Issued at 316 PM CST Fri Dec 10 2021 After the cold front, the flow aloft will go zonal, turning into ridging in the early week. High pressure at the surface will station over the southeastern United States, putting us in a regime of constant southwest flow. High temperatures will gradually warm to near record again by the middle of next week. Jaja && .AVIATION... (For the 00z TAFs through 00z Saturday Evening) Issued at 555 PM CST Fri Dec 10 2021 VFR flight conditions outside of thunderstorm activity, then ceilings will lower to MVFR on backside of cold front as SC deck slides south through region. As system moves away from region Saturday morning, ceilings will lift and scatter out by midday. Otherwise, main issue will be the winds. Ahead of the cold front, they will be from the south and gusty, then veer to the west to northwest and remain gusty to near 30 kts at times. Winds will diminish by sunset. Byrd && .CLIMATE... Issued at 249 PM CST Tue Dec 7 2021 Record Highs for Friday, December 10th STL 73 (1889) COU 69 (2020) UIN 63 (2020) Also, the current monthly record for STL is 76 degrees, which occurred on 12/15/1948, 12/3/1970 and 12/3/2021. Monthly record for COU is 76 degrees, set on 12/8/1991. Monthly record for UIN is 74 degrees, set on 12/3/2012. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Saint Louis 37 46 33 54 / 70 0 0 0 Quincy 33 44 31 51 / 60 0 0 0 Columbia 34 46 31 54 / 80 0 0 0 Jefferson City 34 47 29 56 / 90 0 0 0 Salem 39 47 29 51 / 90 0 0 0 Farmington 37 47 28 52 / 90 0 0 0 && .LSX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MO...None. IL...None. && WFO LSX
Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 10, 5:59 PM CST, 4 hours 6 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Saint Louis MO 559 PM CST Fri Dec 10 2021 ILZ058>060-064-065-069-070-074-079-095>102-MOZ018-019-026-027- 034>036-041-042-047>052-059>065-072>075-084-085-099-111200- Adams IL-Audrain MO-Bond IL-Boone MO-Brown IL-Calhoun IL-Callaway MO- Clinton IL-Cole MO-Crawford MO-Fayette IL-Franklin MO-Gasconade MO- Greene IL-Iron MO-Jefferson MO-Jersey IL-Knox MO-Lewis MO-Lincoln MO- Macoupin IL-Madison IL-Madison MO-Marion IL-Marion MO-Moniteau MO- Monroe IL-Monroe MO-Montgomery IL-Montgomery MO-Osage MO-Pike IL- Pike MO-Ralls MO-Randolph IL-Reynolds MO-Saint Charles MO- Saint Clair-Saint Francois MO-Saint Louis City MO-Saint Louis MO- Sainte Genevieve MO-Shelby MO-Warren MO-Washington IL-Washington MO- 559 PM CST Fri Dec 10 2021 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of eastern and central Missouri as well as west central and southwest Illinois. .DAY ONE...Tonight. Scattered severe storms are possible between 6 pm tonight and 2 am tomorrow, with the greatest chance for severe storms in southeast Missouri and southwest Illinois. Any storms that develop will be fast moving. The primary threat with these storms will be damaging winds, tornadoes and large hail. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Saturday through Thursday. No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will likely be needed between 6 pm tonight and 2 am tomorrow. Byrd
In the hours before
Local storm report, Dec 10, 9:09 PM CST, 56 minutes before
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</html>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
4.1 hours before the tornado, 267 km from the path. December 11, 2021.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 637 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -23 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 1276 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1113 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 80 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 43 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 344 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 300 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 1.2
- Supercell composite
- 8.4
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 7.5 K/km
The surface observations
Farmington (FAM), 63 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 00:00 UTC |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The St Louis radar (KLSX), 158 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 04:06 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.
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 December 10, 2021
32 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 10 | 4:12 PM CST | EF0 | Elmore, AL | 0.2 | 50 | |||
| December 10 | 6:13 PM CST | EF1 | Webster, MO | 6.3 | 75 | $350,000 | ||
| December 10 | 6:15 PM CST | Unrated | Jackson, AR | 6.7 | 150 | |||
| December 10 | 6:40 PM CST | EF0 | Poinsett, AR | 3.0 | 50 | $25,000 | ||
| December 10 | 6:55 PM CST | EF0 | Montgomery, MO | 4.3 | 50 | $25,000 | ||
| December 10 | 6:57 PM CST | EF1 | Craighead, AR | 6.1 | 150 | $125,000 | ||
| December 10 | 7:03 PM CST | EF0 | Craighead, AR | 1.3 | 50 | $25,000 | ||
| December 10 | 7:07 PM CST | EF4 | Monette–Braggadocio tornado, Arkansas, Missouri and Tennessee | 81.2 | 1,800 | 8 | 14 | $14 million |
| December 10 | 7:32 PM CST | EF3 | Defiance–Harvester tornado, MO | 27.3 | 150 | 1 | 2 | $3.4 million |
| December 10 | 7:37 PM CST | EF1 | Stone, MO | 0.6 | 75 | $500,000 | ||
| December 10 | 7:47 PM CST | EF2 | Cass, IL | 12.8 | 200 | |||
| December 10 | 7:49 PM CST | EF1 | Taney, MO | 1.6 | 100 | $120,000 | ||
| December 10 | 8:06 PM CST | EF1 | Jackson, AR | 0.5 | 80 | $100,000 | ||
| December 10 | 8:07 PM CST | EF2 | Menard, IL | 4.6 | 250 | |||
| December 10 | 8:13 PM CST | EF2 | Woodruff, AR | 10.5 | 500 | 3 | $510,000 | |
| December 10 | 8:27 PM CST | EF3 | Edwardsville tornado, IL | 4.2 | 300 | 6 | 1 | $5.0 million |
| December 10 | 8:30 PM CST | EF1 | Jackson, AR | 0.5 | 30 | $50,000 | ||
| December 10 | 8:30 PM CST | EF1 | Craighead, AR | 4.6 | 75 | $100,000 | ||
| December 10 | 8:32 PM CST | EF1 | Muhlenberg, KY | 2.7 | 75 | $100,000 | ||
| December 10 | 8:39 PM CST | EF1 | Obion, TN | 0.7 | 100 | $5,000 | ||
| December 10 | 8:41 PM CST | EF0 | Obion, TN | 3.1 | 80 | $100,000 | ||
| December 10 | 8:43 PM CST | EF0 | Obion, TN | 0.4 | 50 | $5,000 | ||
| December 10 | 8:45 PM CST | EF0 | Poinsett, AR | 0.5 | 25 | $25,000 | ||
| December 10 | 8:51 PM CST | EF0 | Poinsett, AR | 0.1 | 20 | $10,000 | ||
| December 10 | 8:53 PM CST | EF2 | Bond, IL | 41.5 | 690 | 1 | $10,000 | |
| December 10 | 8:54 PM CST | EF4 | Mayfield tornado, Kentucky | 168.5 | 2,600 | 57 | 515 | $25,000 |
| December 10 | 9:11 PM CST | EF2 | Poinsett, AR | 3.6 | 250 | $6.3 million | ||
| December 10 | 9:50 PM CST | EF2 | Shelby, IL | 15.9 | 200 | |||
| December 10 | 10:05 PM CST | EF0 | Lake, IN | 4.8 | 100 | |||
| December 10 | 10:18 PM CST | EF1 | Coles, IL | 6.3 | 100 | |||
| December 10 | 10:32 PM CST | EF3 | Dresden–Pembroke tornado, Tennessee and Kentucky | 122.6 | 2,000 | 38 | $17 million | |
| December 10 | 10:41 PM CST | EF2 | Edgar, IL | 3.6 | 200 |
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.