Tornadoes · United States · Oklahoma · 2023
Unrated tornado, Felt, Oklahoma, June 13, 2023
This Unrated tornado ran 0.9 miles across Cimarron County on June 13, 2023, touching down at 4:06 PM CDT and reaching 35 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 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.
Unratedthis tornado
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
- Unrated
- Date
- June 13, 2023
- Touchdown
- 4:06 PM CDT (21:06 UTC)
- Lifted
- 4:09 PM CDT (21:09 UTC)
- On the ground
- 3 minutes
- Path length
- 0.9 miles (1.5 km)
- Path width
- 35 yards (32 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- County
- Cimarron County
- Touchdown point
- 36.572, -102.620
- Lift-off point
- 36.562, -102.610
- Record number
- 2306131506-01
What the Weather Service recorded
On June 13th, a supercell thunderstorm tracked southeast across southern|portions of Cimarron County, Oklahoma into northern portions of Dallam|County, Texas. In addition to producing large hail, three tornadoes|were witnessed and documented by several storm spotters and storm|chasers. Due to the lack of damage and occurring in open fields, |these have been rated EF-U(Unknown).
This tornado developed in an open field and was documented by|storm chasers and trained spotters. It did not hit anything|before dissipating, thus it is rated an EFU damage rating.
This tornado touched down in southern Cimarron County and|remained in an open field, resulting in no damage. It was on the|ground for a few minutes and less than two miles before lifting.|Given the lack of damage, but witnessed by multiple storm|spotters and chasers, an EFU rating is given to this tornado.
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 19:28 UTC and running to 00:21 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12:10 UTC | 11:26 UTC | Flood Advisory | AMA |
| 19:28 UTC | 00:21 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | AMA |
| 19:45 UTC | 20:45 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AMA |
| 20:41 UTC | 21:45 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AMA |
| 21:17 UTC | 21:34 UTC | Tornado Warning | AMA |
| 21:45 UTC | 22:06 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AMA |
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, with a 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 20:00 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.
Amarillo Airport, TX (KAMA), 12:00Z
9.1 hours before the tornado, 170 km from the path. June 13, 2023.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 12 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -250 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 12 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 560 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 57 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 20 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 134 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 126 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.1
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 4.2 K/km
Amarillo Airport, TX (KAMA), 00:00Z
2.9 hours after it, 170 km from the path. June 14, 2023.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1088 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -42 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 2526 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1499 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 70 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 22 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 184 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 274 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.8
- Supercell composite
- 10.5
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 8.5 K/km
The radar
The Amarillo radar (KAMA), 169 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 21:05 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20:35 UTC | HAIL 1 | 6 E Wheeless | Cimarron, OK | |
| 20:35 UTC | HAIL 1 | 6 E Wheeless | Cimarron, OK | |
| 20:35 UTC | HAIL 1 | 6 E Wheeless | Cimarron, OK | |
| 20:35 UTC | HAIL 1 | 6 E Wheeless | Cimarron, OK | |
| 20:44 UTC | HAIL 1.75 | 6 E Wheeless | Cimarron, OK | |
| 20:44 UTC | HAIL 1.75 | 6 E Wheeless | Cimarron, OK | |
| 20:44 UTC | HAIL 1.75 | 6 E Wheeless | Cimarron, OK | |
| 20:44 UTC | HAIL 1.75 | 6 E Wheeless | Cimarron, OK | |
| 20:48 UTC | HAIL 1.5 | 8 Nne Felt | Cimarron, OK | |
| 20:48 UTC | HAIL 1.5 | 8 Nne Felt | Cimarron, OK | |
| 20:48 UTC | HAIL 1.5 | 8 Nne Felt | Cimarron, OK | |
| 20:48 UTC | HAIL 1.5 | 8 Nne Felt | Cimarron, OK | |
| 20:56 UTC | HAIL 1.75 | 10 Ne Felt | Cimarron, OK | Hail is three inches deep, mainly ping pong ball size with hail as big as golf ball size. |
| 20:56 UTC | HAIL 1.75 | 10 Ne Felt | Cimarron, OK | Hail is three inches deep, mainly ping pong ball size with hail as big as golf ball size. |
| 20:56 UTC | HAIL 1.75 | 10 Ne Felt | Cimarron, OK | Hail is three inches deep, mainly ping pong ball size with hail as big as golf ball size. |
| 20:56 UTC | HAIL 1.75 | 10 Ne Felt | Cimarron, OK | Hail is three inches deep, mainly ping pong ball size with hail as big as golf ball size. |
| 21:06 UTC | TORNADO | 9 E Felt | Cimarron, OK | This tornado developed in an open field and was documented by storm chasers and trained spotters. Max length was 0.91 miles, width was estimated at 35 yards. It did not result in damage and was given an EFU rating. |
| 21:06 UTC | TORNADO | 9 E Felt | Cimarron, OK | This tornado developed in an open field and was documented by storm chasers and trained spotters. Max length was 0.91 miles, width was estimated at 35 yards. It did not result in damage and was given an EFU rating. |
| 21:06 UTC | TORNADO | 9 E Felt | Cimarron, OK | This tornado developed in an open field and was documented by storm chasers and trained spotters. Max length was 0.91 miles, width was estimated at 35 yards. It did not result in damage and was given an EFU rating. |
| 21:19 UTC | TORNADO | 13 E Felt | Cimarron, OK | This tornado touched down in southern Cimarron County and remained in an open field, resulting in no damage. It was witnessed by multiple storm spotters and chasers and was therefore given an EFU rating. Estimated length |
| 21:19 UTC | TORNADO | 13 E Felt | Cimarron, OK | This tornado touched down in southern Cimarron County and remained in an open field, resulting in no damage. It was witnessed by multiple storm spotters and chasers and was therefore given an EFU rating. Estimated length |
| 21:19 UTC | TORNADO | 13 E Felt | Cimarron, OK | This tornado touched down in southern Cimarron County and remained in an open field, resulting in no damage. It was witnessed by multiple storm spotters and chasers and was therefore given an EFU rating. Estimated length |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2023 tornado in OklahomaEvery tornado in Oklahoma since 1950Warnings in force in Oklahoma nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of June 13, 2023
3 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
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.