Tornadoes · United States · Oklahoma · 2023

Unrated tornado, Felt, Oklahoma, June 13, 2023

This Unrated tornado ran 1.9 miles across Cimarron County on June 13, 2023, touching down at 4:19 PM CDT and reaching 30 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 mph

    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. 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
4:19 PM CDT (21:19 UTC)
Lifted
4:22 PM CDT (21:22 UTC)
On the ground
3 minutes
Path length
1.9 miles (3.0 km)
Path width
30 yards (27 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Cimarron County
Touchdown point
36.531, -102.550
Lift-off point
36.508, -102.533
Record number
2306131519-01

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

2 minutes of warning. NWS AMA issued a tornado warning for this county at 21:17 UTC, 2 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 21:34 UTC.

The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 19:28 UTC and running to 00:21 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
12:10 UTC11:26 UTCFlood AdvisoryAMA
19:28 UTC00:21 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WatchAMA
19:45 UTC20:45 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMA
20:41 UTC21:45 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMA
21:17 UTC21:34 UTCTornado WarningAMA
21:45 UTC22:06 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMA

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

9.3 hours before the tornado, 162 km from the path. June 13, 2023.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Amarillo Airport, TX at 12:00Z on 2023-06-13Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 12 joules per kilogram, CIN -250, lifted condensation level 560 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, Amarillo Airport, TX at 12:00Z on 2023-06-13The 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 134 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 57 knots.1939587897117Sfc1 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
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

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Amarillo Airport, TX (KAMA), 00:00Z

2.7 hours after it, 162 km from the path. June 14, 2023.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Amarillo Airport, TX at 00:00Z on 2023-06-14Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 1088 joules per kilogram, CIN -42, lifted condensation level 1499 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, Amarillo Airport, TX at 00:00Z on 2023-06-14The 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 184 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 70 knots.1939587897117Sfc1 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
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

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Dalhart Municipal (DHT), 55 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
19:20 UTC150° 10 kt15
19:25 UTC140° 10 kt1013.9
19:30 UTC160° 9 kt
19:35 UTC150° 10 kt
19:40 UTC140° 11 kt
19:45 UTC140° 9 kt
19:50 UTC140° 11 kt
19:53 UTC7159140° 12 kt1012.9
19:55 UTC130° 11 kt17
20:00 UTC140° 14 kt1012.5
20:05 UTC150° 11 kt
20:10 UTC140° 10 kt
20:15 UTC150° 9 kt
20:20 UTC140° 11 kt1012.5
20:25 UTC160° 11 kt
20:30 UTC160° 11 kt18
20:35 UTC150° 11 kt
20:40 UTC170° 15 kt
20:45 UTC160° 16 kt
20:50 UTC160° 13 kt
20:53 UTC7359170° 16 kt201011.9
20:55 UTC160° 14 kt
21:00 UTC170° 11 kt17
21:05 UTC180° 11 kt
21:10 UTC170° 13 kt
21:15 UTC180° 11 kt
21:20 UTC150° 11 kt
21:25 UTC160° 14 kt1011.5
21:30 UTC150° 13 kt
21:35 UTC150° 11 kt
21:40 UTC160° 11 kt
21:45 UTC 18
21:50 UTC150° 11 kt16
21:53 UTC7460170° 10 kt201011.2
21:55 UTC180° 9 kt
22:00 UTC190° 13 kt19
22:05 UTC200° 11 kt1011.2
22:10 UTC170° 11 kt191011.2
22:15 UTC170° 11 kt1011.5
22:20 UTC190° 9 kt
22:25 UTC220° 10 kt1011.5
22:30 UTC160° 5 kt
22:35 UTC
22:40 UTC360° 17 kt22
22:45 UTC 35
22:50 UTC360° 22 kt
22:53 UTC6252360° 19 kt381013.5VCTS
22:55 UTC 31
23:00 UTC360° 21 kt
23:05 UTC340° 22 kt301013.9-RA
23:10 UTC350° 20 kt29-RA
23:14 UTC605610° 24 kt301013.2+TSRA BR
23:15 UTC360° 22 kt28+RA
23:17 UTC615710° 22 kt301013.2+RA BR

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

The radar

The Amarillo radar (KAMA), 161 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 21:19 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
20:35 UTCHAIL 16 E WheelessCimarron, OK
20:35 UTCHAIL 16 E WheelessCimarron, OK
20:35 UTCHAIL 16 E WheelessCimarron, OK
20:35 UTCHAIL 16 E WheelessCimarron, OK
20:44 UTCHAIL 1.756 E WheelessCimarron, OK
20:44 UTCHAIL 1.756 E WheelessCimarron, OK
20:44 UTCHAIL 1.756 E WheelessCimarron, OK
20:44 UTCHAIL 1.756 E WheelessCimarron, OK
20:48 UTCHAIL 1.58 Nne FeltCimarron, OK
20:48 UTCHAIL 1.58 Nne FeltCimarron, OK
20:48 UTCHAIL 1.58 Nne FeltCimarron, OK
20:48 UTCHAIL 1.58 Nne FeltCimarron, OK
20:56 UTCHAIL 1.7510 Ne FeltCimarron, OKHail is three inches deep, mainly ping pong ball size with hail as big as golf ball size.
20:56 UTCHAIL 1.7510 Ne FeltCimarron, OKHail is three inches deep, mainly ping pong ball size with hail as big as golf ball size.
20:56 UTCHAIL 1.7510 Ne FeltCimarron, OKHail is three inches deep, mainly ping pong ball size with hail as big as golf ball size.
20:56 UTCHAIL 1.7510 Ne FeltCimarron, OKHail is three inches deep, mainly ping pong ball size with hail as big as golf ball size.
21:06 UTCTORNADO9 E FeltCimarron, OKThis 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 UTCTORNADO9 E FeltCimarron, OKThis 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 UTCTORNADO9 E FeltCimarron, OKThis 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 UTCTORNADO13 E FeltCimarron, OKThis 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 UTCTORNADO13 E FeltCimarron, OKThis 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 UTCTORNADO13 E FeltCimarron, OKThis 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.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 134:06 PM CDTUnratedCimarron, OK0.935
June 134:50 PM CDTUnratedDallam, TX1.435
June 136:44 PM MDTUnratedAlbany, WY2.4100

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.