Tornadoes · United States · Texas · 2004
F0 tornado, Ft Stockton, Texas, June 12, 2004
This F0 tornado ran 1.3 miles across Pecos County on June 12, 2004, touching down at 4:55 PM CDT and reaching 150 yards wide. It killed nobody.
The rating scale
Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.
F040 to 72 mphthis tornado
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
F173 to 112 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
F2113 to 157 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.
F3158 to 206 mph
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
F4207 to 260 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
F5261 to 318 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
- F0
- Date
- June 12, 2004
- Touchdown
- 4:55 PM CDT (21:55 UTC)
- Path length
- 1.3 miles (2.1 km)
- Path width
- 150 yards (137 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- County
- Pecos County
- Touchdown point
- 30.450, -102.870
- Lift-off point
- 30.520, -102.680
- Record number
- 222
What the Weather Service recorded
A complex of severe thunderstorms, including several embedded supercell storms, developed in the vicinity of the Davis and Glass Mountains during the afternoon of the 12th. This activity moved east into the Lower Trans Pecos region of west Texas through the early evening hours. Large hail, severe winds, and at least one tornado accompanied the convective complex. Radar indications suggested that the strongest storms tracked over remote parts of southern Pecos County and northwest Terrell Counties, where several Tornado Warnings were issued based on Doppler radar signatures of intense mesocyclone circulations. Although one tornado was spotted by a sheriff's deputy dispatched to observe the storms, the most dangerous activity remained over open range land.Severe convective development began to spread north along a dryline during the late afternoon and evening hours. A complex of thunderstorms that included at least three supercells affected parts of the Permian Basin, and produced large hail and damaging winds.
A Pecos County Sheriff's deputy observed a tornado just east of U.S. Highway 385. The deputy described the tornado as a well-developed cone-shaped vortex, approximately 150 yards in width, that remained in open range land for about two minutes as it moved east. The deputy searched the area for damage after the tornado dissipated, and reported "shredded" mesquite trees in the tornado's path. Otherwise, no damage to man-made structures occurred.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The warnings
44 minutes of warning. NWS MAF issued a tornado warning for this county at 21:11 UTC, 44 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 22:15 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19:43 UTC | 20:45 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MAF |
| 20:49 UTC | 21:45 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MAF |
| 21:11 UTC | 22:15 UTC | Tornado Warning | MAF |
| 22:15 UTC | 23:15 UTC | Tornado Warning | MAF |
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. The outlook in force was issued at 19:45 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 Midland/Odessa, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Jun 12, 2:01 PM CDT, 2 hours 54 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jun 12, 2:01 PM CDT, 2 hours 54 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND/ODESSA TX 201 PM CDT SAT JUN 12 2004 .SHORT TERM... WATER VAPOR IMAGERY INDICATING SHORTWAVE TROUGH PROGRESSING THROUGH SOUTH CENTRAL NEW MEXICO EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. SOME CU/ALTOCU APPEARING ON VISIBLE IMAGERY...PORTENDING THINGS TO COME. VERY DRY AIR MIXING DOWN OVER THE WESTERN CWA...SHARPENING AND PROPAGATING DRYLINE EASTWARD. THINK THE DRYLINE WILL BE SLIGHTLY FURTHER WEST THAN MESOETA DEPICTING BY 13/00Z AS WINDS HAVE NOT VEERED AS MUCH AS EXPECTED. ATMOSPHERE IS VERY UNSTABLE TO THE EAST OF THE DRYLINE WITH MUCAPE PROGGED TO BE 1500 TO 2000 J/KG AND LI/S AROUND -3 C ALONG SAME BY LATE AFTERNOON. H7 TO H5 LAPSE RATES NEAR 8 C/KM ARE ALSO PROGGED ALONG THE DRYLINE AS MID LEVEL LIFT INCREASES FROM WEST TO EAST AHEAD OF ONCOMING SHORTWAVE TROUGH. EXPECT ELEVATED THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP BETWEEN 12/21Z AND 13/00Z AS ABOVE INSTABILITY/LIFT WILL ACCOMPANIED BY AN 80 KT H25 JET AND DIFFLUENT FLOW ALOFT. 0 TO 6 KM BULK SHEAR VECTORS PROGGED TO BE 35 TO 40 KT ACROSS THESE AREAS WHILE FORECAST SOUNDINGS INDICATING INVERTED V CHARACTERISTICS. WIND AND HAIL WILL INITIALLY BE THE MAIN THREAT...BUT ISOLATED TORNADOES POSSIBLE AS LOW LEVEL WINDS BACK LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. IT APPEARS AN MCS WILL FORM LATER THIS EVENING AS H85 LLJ INCREASES. LOW LEVEL MOISTURE VERY PLENTIFUL...SO FLASH FLOODING WILL ALSO BE OF CONCERN MAINLY OVER THE EASTERNMOST ZONES. A LITTLE SKEPTICAL OF LOW CLOUDS DEVELOPING OVER THE EAST IN THE MORNING...BUT SOME LOCATIONS MAY SEE FOG AFTER CLOUDS CLEAR OUT FROM TSRA. FORECAST LOWS LOOK GOOD SO LEFT THEM ALONE. OTHERWISE... TWEAKED WIND AND DEWPOINT GRIDS. .LONG TERM... SHOULD BE A QUIETER DAY SUNDAY AS THE SIGNIFICANT SOUTHERN STREAM SHORTWAVE MOVES TO THE EAST WITH SUBSIDENCE IN ITS WAKE FOR MUCH OF THE DAY. DRYLINE WILL MIX TO THE EASTERN PERMIAN BASIN BY LATE SUNDAY AFTERNOON IN THE NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT. WILL LEAVE OUT MENTION OF THUNDER IN ZONES IN THE PERMIAN BASIN WITH SIGNIFICANT MIXING OUT OF LOW LEVEL MOISTURE AND LACK OF SIGNIFICANT UPPER DISTURBANCE. WILL LEAVE ISOLATED CONVECTION MENTION IN THE LOWER TRANSPECOS AND BIG BEND WITH LINGERING INSTABILITY AND OROGRAPHICS THAT COULD AID IN ANY POSSIBLE INITIATION. WILL CONTINUE TO CONFINE ISOLATED POPS TO THE LOWER TRANSPECOS AND BREWSTER COUNTY ON MONDAY AS THIS WILL BE ONLY AREA WHERE ENOUGH INSTABILITY AND LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE COEXIST. BY TUESDAY THE LOW LEVEL MOISTURE WILL BEGIN TO RETROGRADE BACK TOWARD THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF SOUTHWEST TEXAS AND SOUTHEAST NEW MEXICO COURTESY OF UPSLOPE FLOW. WILL CONTINUE THE ISOLATED POPS MAINLY SOUTH AND WEST OF THE PECOS RIVER FOR CONVERGENCE ALONG DRY LINE AND OROGRAPHIC UPSLOPE FLOW IN THE HIGHER TERRAIN. WEAK FLOW ALOFT WILL NOT BE FAVORABLE FOR STORMS TO MOVE MUCH EAST INTO THE PERMIAN BASIN. BY WEDNESDAY THE DISTURBANCE CURRENTLY NEAR THE BAY OF CAMPECHE MAY BECOME A PLAYER ACROSS THE EXTREME EAST IF IT TRANSLATES AS FAR WEST AS THE ECMWF DEPICTS. WILL SHOTGUN ISOLATED POPS IN UPSLOPE FLOW AND SHORTWAVE/SURFACE TROUGH IN THE WEST AND IN THE EAST DUE TO THE AFOREMENTIONED DISTURBANCE. AT THIS TIME WILL LEAVE THE WEDNESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY PERIODS ALONE IN THE DATABASE DEPICTING ISOLATED CONVECTION DUE TO PROXIMITY AND UNCERTAIN TRACK OF THE GULF DISTURBANCE AND MOIST UPSLOPE FLOW IN THE WEST/HIGHER TERRAIN. POPS MAY NEED TO BE RAISED FRIDAY AND SATURDAY AS A NORTHERN STREAM COLD FRONT MAY BE MOVING INTO THE SOUTHERN PLAINS. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... BIG SPRING TX 71 99 71 98 / 60 10 10 0 CARLSBAD NM 67 100 65 101 / 0 0 0 0 DRYDEN TX 71 95 72 97 / 60 10 10 10 FORT STOCKTON TX 71 100 72 100 / 20 10 10 10 GUADALUPE PASS TX 63 95 66 97 / 0 0 0 0 HOBBS NM 67 100 62 99 / 10 0 0 0 MARFA TX 63 92 58 94 / 10 0 0 10 MIDLAND INTL AIRPORT TX 70 98 72 99 / 40 0 0 0 ODESSA TX 70 99 72 100 / 30 0 0 0 WINK TX 70 106 69 105 / 10 0 0 0 && .MAF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... TX...NONE. NM...NONE. && 67/12
Hazardous weather outlook, Jun 12, 2:15 PM CDT, 2 hours 40 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND/ODESSA TX 215 PM CDT SAT JUN 12 2004 NMZ027>029-033-034-TXZ045>048-050>053-057>063-067>070-074-075- 079>082-258-131100- ANDREWS-BIG BEND AREA-BORDEN-CENTRAL LEA COUNTY-CRANE- DAVIS/APACHE MOUNTAINS AREA-DAWSON-ECTOR-EDDY COUNTY PLAINS-GAINES- GLASSCOCK-GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS-GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS OF EDDY COUNTY- HOWARD-LOVING-MARFA PLATEAU-MARTIN-MIDLAND-MITCHELL- NORTHERN LEA COUNTY-PECOS-PRESIDIO VALLEY-REAGAN- REEVES COUNTY AND UPPER TRANS PECOS-SCURRY-SOUTHERN LEA COUNTY- TERRELL-UPTON-VAN HORN AND HIGHWAY 54 CORRIDOR-WARD-WINKLER- 215 PM CDT (115 PM MDT) SAT JUN 12 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WEST TEXAS AND SOUTHEASTERN NEW MEXICO. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING ACROSS THE CENTRAL AND EASTERN PERMIAN BASIN...THE LOWER TRANS PECOS...AND INTO THE BIG BEND REGION. THUNDERSTORMS MAY INITIATE BY LATE AFTERNOON NEAR THE PECOS RIVER TO THE BIG BEND REGION. THESE STORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS...IN ADDITION TO HEAVY RAINFALL AND DEADLY LIGHTNING. THE FOCUS FOR THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT WILL LIKELY SPREAD NORTH DURING THE EARLY EVENING HOURS TO INCLUDE THE CENTRAL AND EASTERN PERMIAN BASIN. LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS...IN ADDITION TO HEAVY RAINFALL AND DEADLY LIGHTNING...WILL BE THE MAIN THREATS GENERALLY ALONG AND EAST OF A LINE FROM LAMESA...TO MIDLAND...TO FORT STOCKTON...TO THE BIG BEND REGION. HOWEVER ISOLATED TORNADOES WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE BY MID EVENING...ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE EASTERN PERMIAN BASIN. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED LATER TODAY. LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES...EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS...STORM SPOTTER GROUPS... AND OTHER INTERESTED CONCERNS SHOULD MONITOR THIS SITUATION AND TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION SHOULD SEVERE WEATHER THREATEN YOUR AREA. AKL
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Jun 12, 3:30 PM CDT, 1 hour 25 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND/ODESSA TX 330 PM CDT SAT JUN 12 2004 TXZ047-048-051>053-061>063-068>070-075-081-082-130200- BIG BEND AREA-BORDEN-CRANE-ECTOR-GLASSCOCK-HOWARD-MARTIN-MIDLAND- MITCHELL-PECOS-REAGAN-SCURRY-TERRELL-UPTON- 330 PM CDT SAT JUN 12 2004 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED TORNADO WATCH #450 UNTIL 900 PM CDT SATURDAY EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING AREAS: THIS WATCH INCLUDES 14 COUNTIES IN WEST TEXAS: BREWSTER...BORDEN...CRANE...ECTOR...GLASSCOCK...HOWARD... MARTIN...MIDLAND...MITCHELL...PECOS...REAGAN...SCURRY... TERRELL AND UPTON THIS TORNADO WATCH INCLUDES THE CITIES OF BIG LAKE...BIG SPRING... COLORADO CITY...FORT STOCKTON...GARDEN CITY...MIDLAND...ODESSA AND SNYDER. A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. IF YOU ARE IN OR NEAR TO THE WATCH AREA...CHECK PREPAREDNESS REQUIREMENTS...KEEP INFORMED...AND BE PREPARED TO SEEK SAFE SHELTER IF A WARNING IS ISSUED OR SEVERE WEATHER IS OBSERVED.
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.
Midland Regional, TX (KMAF), 12:00Z
9.9 hours before the tornado, 172 km from the path. June 12, 2004.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1156 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -259 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 2531 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1627 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 36 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 15 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 105 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 152 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 1.3
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 5.5 K/km
Midland Regional, TX (KMAF), 00:00Z
2.1 hours after it, 172 km from the path. June 13, 2004.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1016 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -37 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 1719 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1715 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 45 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 6 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 22 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 104 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 1.1
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 7.0 K/km
The radar
The Midland/Odessa radar (KMAF), 171 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 21:54 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 2004 tornado in TexasEvery tornado in Texas since 1950Warnings in force in Texas nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of June 12, 2004
16 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 12 | 8:45 AM CDT | F0 | Saint Francois, MO | 1.5 | 50 | |||
| June 12 | 11:55 AM CDT | F0 | Breckinridge, KY | 0.8 | 50 | $100,000 | ||
| June 12 | 12:28 PM CDT | F0 | Saunders, NE | 0.5 | 100 | |||
| June 12 | 4:40 PM CDT | F0 | Cherokee, KS | 0.1 | 25 | |||
| June 12 | 4:50 PM CDT | F0 | Jasper, MO | 0.1 | 25 | |||
| June 12 | 7:10 PM CDT | F0 | Sumner, KS | 1.5 | 75 | |||
| June 12 | 7:25 PM CDT | F3 | Sumner, KS | 4.0 | 75 | 2 | $500,000 | |
| June 12 | 9:00 PM EDT | F1 | Allendale, SC | 3.0 | 150 | |||
| June 12 | 8:25 PM CDT | F0 | Cowley, KS | 3.0 | 100 | |||
| June 12 | 8:45 PM CDT | F1 | Lincoln, MN | 1.6 | 100 | $100,000 | ||
| June 12 | 8:55 PM CDT | F0 | Cowley, KS | 0.5 | 50 | |||
| June 12 | 8:56 PM CDT | F0 | Jones, TX | 0.1 | 20 | |||
| June 12 | 9:15 PM CDT | F0 | Lyon, MN | 0.1 | 50 | |||
| June 12 | 9:15 PM CDT | F0 | Cowley, KS | 1.0 | 50 | |||
| June 12 | 9:58 PM CDT | F0 | Elk, KS | 1.0 | 50 | |||
| June 12 | 10:41 PM CDT | F0 | Elk, KS | 1.0 | 75 |
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.