Tornadoes · United States · Texas · 2009

EF0 tornado, Stamford Arledge Arp, Texas, June 13, 2009

This EF0 tornado ran 0.0 miles across Jones County on June 13, 2009, touching down at 7:54 PM CDT and reaching 10 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 mphthis tornado

    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. 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
June 13, 2009
Touchdown
7:54 PM CDT (00:54 UTC)
Lifted
7:55 PM CDT (00:55 UTC)
On the ground
1 minutes
Path length
0.0 miles (0.0 km)
Path width
10 yards (9 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Jones County
Touchdown point
32.940, -99.750
Lift-off point
32.940, -99.750
Record number
0906131854-01

What the Weather Service recorded

On June 13, thunderstorms developed along an outflow boundary across Northwest Texas. A supercell thunderstorm moved southeast across Haskell County and produced a strong tornado. There was significant damage near Rule. Also, large hail and widespread 60 to 70 mph winds were reported with this severe storm.

A brief tornado was reported.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

The warnings

0 minutes of warning. NWS SJT issued a tornado warning for this county at 00:54 UTC, 0 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 01:30 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 20:20 UTC and running to 04:00 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
20:20 UTC04:00 UTCTornado WatchSJT
00:10 UTC00:39 UTCTornado WarningSJT
00:45 UTC01:45 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningSJT
00:54 UTC01:30 UTCTornado WarningSJT
02:23 UTC03:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningSJT
02:54 UTC04:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningSJT

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 20:15 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.

Fort Worth, TX (KFWD), 00:00Z

0.9 hours before the tornado, 230 km from the path. June 14, 2009.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Fort Worth, TX at 00:00Z on 2009-06-14Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 4159 joules per kilogram, CIN -32, lifted condensation level 1535 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, Fort Worth, TX at 00:00Z on 2009-06-14The 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 -20 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 21 knots.19395878Sfc1 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
4159 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-32 J/kg
Surface CAPE
5059 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1535 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
21 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
7 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-20 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
88 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
1.1
0-3 km lapse rate
7.2 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Fort Worth, TX (KFWD), 12:00Z

11.1 hours after it, 230 km from the path. June 14, 2009.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Fort Worth, TX at 12:00Z on 2009-06-14Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 1838 joules per kilogram, CIN -302, lifted condensation level 946 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, Fort Worth, TX at 12:00Z on 2009-06-14The 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 69 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 32 knots.193958Sfc1 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
1838 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-302 J/kg
Surface CAPE
192 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
946 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
32 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
15 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
69 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
199 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.0
0-3 km lapse rate
3.4 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What was reported nearby

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

Time (UTC)ReportWhereCountyRemark
23:30 UTCTSTM WND GST 1003 Ne AspermontStonewall, TX620 PM GUST TO 60 MPH 625 PM GUST TO 93 MPH 635 PM GUST TO 70 MPH ALL ARE MESONET REPORTS
23:34 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 N AspermontStonewall, TX*** 1 INJ *** TRACTOR TRAILER BLOWN OVER NR JUNCTION HWYS 83 AND 380. DRIVER SUSTAINED MINOR INJURIES BUT WAS RELEASED.
23:35 UTCTSTM WND DMG5 E AspermontStonewall, TXCHASERS REPORT MODERATE TO SEVERE DAMAGES TO SEVERAL HOMES. LOCAL OFFICIALS REPORT ONE HOME SEVERELY DAMAGED AND FAMILY DISPLACED. ALSO TREE...FENCE...UTILITY DAMAGES REPORTEDLY WIDESPREAD. EVENT TIME ESTIMATED.
23:39 UTCTORNADO3 Wnw RuleHaskell, TXA SURVEY TEAM FOUND A 1/4 MILE WIDE EF2 TORNADO THAT TORE THE ROOF OFF OF 4 HOMES AND DESTROYED SEVERAL OUTBUILDINGS...IRRIGATION SPRINKLERS...AND MANY POWER POLES. THE TORNADO TRACKED FROM 3 MILES WNW OF RULE TO 1/2 MIL
23:45 UTCTSTM WND GST 70RuleHaskell, TXWIND GUSTS FROM 60 TO 70 MPH REPORTED IN RULE AT 645 PM.
23:45 UTCHAIL 1RuleHaskell, TXNICKEL TO QUARTER SIZE HAIL REPORTED IN RULE AT 645 PM.
23:53 UTCTSTM WND GST 1003 Ne AspermontStonewall, TX620 PM GUST TO 60 MPH 625 PM GUST TO 93 MPH 635 PM GUST TO 70 MPH ALL ARE MESONET REPORTS
00:10 UTCTSTM WND GST 681 Nw HaskellHaskell, TXWEST TEXAS MESONET IN HASKELL MEASURED A WIND GUST OF 68 MPH AT 710 PM BEFORE LOSING COMMUNICATIONS.
00:25 UTCHAIL 1.25RuleHaskell, TX
00:48 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 Nw HaskellHaskell, TXA TELEPHONE POLE WAS BLOWN DOWN.
00:50 UTCTSTM WND GST 60MundayKnox, TX
00:54 UTCTORNADO3 E StamfordJones, TX
02:19 UTCTSTM WND GST 597 Nw StamfordHaskell, TX
02:35 UTCTSTM WND GST 631 Nw HaskellHaskell, TX

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2009 tornado in TexasEvery tornado in Texas since 1950Warnings in force in Texas nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of June 13, 2009

10 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 136:25 PM CDTEF1Stonewall, TX4.0200$100,000
June 136:30 PM CDTEF2Haskell, TX3.6440$1.0 million
June 136:32 PM CDTEF0Briscoe, TX0.050
June 136:51 PM CDTEF0Briscoe, TX0.875
June 136:01 PM MDTEF0Baca, CO0.650
June 137:08 PM CDTEF1Haskell, TX0.4150
June 136:36 PM MDTEF0Morgan, CO0.150
June 136:47 PM MDTEF0Prowers, CO0.625
June 137:25 PM MDTEF0Adams, CO0.150
June 138:08 PM MDTEF0Adams, CO0.150

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.