Tornadoes · United States · Texas · 2009
EF1 tornado, Aspermont, Texas, June 13, 2009
This EF1 tornado ran 4.0 miles across Stonewall County on June 13, 2009, touching down at 6:25 PM CDT and reaching 200 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $100,000 of property damage.
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 mphthis tornado
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.
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
- EF1
- Date
- June 13, 2009
- Touchdown
- 6:25 PM CDT (23:25 UTC)
- Lifted
- 6:35 PM CDT (23:35 UTC)
- On the ground
- 10 minutes
- Path length
- 4.0 miles (6.4 km)
- Path width
- 200 yards (183 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $100,000
- County
- Stonewall County
- Touchdown point
- 33.186, -100.230
- Lift-off point
- 33.138, -100.187
- Record number
- 0906131725-01
What the Weather Service recorded
An active round of severe thunderstorm occurred over the west Texas South Plains during the afternoon and evening hours of the 13th. Several storms evolved into supercells, and produced very large hail, destructive winds, and weak tornadoes.||Thunderstorms initiated around 14:00 CST over the central South Plains, and quickly became severe with large hail initially reported in Lubbock (Lubbock County). More intense and organized supercell storms formed over the Rolling Plains by the mid to late afternoon hours, however, and moved southeastward. One particularly organized and long-lived high precipitation supercell impacted the Aspermont vicinity of Stonewall County, where it produced a swath of damaging winds and at least one tornado. A 100 mph wind gust and a corresponding 32 millibar pressure drop was measured when the tornado struck the Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet site northeast of Aspermont. Although no injuries were reportedly related to the tornado, severe gusts north of Aspermont overturned a tractor trailer truck injuring the driver.||Additional supercells impacted portions of Briscoe and Hale Counties, and very large wind-blown hail caused damages in both counties. Two tornadoes were observed by storm chasers in the Silverton and Quitaque vicinity of southern Briscoe County. ||Total economic damages were estimated near $650,000 across the South Plains region.
A tornado tracked southeast through rural areas near Aspermont between 17:25 CST and 17:35 CST. This tornado was obscured by precipitation and blowing dust within a massive high precipitation supercell. Although storm chasers observed suspicious storm features and small debris fallout that led them to believe a tornado was lurking within the bear's cage, visual observations of the tornado were virtually non-existent. The tornado, however, struck a Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet site three miles northeast of Aspermont at 17:30 CST. Both meteorological data from the mesonet and a post-storm survey confirmed the occurrence of this tornado.||The tornado developed near the intersection of Farm to Market Roads 3431 and 1263 two and a half miles north of Aspermont. Texas Department of Transportation signs were blown in multiple directions near the intersection, and a 200 yard path in broken utility poles displayed distinctly different fall patterns than the many additional downed poles along the broader swath of ambient thunderstorm winds. ||Two homes along Farm to Market Road 3431 were damaged east of the intersection. The most significant damage included a partially removed roof and the destruction of two barns. Multiple stock trailers were rolled, with one apparently displaced some distance and unaccounted for. A resident witnessed the event and described strong northwesterly winds, then a period of relatively light winds. During the calm, three white funnels were seen approaching the property; followed by the onset of a loud roar and an intense wind that caused the structure's roof to lift.||The damage path remained visible in native mesquite tree damage and damage to fences and utilities southeastward to the mesonet site located three miles northeast of Aspermont. At 17:30 CST the automated station recorded a peak gust of 100 mph and a corresponding brief surface pressure drop of 32 millibars. A guy wire to the station was broken, but significant operational damage did not occur. ||The end of the tornado's path was difficult to discern, but it is believed the tornado dissipated before it reached U.S. Highway 380 east of Aspermont. Although evidence of additional tornadoes was not found in Stonewall County, the supercell cycled again and produced a significant tornado in adjacent parts of Haskell County.||Tornado related damages are estimated at $100,000, with approximately $350,000 in total losses attributed to both wind and tornado activity in the Aspermont vicinity on the 13th. No 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 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.
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 Lubbock, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Jun 13, 3:22 PM CDT, 3 hours 3 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jun 13, 3:22 PM CDT, 3 hours 3 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 322 PM CDT SAT JUN 13 2009 .UPDATE... UPDATED PRODUCTS TO INCLUDE TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 PM FOR THE EASTERN HALF OF THE AREA. NO OTHER CHANGES MADE. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 221 PM CDT SAT JUN 13 2009/ SHORT TERM... STILL FOCUSED ON SEVERE STORM CHANCES THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. WTM SOUNDING /PERSONAL COMMUNICATION/ AND LATEST SPC MESOANALYSIS PAGE SHOW CIN HAS GREATLY WEAKENED AND THIS IS REFLECTED IN CU BUBBLING UP TO THE EAST OF LUBBOCK. SURFACE FRONT CONTINUES TO PIVOT AND SHIFT WESTWARD AROUND 10 KTS AND WAS LOCATED ROUGHLY FROM A KRESS TO FLOYDADA TO LAKE ALAN HENRY LINE. GIVEN THE VERY STRONG INSTABILITY IN PLACE /ESPECIALLY EAST OF THE BOUNDARY/ AND CONVECTIVE TEMPERATURES BEING APPROACHED...STILL EXPECT THUNDERSTORMS TO ERUPT LATER THIS AFTERNOON. ANY STORMS THAT DO DEVELOP ARE EXPECTED TO QUICKLY BECOME SEVERE WITH VERY LARGE HAIL...STRONG WINDS AND ISOLATED TORNADOES. THE BEST TORNADO THREAT WILL LIKELY BE NEAR AND TO THE MOIST SIDE OF THE FRONT WHERE INSTABILITY AND LOW-LEVEL SHEAR WILL BE MAXIMIZED AND LCLS AND LFCS MINIMIZED. ACROSS THE WESTERN ZONES...LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE HAS BEGUN TO MIX OUT...THOUGH DEWPOINTS IN THE 50S WERE STILL PERSISTING THROUGH THE CENTRAL SOUTH PLAINS...AND WITH TEMPERATURES CLIMBING THROUGH THE MID/UPPER 90S...COULD ALSO SEE HIGH-BASED STORMS DEVELOP HERE. STORMS COULD ORGANIZE INTO A COMPLEX AS THEY MOVE EASTWARD TONIGHT INTO A STRENGTHENING SOUTHERLY LLJ. STILL...CAN NOT COMPLETELY RULE OUT AN OVERNIGHT STORM ACROSS THE SOUTH PLAINS AS AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE SLIDES BY TO THE NORTHWEST. STORM CHANCES WILL REINVIGORATE SUNDAY AFTERNOON AS THE DRYLINE TIGHTENS AND ANOTHER UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE APPROACHES FROM THE WEST. PROGGED INSTABILITY AND SHEAR WILL AGAIN SUPPORT A SEVERE WEATHER THREAT. LOWS TONIGHT WILL BE MILD...WITH ANOTHER TOASTY DAY EXPECT SUNDAY. LONG TERM... STILL APPEARS THAT SUNDAY AND MONDAY ARE POTENTIAL DRYLINE CONVECTION DAYS WHILE TUESDAY AND BEYOND WILL FEEL THE EFFECTS OF AN INCREASING UPPER LEVEL RIDGE. HOT TEMPERATURES THROUGHOUT THE FCST PERIOD WITH HIGHS IN THE 90S TO 100-105 RANGE. SUNDAY NIGHT CONVECTION APPEARS MORE LIKELY A LITTLE FURTHER EAST THAN CURRENT FCST AND HAVE ADJUSTED GRIDS TO SHOW THIS. MONDAY POPS LOOK FINE AND HAVE LEFT UNCHANGED AND HAVE DROPPED INHERITED SLIGHT CHC POPS DOWN INTO UNMENTIONABLE RANGE. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... FRIONA 62 86 60 94 62 / 20 30 20 20 20 TULIA 64 90 66 94 64 / 30 30 30 20 20 PLAINVIEW 65 90 67 96 65 / 30 30 30 20 20 LEVELLAND 67 93 65 97 66 / 20 30 30 20 20 LUBBOCK 68 93 68 97 68 / 30 30 30 20 20 DENVER CITY 69 96 65 98 67 / 20 30 30 20 20 BROWNFIELD 69 95 68 98 67 / 20 30 30 20 20 CHILDRESS 70 93 70 97 70 / 50 30 30 20 20 SPUR 69 96 71 98 70 / 40 30 30 20 20 ASPERMONT 73 100 74 101 73 / 50 20 30 20 20 && .LUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && 23
Hazardous weather outlook, Jun 13, 11:32 AM CDT, 6 hours 53 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 1132 AM CDT SAT JUN 13 2009 TXZ021>044-141645- PARMER-CASTRO-SWISHER-BRISCOE-HALL-CHILDRESS-BAILEY-LAMB-HALE- FLOYD-MOTLEY-COTTLE-COCHRAN-HOCKLEY-LUBBOCK-CROSBY-DICKENS-KING- YOAKUM-TERRY-LYNN-GARZA-KENT-STONEWALL- 1132 AM CDT SAT JUN 13 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE EXTREME SOUTHERN TEXAS PANHANDLE...SOUTH PLAINS AND ROLLING PLAINS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT CONVECTIVE THERE IS A SLIGHT TO MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE OUTLOOK AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. A WEAK FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL REMAIN NEARLY STATIONARY ACROSS THE EXTREME SOUTHERN TEXAS PANHANDLE...NORTHEAST SOUTH PLAINS AND SOUTHERN ROLLING PLAINS THIS AFTERNOON. A DRYLINE WILL DEVELOP SOUTH OF THIS BOUNDARY ACROSS THE CENTRAL SOUTH PLAINS THIS AFTERNOON. AMPLE MOISTURE AND VERY WARM AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES WILL RESULT IN A HIGHLY UNSTABLE AIRMASS ACROSS WEST TEXAS. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP BY LATE AFTERNOON NEAR THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY WITH MORE ISOLATED STORMS EXPECTED ALONG THE DRYLINE. THUNDERSTORMS MAY BECOME MORE NUMEROUS THIS EVENING...WHEN THE FRONT MAY BE DRIVEN SOUTHWEST DUE TO THUNDERSTORM OUTFLOW WINDS. DUE TO A HIGHLY UNSTABLE AIRMASS AND INCREASING WIND SHEAR...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE LIKELY LATE THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS. THESE SEVERE STORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING HAIL UP TO THE SIZE OF BASEBALLS AND DAMAGING WIND GUSTS UP TO 80 MPH. A FEW TORNADOES WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE...PARTICULARLY ALONG AND NORTHEAST OF THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY...OVER THE EXTREME SOUTHEAST PANHANDLE...NORTHEAST SOUTH PLAINS AND ROLLING PLAINS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL AGAIN BE POSSIBLE OVER MUCH OF THE REGION SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING...WITH MORE ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY POSSIBLE MONDAY AND TUESDAY. A FEW STORMS DURING THIS PERIOD WILL LIKELY BE SEVERE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... STORM SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS LIKELY THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. JW
In the hours before
Local storm report, Jun 13, 5:56 PM CDT, 29 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.
Midland Regional, TX (KMAF), 12:00Z
11.4 hours before the tornado, 230 km from the path. June 13, 2009.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1757 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -237 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 607 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1625 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 27 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 19 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 136 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 179 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.8
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 5.3 K/km
The surface observations
Sweetwater/Avenger Field Airport (SWW), 81 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.
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.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 13 | 6:30 PM CDT | EF2 | Haskell, TX | 3.6 | 440 | $1.0 million | ||
| June 13 | 6:32 PM CDT | EF0 | Briscoe, TX | 0.0 | 50 | |||
| June 13 | 6:51 PM CDT | EF0 | Briscoe, TX | 0.8 | 75 | |||
| June 13 | 6:01 PM MDT | EF0 | Baca, CO | 0.6 | 50 | |||
| June 13 | 7:08 PM CDT | EF1 | Haskell, TX | 0.4 | 150 | |||
| June 13 | 6:36 PM MDT | EF0 | Morgan, CO | 0.1 | 50 | |||
| June 13 | 6:47 PM MDT | EF0 | Prowers, CO | 0.6 | 25 | |||
| June 13 | 7:54 PM CDT | EF0 | Jones, TX | 0.0 | 10 | |||
| June 13 | 7:25 PM MDT | EF0 | Adams, CO | 0.1 | 50 | |||
| June 13 | 8:08 PM MDT | EF0 | Adams, CO | 0.1 | 50 |
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.