Tornadoes · United States · Texas · 2013

EF0 tornado, Ringgold, Texas, May 20, 2013

Name: EF0 tornado, Ringgold, Texas, May 20, 2013
Start: 2013-05-20T22:41:00.000Z
End: 2013-05-20T22:44:00.000Z
Location: Ringgold, Texas

This EF0 tornado ran 0.9 miles across Montague County on May 20, 2013, touching down at 5:41 PM CDT and reaching 50 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 mphthis tornado
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.
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: May 20, 2013
Touchdown: 5:41 PM CDT (22:41 UTC)
Lifted: 5:44 PM CDT (22:44 UTC)
On the ground: 3 minutes
Path length: 0.9 miles (1.5 km)
Path width: 50 yards (46 m)
Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Crop damage: $5,000
County: Montague County
Touchdown point: 33.798, -97.931
Lift-off point: 33.798, -97.915
Record number: 1305201641-01

The damage survey

1 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS FWD, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF0. The highest wind the damage implies is 78 mph.

Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.

What the Weather Service recorded

The dry line was once again active on the afternoon of May 20th. Thunderstorms developed along and ahead of the dry line, producing severe thunderstorms from Montague to Mills Counties.

Trained spotters observed a brief tornado just south of Ringgold. Damage was minimal, as the tornado remained over open land.

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

The warnings

14 minutes of warning. NWS FWD issued a tornado warning for this county at 22:27 UTC, 14 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 23:30 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 19:22 UTC and running to 03:00 UTC.

Issued (UTC)	Expired	Product	Office
19:22 UTC	03:00 UTC	Tornado Watch	FWD
22:27 UTC	23:30 UTC	Tornado Warning	FWD
22:52 UTC	23:45 UTC	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FWD
23:29 UTC	00:02 UTC	Tornado Warning	FWD
23:31 UTC	01:30 UTC	Flash Flood Warning	FWD
00:15 UTC	01:00 UTC	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FWD

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 Moderate Risk, with a 0.10 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 19:58 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 Fort Worth, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at May 20, 4:38 PM CDT, 1 hour 3 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 20, 4:38 PM CDT, 1 hour 3 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
438 PM CDT MON MAY 20 2013

.UPDATE...
INCREASED POPS TO LIKELY FROM COMANCHE COUNTY NORTHWARD INTO YOUNG AND
JACK COUNTIES. ALSO ADDED HAIL AND STRONG THUNDERSTORM GUSTS TO
THE PUBLIC FORECAST AND HOURLY GRIDS. 75

&&

.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 306 PM CDT MON MAY 20 2013/

AN ACTIVE PATTERN WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE CWA THROUGH TUESDAY AS
A DEEP UPPER LOW OVER SOUTH DAKOTA AND NEBRASKA REMAINS QUASI-
STATIONARY AND A STRONG SHORTWAVE TROUGH MOVES ACROSS OUR REGION
ON TUESDAY. AFTER TUESDAY...UPPER RIDGING DEVELOPS OVER THE
SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL ROCKIES AND THEN MOVES EAST OVER THE GREAT PLAINS
BY THE WEEKEND. THE RETURN OF NORTHWEST UPPER FLOW ON WEDNESDAY
SHOULD HELP TO PUSH A COLD FRONT DOWN THROUGH OKLAHOMA AND ACROSS
THE RED RIVER EARLY WEDNESDAY. THIS FRONT AND THE NORTHWEST FLOW
ALOFT COULD RESULT IN SOME ELEVATED CONVECTION THURSDAY NIGHT AND
FRIDAY MORNING.

THROUGH THIS EVENING...THE DRYLINE HAS BECOME ACTIVE FROM SOUTH OF
WICHITA FALLS THROUGH CENTRAL OKLAHOMA. ALTHOUGH THE CAP IS STILL
INTACT ACROSS THE CENTRAL AND EASTERN PART OF OUR CWA...WE EXPECT
IT TO WEAKEN OUT WEST WITH STORMS DEVELOPING SOUTHWARD THROUGH 5 PM.
STORM MOVEMENT SHOULD BE NORTHEAST BUT LINE PROPAGATION WILL PUSH
THEM FARTHER IN OUR CWA THIS EVENING AND MAYBE TO A SHERMAN TO
GOLDTHWAITE LINE BY MIDNIGHT. AS STATED EARLIER TODAY...THE
ATMOSPHERE IS VERY UNSTABLE WITH LARGE CAPE THUS LARGE HAIL (UP TO
BASEBALL) AND DAMAGING WINDS (65MPH+) ARE POSSIBLE AND EXPECTED.
HELICITY WILL BE THE HIGHEST NEAR THE RED RIVER 5 TO 8PM...SO
TORNADOES ARE ALSO POSSIBLE. SOME OF THE OKLAHOMA ACTIVITY MIGHT
SLIDE ACROSS THE RED AFTER MIDNIGHT AND DECIDED TO KEEP HIGH POPS
GOING FOR NOW.

TUESDAY...CONVECTION SHOULD REDEVELOP ACROSS OKLAHOMA ON TUESDAY
MORNING AND PROPAGATE SOUTHEAST ACROSS OUR CWA. SEVERAL HIGH-RES
MODELS INDICATE A SQUALL LINE FORMING ACROSS OKLAHOMA BY MIDDAY
AND MOVING SOUTHEAST ACROSS A GOOD PORTION OF THE CWA DURING THE
AFTERNOON. ALSO THERE COULD BE SEVERAL LEFT OVER MESOSCALE
FEATURES THAT WOULD ENHANCE STORM DEVELOPMENT. RAINFALL MIGHT
EXCEED 1 1/2 INCHES IN SOME AREAS...BUT DO NOT FEEL FLASH FLOODING
WILL BE A MAJOR CONCERN DUE TO GUIDANCE VALUES OF AROUND 3 INCHES
IN 3 HOURS.

TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN RATHER SEASONABLY WARM AND HUMID THROUGH
THE PERIOD. HOWEVER...IF THE COLD FRONT ENDS UP BEING STRONGER THAN
EXPECTED OR PENETRATES FARTHER SOUTH...THEN THE DRIER AIR WOULD
ALLOW SLIGHTLY COOLER LOWS WED-FRI OVER THE NORTHERN HALF THAN
WHAT IS CURRENTLY BEING FORECAST. 75

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
DALLAS-FT. WORTH, TX  71  86  65  88  69 /  30  60  40  10  10
WACO, TX              72  89  67  89  70 /  10  60  60  10  10
PARIS, TX             69  81  63  85  64 /  60  70  40  10  10
DENTON, TX            69  85  62  88  65 /  40  50  20  10  10
MCKINNEY, TX          70  84  64  88  65 /  40  70  30  10  10
DALLAS, TX            72  86  69  89  72 /  30  60  40  10  10
TERRELL, TX           71  86  67  88  69 /  30  70  60  10  10
CORSICANA, TX         72  87  70  88  70 /  10  60  70  10  10
TEMPLE, TX            72  88  68  88  69 /  10  50  60  10  10
MINERAL WELLS, TX     68  87  61  89  66 /  30  50  20  10  10

&&

.FWD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NONE.

&&

 /75

Hazardous weather outlook, May 20, 2:49 PM CDT, 2 hours 52 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
249 PM CDT MON MAY 20 2013

TXZ091>095-100>107-115>123-129>135-141>148-156>162-174-175-211215-
MONTAGUE-COOKE-GRAYSON-FANNIN-LAMAR-YOUNG-JACK-WISE-DENTON-COLLIN-
HUNT-DELTA-HOPKINS-STEPHENS-PALO PINTO-PARKER-TARRANT-DALLAS-
ROCKWALL-KAUFMAN-VAN ZANDT-RAINS-EASTLAND-ERATH-HOOD-SOMERVELL-
JOHNSON-ELLIS-HENDERSON-COMANCHE-MILLS-HAMILTON-BOSQUE-HILL-NAVARRO-
FREESTONE-ANDERSON-LAMPASAS-CORYELL-BELL-MCLENNAN-FALLS-LIMESTONE-
LEON-MILAM-ROBERTSON-
249 PM CDT MON MAY 20 2013

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH TEXAS.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO FORM ALONG THE DRYLINE THIS
AFTERNOON AND WILL MOVE EAST AND NORTHEAST ACROSS MAINLY THE
WESTERN AND NORTHWESTERN PARTS OF THE AREA THROUGH THE EVENING
HOURS. THE HIGHEST CHANCES OF SEVERE WEATHER ARE GENERALLY WEST OF
A LINE FROM SHERMAN TO DENTON TO GRANBURY TO KILLEEN. ATMOSPHERIC
CONDITIONS WILL BE FAVORABLE FOR VERY LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS
AND POSSIBLE TORNADOES. AS THE STORMS HEAD EAST INTO MORE STABLE
AIR ACROSS CENTRAL PARTS OF NORTH TEXAS...THEY SHOULD WEAKEN BELOW
SEVERE LEVELS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY.
SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE OVER THE AREA
TUESDAY AND INTO TUESDAY NIGHT. A SQUALL LINE MAY ORGANIZE ALONG A
COLD FRONT DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS AND PRODUCE A SWATH OF
DAMAGING WIND AS IT HEADS EAST AND SOUTHEAST. LARGE HAIL AND
ISOLATED TORNADOES WILL CONTINUE TO BE THREATS IN ANY STORM THAT
IS SEPARATED FROM THE LINE.

A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS RETURNS THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY
MORNING GENERALLY NORTH OF THE I-20 CORRIDOR.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS LIKELY THIS AFTERNOON IN WESTERN
COUNTIES...SPREADING EAST OVERNIGHT AS THE THUNDERSTORMS MOVE
ACROSS NORTH TEXAS.

92

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 20, 12:55 PM CDT, 4 hours 46 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
1255 PM CDT MON MAY 20 2013

..TIME...    ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...    ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
             ..REMARKS..

1130 PM     TSTM WND DMG     KENNEDALE               32.65N  97.22W
05/15/2013                   TARRANT            TX   PUBLIC

            ROOF PEALED OFF A BUILDING WITH INTERIOR DAMAGE. PUBLIC
            STORAGE UNTIS NEXT DOOR LAST WALLS AND ROOFS.

Local storm report, May 20, 12:56 PM CDT, 4 hours 45 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
1256 PM CDT MON MAY 20 2013

..TIME...    ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...    ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
             ..REMARKS..

1256 PM     TSTM WND DMG     KENNEDALE               32.65N  97.22W
05/20/2013                   TARRANT            TX   PUBLIC

            ROOF PEALED OFF A BUILDING WITH INTERIOR DAMAGE. PUBLIC
            STORAGE UNTIS NEXT DOOR LAST WALLS AND ROOFS.

Local storm report, May 20, 12:56 PM CDT, 4 hours 45 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED DATE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
1256 PM CDT MON MAY 20 2013

..TIME...    ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...    ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
             ..REMARKS..

1256 PM     TSTM WND DMG     KENNEDALE               32.65N  97.22W
05/15/2013                   TARRANT            TX   PUBLIC

            ROOF PEALED OFF A BUILDING WITH INTERIOR DAMAGE. PUBLIC
            STORAGE UNTIS NEXT DOOR LAST WALLS AND ROOFS.

Local storm report, May 20, 4:22 PM CDT, 1 hour 19 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
422 PM CDT MON MAY 20 2013

..TIME...    ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...    ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
             ..REMARKS..

0348 PM     HAIL             2 N ROMNEY              32.26N  98.95W
05/20/2013  E1.75 INCH       EASTLAND           TX   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            INTERSECTION OF FM 2526 AND HWY 6 NORTH OF ROMNEY

Local storm report, May 20, 4:52 PM CDT, 49 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
452 PM CDT MON MAY 20 2013

..TIME...    ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...    ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
             ..REMARKS..

0441 PM     HAIL             EASTLAND                32.40N  98.82W
05/20/2013  E0.75 INCH       EASTLAND           TX   NWS EMPLOYEE

            REPORTED IN EASTLAND NEAR EXIT 343 ON I-20

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), 12:00Z

10.7 hours before the tornado, 123 km from the path. May 20, 2013.

Skew-T log-p

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.

Hodograph

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: 747 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -390 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 1716 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 893 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 33 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 37 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 275 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 216 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.3
0-3 km lapse rate: 4.8 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

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

1.3 hours after it, 123 km from the path. May 21, 2013.

Skew-T log-p

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.

Hodograph

Mixed-layer CAPE: 1025 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -144 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 1840 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1909 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 68 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 58 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 457 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 387 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.1
Supercell composite: 4.2
0-3 km lapse rate: 7.3 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Bowie (0F2), 26 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)	Temp (°F)	Dew point (°F)	Wind	Gust (kt)	Pressure (mb)	Weather
20:55 UTC	87.8	64.4	130° 13 kt	22	1004.1	VCTS
21:15 UTC	86	64.4	130° 12 kt	23	1004.1	VCTS
21:35 UTC	86	64.4	130° 12 kt	19	1003.7	VCTS
21:55 UTC	86	64.4	110° 6 kt	18	1003.4	VCTS
22:15 UTC	86	66.2	110° 9 kt		1003
22:35 UTC	84.2	66.2	110° 12 kt	19	1001.4	VCTS
23:15 UTC	75.2	62.6	330° 21 kt	27	1004.1	+TSRA
23:35 UTC	68	64.4	340° 18 kt	45	1005.4	-TSRA
23:55 UTC	68	59	340° 9 kt	23	1005.1	VCTS
00:15 UTC	68	59	340° 7 kt		1005.4
00:35 UTC	69.8	62.6	330° 3 kt		1005.8

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

The radar

The Altus AFB radar (KFDR), 116 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 22:39 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
21:40 UTC	HAIL 1.75	Wichita Falls	Wichita, TX
21:53 UTC	HAIL 1.75	Wichita Falls	Wichita, TX	5 MILES WEST OF FISHER RD
22:41 UTC	TORNADO	1 S Ringgold	Montague, TX	BRIEF TORNADO REPORTED 1 MILE SOUTH OF RINGGOLD.
22:58 UTC	HAIL 1.5	Nocona	Montague, TX
23:15 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	Bowie	Montague, TX	CERT MEMBER REPORTS THE DOORS AT THE WALMART WERE RIPPED OFF THE HINGES BY THUNDERSTORM WINDS
23:29 UTC	HAIL 1	Capps Corner	Montague, TX	QUARTER SIZED HAIL REPORTED 3 MILES WEST OF CAPPS CORNER
23:30 UTC	HAIL 1	Henrietta	Clay, TX

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

This ground now

The live radar over the track Every 2013 tornado in Texas Every tornado in Texas since 1950 Warnings in force in Texas now The forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of May 20, 2013

35 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 20	2:56 PM CDT	EF5	Moore tornado, OK	13.8	1,900	24	212	$2.0 billion
May 20	2:58 PM CDT	EF0	Stephens, OK	1.0	30
May 20	3:07 PM CDT	EF1	Stephens, OK	4.0	200			$20,000
May 20	3:51 PM CDT	EF1	Washington, OK	6.5	500			$5,000
May 20	4:12 PM CDT	EF0	Montgomery, KS	0.5	50
May 20	4:21 PM CDT	EF1	Washington, OK	4.5	400			$10,000
May 20	4:33 PM CDT	EF1	Washington, OK	6.0	500			$30,000
May 20	4:35 PM CDT	EF0	Brown, TX	1.2	50
May 20	4:40 PM CDT	EF0	Lincoln, OK	1.2	100
May 20	4:50 PM CDT	EF0	Stanton, KS	0.4	50
May 20	4:57 PM CDT	EF1	Pettis, MO	14.5	200			$20,000
May 20	5:05 PM CDT	EF0	Stanton, KS	0.3	50
May 20	5:37 PM CDT	EF0	Cedar, MO	3.2	100			$50,000
May 20	5:41 PM CDT	EF1	Brown, TX	3.6	350			$100,000
May 20	4:53 PM MDT	EF0	Alamosa, CO	0.1	75
May 20	6:00 PM CDT	EF0	Brown, TX	0.2	50
May 20	6:03 PM CDT	EF1	Barton, MO	6.8	100			$50,000
May 20	6:25 PM CDT	EF2	Ottawa, OK	10.0	800			$1.0 million
May 20	6:32 PM CDT	EF1	Adair, OK to MO	2.0	150
May 20	6:32 PM CDT	EF1	Ottawa, OK to MO	9.3	600			$250,000
May 20	6:35 PM CDT	EF1	Adair, OK	2.5	300			$15,000
May 20	6:40 PM CDT	EF1	Adair, OK to AR	8.0	500			$225,000
May 20	6:49 PM CDT	EF1	Benton, AR	2.9	500			$50,000
May 20	6:49 PM CDT	EF1	Coal, OK	5.9	250			$30,000
May 20	6:56 PM CDT	EF0	St. Clair, MO	0.5	200
May 20	7:24 PM CDT	EF1	Benton, AR	0.8	270			$50,000
May 20	7:24 PM CDT	EF1	Marion, MO	1.2	50
May 20	7:25 PM CDT	EF0	Mills, TX	1.1	100
May 20	7:50 PM CDT	EF1	Stone, MO	1.4	200			$50,000
May 20	8:05 PM CDT	EF0	Stone, MO	0.6	100
May 20	8:05 PM CDT	EF1	Stone, MO	1.4	100
May 20	8:33 PM CDT	EF0	LeFlore, OK	0.7	260
May 20	8:44 PM CDT	EF1	LeFlore, OK	8.5	500			$5,000
May 20	8:46 PM CDT	EF0	Morgan, MO	0.7	100			$50,000
May 20	10:14 PM CDT	EF2	Macoupin, IL	0.2	75		3

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.