Tornadoes · United States · Wisconsin · 2011

EF1 tornado, Rockland to Norway Ridge, Wisconsin, May 22, 2011

From Rockland to Norway Ridge, this EF1 tornado ran 8.2 miles across La Crosse and Monroe counties on May 22, 2011, touching down at 4:47 PM CDT and reaching 125 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $920,000 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.

  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 mphthis tornado

    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
EF1
Date
May 22, 2011
Touchdown
4:47 PM CDT (21:47 UTC)
Lifted
5:00 PM CDT (22:00 UTC)
On the ground
13 minutes
Path length
8.2 miles (13.2 km)
Path width
125 yards (114 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$920,000
Counties
La Crosse and Monroe counties
Touchdown point
43.890, -90.935
Lift-off point
43.938, -90.786
Record number
1105221547-01

What the Weather Service recorded

During the afternoon of May 22nd, severe thunderstorms developed along a cold front as it moved through western Wisconsin. These severe thunderstorms produced three confirmed tornadoes, two of which were rated as EF2 with the other being an EF1. The first tornado hit the southern sections of the city of La Crosse (La Crosse County) and caused an estimated 15 million dollars in damage where almost 200 buildings were damaged including 9 homes that were destroyed. The second tornado tracked from extreme eastern La Crosse County into Monroe County passing through the southern portions of Sparta (Monroe County). Considerable damage occurred in Sparta with a local car dealership sustaining damage to vehicles on the sales lot. The third tornado was on the ground for almost 65 miles as it tracked from eastern Monroe County, across northern Juneau County, through southern Wood County and into Portage County before dissipating. Damage estimates for this tornado in Monroe and Juneau Counties are close to 6 million dollars with most of this occurring in Juneau County where a cranberry farm was severely damaged.

For the short time this tornado was in La Crosse County, it produced mainly tree and some minor building damage. The tornado tracked from just southwest of Rockland, toward the rest stop on the eastbound side of Interstate 90 before crossing into Monroe County.

This tornado passed into Monroe county just east of Rockland (La Crosse County) and continued to the east-northeast before dissipating in the southeast portion of Sparta. Along its path, the tornado destroyed one home east of Rockland, demolished 4 mobile homes and created damage to at least 50 homes in Sparta. At a car dealership on the south side of Sparta, a car was tossed 40 feet and flipped upside down and a billboard sign was knocked over on to a truck. Total damages from this tornado are estimated to be around $900 thousand. An estimated 200 customers lost power in Sparta as a result of this tornado.

This tornado first developed about 4 miles northwest of Tomah. It then proceeded to move east-northeast crossing Interstate 94 north of Tomah. A house and mobile home were destoyed north of Tomah and another house was significantly damaged northeast of Tomah. The tornado then passed through mainly wooded rural areas before crossing into Juneau County southwest of Mather. Damage estimates for this tornado are just over $500,000.

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 Moderate Risk, with a 0.15 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. 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.

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 La Crosse, WI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at May 22, 3:07 PM CDT, 1 hour 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 22, 3:07 PM CDT, 1 hour 40 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
307 PM CDT SUN MAY 22 2011

.SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT

MAIN FORECAST CONCERN IS ON LINGERING SEVERE WEATHER THIS EVENING...
THEN ATTENTION TURNS TO PERIODIC PRECIPITATION CHANCES THROUGH THE
PERIOD.

18Z SURFACE ANALYSIS SHOWS AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE NEAR THE NORTH
DAKOTA/SOUTH DAKOTA/MINNESOTA BORDER...WITH A WARM FRONT EXTENDING
EASTWARD INTO CENTRAL WISCONSIN. MOISTURE SURGING NORTHWARD HAS
ADVECTED LOWER 60S DEW POINTS INTO THE FORECAST AREA. 17Z LAPS
SHOWING 2000-2500 J/KG SURFACE BASED CAPE ACROSS NORTHEAST IOWA AND
SOUTHWEST WISCONSIN LOWERING TO AROUND 1000 J/KG ACROSS CENTRAL
WISCONSIN. RADAR MOSAIC SHOWING ONE BAND OF THUNDERSTORMS MOVING
THROUGH central WISCONSIN...WITH ANOTHER BAND OVER SOUTHEAST
MINNESOTA AND NORTHEAST IOWA.

22.12Z MODELS OFFER SIMILAR SOLUTIONS THROUGH THE PERIOD. 500MB
CLOSED LOW LIFTS INTO WESTERN LOWER MICHIGAN BY 12Z MONDAY AND THEN
BECOMES AN OPEN WAVE BY AFTERNOON AS IT SHIFTS INTO ONTARIO ON
TUESDAY.

IN THE NEAR TERM...SEVERE WEATHER THREAT WILL CONTINUE INTO THE EARLY
EVENING HOURS. 22.15Z HRRR HANDLING CURRENT CONVECTION QUITE WELL.
THIS SHOWS SECOND CONVECTIVE LINE OVER THE FAR EASTERN AREAS OF THE
FORECAST AREA AT 00Z AND THEN THROUGH THE AREA BY 03Z. THUS HAVE
ADDED HIGHER END PROBABILITIES ACROSS THE FAR EAST EARLY THIS
EVENING. MAIN WIND SHIFT DOESN/T ARRIVE UNTIL LATER THIS EVENING
AND THUS CONTINUED LOWER END PROBABILITIES THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT
HOURS.

ON MONDAY...UPPER LOW SHIFTS EASTWARD WITH WRAP AROUND MOISTURE
SWINGING ACROSS THE AREA. 1000MB-850MB LAPSE RATES APPROACH 8C PER
KILOMETER WITH MOST UNSTABLE CAPES OF BETWEEN 500 J/KG AND 1000
J/KG. THUS WOULD EXPECT SCATTERED SHOWERS AND ISOLATED
THUNDERSTORMS...ESPECIALLY DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS.

SHORTWAVE RIDGING THEN BUILDS IN FOR MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY FOR
QUIET WEATHER...BUT COOL TEMPERATURES BACK BELOW SEASONAL NORMALS.
BY TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY...NEXT SHORTWAVE TROUGH TRANSLATES
ACROSS THE CENTRAL/SOUTHERN PLAINS. MOISTURE TRANSPORT INCREASES
AHEAD OF THE SYSTEM NOSING INTO THE FORECAST AREA LATE TUESDAY NIGHT.
BOTH NAM AND GFS INDICATING PRECIPITATION PUSHING INTO NORTHEAST IOWA
AND SOUTHWEST WISCONSIN AFTER MIDNIGHT AND THEN MAINLY TO THE SOUTH
OF INTERSTATE 90 FOR WEDNESDAY. WENT WITH THE HIGHER END
PROBABILITIES WEDNESDAY ACROSS THE FAR SOUTH.

SYSTEM LOOKS TO PULL EAST OF THE AREA BEGINNING WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND
DID ADD SOME TINING TO THIS PERIOD WITH THE HIGHER PROBABILITIES
DURING THE EVENING HOURS.

AS FOR TEMPERATURES...THEY LOOK TO DROP BACK BELOW NORMAL FOR
TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY WITH CLOUDS AND COLD ADVECTION EXPECTED.
EXPECT HIGHS ONLY IN THE 60S WITH OVERNIGHT LOWS IN THE 40S AND 50S.

.LONG TERM...THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY

DUE TO ONGOING SEVERE WEATHER IN THE SHORT TERM DID NOT
SPEND A LOT OF TIME WITH THE DETAILS IN THIS TIME FRAME. SURFACE
HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA ON THURSDAY AND
THURSDAY NIGHT WITH QUIET...BUT COOL WEATHER IN STORE FOR THE AREA.
SOME MODEL DIFFERENCES FOR FRIDAY AS NEXT SHORTWAVE TROUGH TRACKS
ACROSS THE NORTHERN PLAINS. 22.12Z GFS THE FASTEST SOLUTION IN
BRING PRECIPITATION INTO THE REA...WHILE ECMWF REMAINS DRY MOST OF
THE DAY. WENT WITH THE MODEL CONSENSUS WHICH WOULD BRING LOWER END
PROBABILITIES INTO THE NORTH FRIDAY AND ACROSS THE AREA FRIDAY
NIGHT. STILL QUITE A BIT OF MODEL DIFFERENCES FOR THE WEEKEND AND
THUS WENT WITH THE MODEL CONSENSUS.

&&

.AVIATION...

LINE OF SEVERE STORMS WILL BE EXITING THE KRST TAF SITE IN THE NEXT
2 HOURS AFTER WHICH VFR CEILINGS WILL PREVAIL UNTIL LATER TONIGHT.
AT KLSE THIS LINE WILL AFFECT THE TAF SITE BETWEEN 21Z-23Z. EXPECT
THE POSSIBILITY OF LARGE HAIL WITH THESE STORMS...ALONG WITH IFR
VISIBILITIES AND MVFR CEILINGS. BY LATE TONIGHT...MOISTURE WRAPS
AROUND LOW THAT WILL BE LOCATED OVER UPPER MICHIGAN. THIS WILL SWEEP
SOME MVFR CEILINGS INTO THE AREA AFTER 10Z TONIGHT AND CONTINUING TO
18Z MONDAY.

&&

.ARX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WI...NONE.
MN...NONE.
IA...NONE.
&&

SHORT/LONG TERM... RABERDING
AVIATION.......... BAUMGARDT/JLR
Hazardous weather outlook, May 22, 12:47 PM CDT, 4 hours before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
1247 PM CDT SUN MAY 22 2011

IAZ008>011-018-019-029-030-MNZ079-086>088-094>096-231100-
ALLAMAKEE-CHICKASAW-CLAYTON-DODGE-FAYETTE-FILLMORE-FLOYD-HOUSTON-
HOWARD-MITCHELL-MOWER-OLMSTED-WABASHA-WINNESHIEK-WINONA-
1247 PM CDT SUN MAY 22 2011

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PARTS OF NORTHEAST IOWA AND
SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

A COLD FRONT WAS LOCATED NEAR INTERSTATE 35 EARLY THIS AFTERNOON
WITH UNSTABLE AIR OUT AHEAD OF IT OVER SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA AND
NORTHEAST IOWA. THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ALONG THAT
FRONT THIS AFTERNOON...AND SHIFT EAST INTO WISCONSIN BY LATER
AFTERNOON...ENDING THE THREAT.

WIND PROFILES WILL ALLOW FOR SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORMS TODAY...
ESPECIALLY IN AREAS THAT RECEIVE MORE SUNSHINE. THE THREATS ARE
LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...AND TORNADOES.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

THUNDERSTORM CHANCES CONTINUE MONDAY AND AGAIN FRIDAY NIGHT. SEVERE
WEATHER IS NOT ANTICIPATED.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER GROUPS SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR ACTIVATION THIS AFTERNOON IN
THE 1 TO 4 PM WINDOW.

.EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COORDINATION...

NO WEBINAR IS SCHEDULED.

WIZ017-029-032>034-041>044-053>055-061-231100-
ADAMS-BUFFALO-CLARK-CRAWFORD-GRANT-JACKSON-JUNEAU-LA CROSSE-MONROE-
RICHLAND-TAYLOR-TREMPEALEAU-VERNON-
1247 PM CDT SUN MAY 22 2011

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PARTS OF SOUTHWEST INTO
CENTRAL WISCONSIN.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

THE ATMOSPHERE WAS DESTABILIZING RAPIDLY EARLY THIS AFTERNOON AS
MORE HUMID AIR MOVED INTO THE AREA. THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO
DEVELOP ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER EARLY THIS AFTERNOON AND PRESS
EAST. THESE STORMS WILL AFFECT WISCONSIN THROUGH ABOUT 3 PM. A COLD
FRONT WAS LOCATED FURTHER WEST IN MINNESOTA AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE
EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ALONG THAT FRONT...AND MOVE INTO WISCONSIN LATER
THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING...PROVIDING A SECOND ROUND OF
STORMS. THE THREAT OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL END BY EARLY EVENING AS THE
STORMS PUSH INTO EASTERN WISCONSIN.

WIND PROFILES WILL ALLOW FOR SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORMS TODAY...
ESPECIALLY IN AREAS THAT RECEIVE MORE SUNSHINE. THE THREATS ARE
LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...AND TORNADOES.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

THUNDERSTORM CHANCES CONTINUE MONDAY AND AGAIN FRIDAY NIGHT. SEVERE
WEATHER IS NOT ANTICIPATED.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER GROUPS SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR POSSIBLE ACTIVATION THIS
AFTERNOON AND VERY EARLY EVENING.

.EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COORDINATION...

NO WEBINAR IS SCHEDULED.

BAUMGARDT

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 22, 4:24 PM CDT, 23 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
424 PM CDT SUN MAY 22 2011

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

0422 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     7 S LA CROSSE           43.73N 91.23W
05/22/2011                   LA CROSSE          WI   PUBLIC

            FC REPORT ON TARGET LAKE. SOUTHERN LA CROSSE COUNTY.

&&

ZTAYLOR
Special weather statement, May 22, 4:34 PM CDT, 13 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
434 PM CDT SUN MAY 22 2011

WIZ042-053-222230-
MONROE-VERNON-
434 PM CDT SUN MAY 22 2011

...STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS APPROACHING MONROE AND VERNON
COUNTIES...

AT 429 PM...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
14 MILES NORTHWEST OF HIGHWAY 33 AND COUNTY Y...MOVING NORTHEAST AT
40 MPH.

WIND GUSTS UP TO 55 MPH MAY ACCOMPANY THIS THUNDERSTORM. WARNINGS
MAY BE NEEDED AS THIS STORM GETS CLOSER. THIS STORM HAS A HISTORY OF
PRODUCING LARGE HAIL AND TONADOES AS WELL.

LOCATIONS THAT MAY BE AFFECTED INCLUDE...
MELVINA...LEON...ST MARYS...SPARTA...I 90 EXIT 25...FOUR CORNERS AND
HIGHWAYS 27 AND 71.
Local storm report, May 22, 4:40 PM CDT, 7 minutes before
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Local storm report, May 22, 4:41 PM CDT, 6 minutes before
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Local storm report, May 22, 4:42 PM CDT, 5 minutes before
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Special weather statement, May 22, 4:44 PM CDT, 3 minutes before
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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.

Green Bay/Straub, WI (KGRB), 12:00Z

9.8 hours before the tornado, 229 km from the path. May 22, 2011.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Green Bay/Straub, WI at 12:00Z on 2011-05-22Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 351 joules per kilogram, CIN -121, lifted condensation level 1006 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°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, Green Bay/Straub, WI at 12:00Z on 2011-05-22The 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 -1 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 36 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
351 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-121 J/kg
Surface CAPE
166 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1006 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
36 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
20 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-1 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-1 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
-0.4
0-3 km lapse rate
4.9 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Green Bay/Straub, WI (KGRB), 00:00Z

2.2 hours after it, 229 km from the path. May 23, 2011.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Green Bay/Straub, WI at 00:00Z on 2011-05-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 753 joules per kilogram, CIN -97, lifted condensation level 942 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°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, Green Bay/Straub, WI at 00:00Z on 2011-05-23The 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 242 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 58 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
753 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-97 J/kg
Surface CAPE
666 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
942 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
58 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
27 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
242 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
325 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.1
Supercell composite
7.4
0-3 km lapse rate
5.4 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Sparta/Mccoy Aaf (CMY), 11 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
00:00 UTC

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

The radar

The La Crosse radar (KARX), 28 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 21:47 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 2011 tornado in WisconsinEvery tornado in Wisconsin since 1950Warnings in force in Wisconsin nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of May 22, 2011

47 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 222:13 PM CDTEF1Hennepin, MN13.6880148$167 million
May 222:33 PM CDTEF1Price, WI to IA, MN3.3600$4,000
May 222:33 PM CDTEF2Howard, IA to MN28.72503$775,000
May 222:38 PM CDTEF0Lafayette, MO0.340$500
May 222:40 PM CDTEF2Iowa, IA3.975$250,000
May 222:52 PM CDTEF0Anoka, MN0.230$50,000
May 222:54 PM CDTEF0Iowa, IA2.025$10,000
May 223:13 PM CDTEF0Bremer, IA0.130
May 223:16 PM CDTEF0Washington, MN2.675$50,000
May 223:25 PM CDTEF0Lafayette, MO0.150
May 223:37 PM CDTEF1Fayette, IA7.970$175,000
May 223:58 PM CDTEF0Lafayette, MO0.150$3,000
May 224:00 PM CDTEF1Barron, WI2.0300$200,000
May 224:01 PM CDTEF0Fayette, IA1.450$10,000
May 224:05 PM CDTEF2Houston, MN to WI13.8150$15 million
May 224:10 PM CDTEF0Labette, KS0.350
May 224:37 PM CDTEF1Jasper, IN0.333$25,000
May 224:50 PM CDTEF1Saline, MO3.575$230,000
May 225:15 PM CDTEF2Monroe, WI64.58001$7.7 million
May 225:34 PM CDTEF5Joplin tornado, MO21.61,6001581150$2.8 billion
May 225:39 PM CDTEF0Price, WI1.1350$1,000
May 225:52 PM CDTEF0Price, WI1.1400
May 226:01 PM CDTEF0Price, WI2.1350$5,000
May 226:10 PM CDTEF2Newton, MO14.1800$1.0 million
May 226:20 PM CDTEF0Jack, TX0.050
May 226:25 PM CDTEF1Ogle, IL29.1200$150,000
May 226:26 PM CDTEF0Price, WI0.8275
May 226:28 PM CDTEF1Ogle, IL1.7200$50,000
May 226:33 PM CDTEF2Delaware, OK6.7800$1.0 million
May 226:40 PM CDTEF1Ogle, IL0.5100$50,000
May 226:42 PM CDTEF1Wagoner, OK3.5300
May 226:52 PM CDTEF3Delaware, OK to MO17.91,5504$2.0 million
May 226:55 PM CDTEF1Winnebago, IL2.750
May 226:59 PM CDTEF1Winnebago, IL0.950$15,000
May 227:10 PM CDTEF2Stone, MO15.7200$1.1 million
May 227:27 PM CDTEF1Cherokee, OK3.0250$70,000
May 227:33 PM CDTEF0Green Lake, WI0.430$1,000
May 227:47 PM CDTEF0Green Lake, WI4.250$5,000
May 227:50 PM CDTEF0Cherokee, OK0.150
May 228:13 PM CDTEF1Delaware, OK4.7400$25,000
May 228:14 PM CDTEF2Adair, OK4.5200$250,000
May 228:29 PM CDTEF0Delaware, OK1.0100
May 228:30 PM CDTEF2Delaware, OK2.935012$400,000
May 228:36 PM CDTEF1Delaware, OK1.7150
May 228:41 PM CDTEF0Renville, ND0.125
May 228:44 PM CDTEF1Delaware, OK0.5100
May 228:54 PM CDTEF1Benton, AR2.8450$25,000

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.