Tornadoes · United States · Wisconsin · 2012

EF0 tornado, Luck, Wisconsin, May 27, 2012

Name: EF0 tornado, Luck, Wisconsin, May 27, 2012
Start: 2012-05-28T01:13:00.000Z
End: 2012-05-28T01:15:00.000Z
Location: Luck, Wisconsin

This EF0 tornado ran 0.2 miles across Polk County on May 27, 2012, touching down at 8:13 PM CDT and reaching 25 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 27, 2012
Touchdown: 8:13 PM CDT (01:13 UTC)
Lifted: 8:15 PM CDT (01:15 UTC)
On the ground: 2 minutes
Path length: 0.2 miles (0.3 km)
Path width: 25 yards (23 m)
Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
County: Polk County
Touchdown point: 45.592, -92.460
Lift-off point: 45.594, -92.456
Record number: 1205271913-01

What the Weather Service recorded

Bands of thunderstorms developed during the evening of Sunday, May 27th, across portions of southwest, and east central Minnesota. The storms that moved from east central Minnesota, northeast into west central Wisconsin, became severe, along with several rounds of the storms in Polk County. This caused flash flooding in the county, along with rainfall amounts as high as 2 to 4 inches in less than 3 hours. In addition, two separate storms caused a few trees to blow down near Frederic and Clam Falls. One brief weak tornado touched down northeast of Luck.

A tornado occasionally touched down during a two minute span filmed by a storm chaser. It appeared to be rather weak. The tornado touched down in a marsh area and caused no damage.

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

The warnings

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down. One was issued for the county at another hour that day.

The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 23:10 UTC and running to 06:00 UTC.

Issued (UTC)	Expired	Product	Office
22:00 UTC	10:23 UTC	Flash Flood Watch	MPX
23:10 UTC	06:00 UTC	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	MPX
23:11 UTC	00:00 UTC	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX
00:09 UTC	03:00 UTC	Flood Advisory	MPX
00:18 UTC	00:45 UTC	Tornado Warning	MPX
00:55 UTC	06:00 UTC	Flash Flood Warning	MPX
05:58 UTC	12:00 UTC	Flood Warning	MPX
19:10 UTC	23:57 UTC	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	MPX

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 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 00:58 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 Twin Cities, MN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at May 27, 6:50 PM CDT, 1 hour 23 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 27, 6:50 PM CDT, 1 hour 23 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED FOR 00Z TAFS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
650 PM CDT SUN MAY 27 2012

.DISCUSSION...ISSUED 247 PM CDT

MAIN SHORT TERM CONCERNS DEAL WITH SVR WX LATER THIS AFTN/EVENING
AS A SLOW MOVING COLD FRONT AND ASSOCIATED MID-LEVEL SHRTWV WILL
COMBINE TO CREATE STRONG TO SVR TSRA ACROSS MOST OF THE FA. TIMING
REMAINS PROBLEMATIC DUE TO A FAIRLY STRONG CAP IN PLACE...BUT THIS
SHOULD QUICKLY ERODE ONCE THE SHRTWV MOVES TO THE NE AND MID-LEVEL
COOLING DEVELOPS THIS EVENING. SEE LATEST SPC FOR MORE
INFORMATION.

BASED ON SVR WX PARAMETERS...THE MAIN THREAT WILL BE INITIALLY
LARGE HAIL...THEN TRANSITION INTO A STRAIGHT LINE WND EVENT.
HOWEVER...NEAR THE WARM FRONT ACROSS CENTRAL MN...ISOLATED
TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE...MAINLY BEFORE 8 PM. RESIDUAL SHRA/TSRA
WILL BE POSSIBLE EARLY MONDAY AS THE FRONT MOVES INTO EASTERN WI.
THE MAIN UPPER STORM SYSTEM ASSOCIATED WITH THE SVR WX ANTICIPATED
THIS EVENING WILL TRACK ALONG THE MN/CANADIAN BORDER. IN THE WAVE
OF THE CYCLONIC FLOW ARND THIS SYSTEM...-SHRA AND BELOW NORMAL
TEMPS ARE EXPECTED THRU TUE.

AFT TUE...A FAST MOVING STORM SYSTEM WILL TRACK ACROSS THE
NORTHERN ROCKIES...AND INTO THE MIDWEST. MODELS SEEM TO INDICATE
AN INVERTED TROUGH TYPE ENVIRONMENT ACROSS THE UPPER MIDWEST WHICH
WILL LIMITED SVR WX...BUT KEEP CONDS UNSETTLED AND COOLER THAN
NORMAL. IN THE WAVE OF THIS SYSTEM...EXPECT A WARM-UP BY THE END
OF THE WEEK...ALONG ANOTHER CHC OF TSRA/SHRA.

&&

.AVIATION.../00Z TAF ISSUANCE/
CONVECTION BEGINNING TO LIGHT UP ACROSS E NEB INTO SW MN AND NW WI
IN AREA OF VERY UNSTABLE AIRMASS AHD OF SFC CDFNT NOW MOVING INTO W
MN. SFC WNDS HAVE TURNED WLY AT AQP/MML AND PQN.  MAIN SVR THREAT
WILL BE EAST OF THESE AREAS.  SFC LOW IS NEAR FAR WITH WARMFNT
EXTENDING SE FROM LOW TO NEAR PKD TO HYR. EXPECT TSTMS TO CONTINUE
TO BECOME MORE WDSPRD THIS EVENING AS BETTER UPPER LEVEL DYNAMICS
MOVE INTO AREA.  WEAK VORT MOVING NNE IN MOIST PLUME IS NOW IN NW IA
HELPING TO FIRE STORMS IN SC MN INTO NW WI.  MAINLY UPPER TROF IS
NOW SWINING ACRS CNTL INTO E NEB/KS FIRING STORMS IN SW MN INTO E
NEB WHICH WILL BE LIFTING NE ACRS AREA LATER THIS EVENING/OVERNIGHT.
THREAT OF TSTMS SLIGHT AT AXN AND EAU NEXT 8 HOURS...BUT GOOD AT
REMAINDER OF TAFS.  TSTMS WILL BE ENDING FROM SW TO NE LATE TONIGHT.
WLY WINDS BECOMING GUSTY TO 20-25KTS ON MONDAY BEHIND CDFNT.

KMSP...TSTMS WILL BECOME MORE WDSPRD AFT 02Z AS CONVECTION IN NEB/SW
MN LIFTS ACRS AREA.  EXPECT PRDS MVFR/IFR IN HEAVIER STORMS.  DCAPE
VALUES HIGH ENUF FOR SOME TSTMS TO PRODUCE POTENTIALLY STRONG WINDS
BEFORE 06Z.  MAIN AREA OF TSTMS SHUD BE NE OF MSP BY 08Z.  WLY WIDNS
GUSTING TO 20 KTS AFT 17Z.  VFR CU WILL DEVELOP BY 18Z...MAINLY SCT
BUT OCNL BKN040.

/OUTLOOK/
TUESDAY...MVFR/VFR. WINDS NW AT 15G25KT
WEDNESDAY...VFR. WINDS LIGHT AND VARIABLE.

&&

.MPX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MN...FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH MONDAY MORNING FOR ANOKA-BENTON-BLUE
     EARTH-BROWN-CARVER-CHISAGO-DAKOTA-HENNEPIN-ISANTI-KANABEC-
     KANDIYOHI-LE SUEUR-MARTIN-MCLEOD-MEEKER-MILLE LACS-MORRISON-
     NICOLLET-RAMSEY-REDWOOD-RENVILLE-SCOTT-SHERBURNE-SIBLEY-
     STEARNS-WASHINGTON-WATONWAN-WRIGHT.

WI...FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH MONDAY MORNING FOR POLK.

&&

JLT/BAP

Hazardous weather outlook, May 27, 11:06 AM CDT, 9 hours 7 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
1106 AM CDT SUN MAY 27 2012

MNZ041>045-047>070-073>078-082>085-091>093-WIZ014>016-023>028-
280945-
DOUGLAS-TODD-MORRISON-MILLE LACS-KANABEC-STEVENS-POPE-STEARNS-
BENTON-SHERBURNE-ISANTI-CHISAGO-LAC QUI PARLE-SWIFT-CHIPPEWA-
KANDIYOHI-MEEKER-WRIGHT-HENNEPIN-ANOKA-RAMSEY-WASHINGTON-
YELLOW MEDICINE-RENVILLE-MCLEOD-SIBLEY-CARVER-SCOTT-DAKOTA-
REDWOOD-BROWN-NICOLLET-LE SUEUR-RICE-GOODHUE-WATONWAN-BLUE EARTH-
WASECA-STEELE-MARTIN-FARIBAULT-FREEBORN-POLK-BARRON-RUSK-
ST. CROIX-PIERCE-DUNN-PEPIN-EAU CLAIRE-
1106 AM CDT SUN MAY 27 2012

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND
SOUTHERN MINNESOTA... AND WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

IT WILL BE HOT AND HUMID OVER MUCH OF THE REGION THIS AFTERNOON WITH
TEMPERATURES WARMING INTO THE UPPER 80S TO MIDDLE 90S. THE HEAT
INDEX WILL APPROACH NEAR 100 DEGREES OVER EASTERN AND SOUTHERN
MINNESOTA AS WELL AS WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN. TAKE EXTRA PRECAUTIONS
TODAY IF YOU WORK OR SPEND EXTENSIVE TIME OUTSIDE.

IN ADDITION...THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS
WESTERN MINNESOTA AS A COLD FRONT PUSHES IN FROM THE DAKOTAS.
LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS ARE POSSIBLE... AS WELL AS A FEW
TORNADOES. THE STORMS MAY PRODUCE HEAVY RAIN AND CAUSE FLASH
FLOODING TONIGHT AS THEY PASS ACROSS CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN
MINNESOTA AND FAR WESTERN WISCONSIN. FLOODING MAY ALSO DEVELOP
ALONG THE ALREADY SWOLLEN RIVERS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

A FEW NON SEVERE STORMS ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS EASTERN MINNESOTA AND
WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN ON MONDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 27, 7:39 PM CDT, 34 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
739 PM CDT SUN MAY 27 2012

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

0737 PM     HAIL             N FREDERIC              45.66N 92.46W
05/27/2012  M0.75 INCH       POLK               WI   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

L. SCHALLER

Special weather statement, May 27, 7:39 PM CDT, 34 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
739 PM CDT SUN MAY 27 2012

MNZ061>063-280130-
ANOKA-RAMSEY-WASHINGTON-
739 PM CDT SUN MAY 27 2012

AT 735 PM CDT...WEATHER SERVICE RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG
THUNDERSTORM NEAR ST PAUL...OR NEAR LILYDALE. THIS STORM WAS MOVING
NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH.

HAIL UP TO DIME SIZE AND WINDS UP TO 50 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS
STORM.

* LOCATIONS IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...
  ROSEVILLE.
  LITTLE CANADA.
  VADNAIS HEIGHTS.
  NORTH OAKS.
  CENTERVILLE.
  HUGO.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE AREA.

&&

LAT...LON 4525 9279 4490 9295 4491 9304 4492 9305
      4492 9320 4504 9321 4504 9327 4532 9316
TIME...MOT...LOC 0039Z 203DEG 32KT 4498 9313

JLT

Local storm report, May 27, 7:40 PM CDT, 33 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
740 PM CDT SUN MAY 27 2012

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

0700 PM     HAIL             2 NW LE CENTER          44.41N 93.77W
05/27/2012  M1.00 INCH       LE SUEUR           MN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            SMALL BRANCHES ALSO DOWN. WIND DRIVEN HAIL BROKE WINDOW.

&&

TDK

Local storm report, May 27, 8:03 PM CDT, 10 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
803 PM CDT SUN MAY 27 2012

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

0801 PM     HAIL             BELLE PLAINE            44.62N 93.76W
05/27/2012  E0.25 INCH       SCOTT              MN   AMATEUR RADIO

&&

L. SCHALLER

Local storm report, May 27, 8:04 PM CDT, 9 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
804 PM CDT SUN MAY 27 2012

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

0801 PM     HAIL             BLOOMINGTON             44.83N 93.32W
05/27/2012  M0.25 INCH       HENNEPIN           MN   AMATEUR RADIO

&&

L. SCHALLER

Local storm report, May 27, 8:11 PM CDT, 2 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
811 PM CDT SUN MAY 27 2012

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

0804 PM     HAIL             SHOREVIEW               45.08N 93.14W
05/27/2012  M0.50 INCH       RAMSEY             MN   AMATEUR RADIO

&&

L. SCHALLER

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.

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), 00:00Z

1.2 hours before the tornado, 122 km from the path. May 28, 2012.

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: 1850 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -25 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 3489 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1669 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 34 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 17 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 79 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 285 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.7
Supercell composite: 17.0
0-3 km lapse rate: 7.9 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), 12:00Z

10.8 hours after it, 122 km from the path. May 28, 2012.

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: 60 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -27 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 166 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 553 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 69 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 9 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 92 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 144 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.1
0-3 km lapse rate: 5.0 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Siren (RZN), 26 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)	Temp (°F)	Dew point (°F)	Wind	Gust (kt)	Pressure (mb)	Weather
23:15 UTC	86	69.8	190° 9 kt	17	1004.1
23:55 UTC	73.4	71.6	210° 6 kt		1004.1	-RA
00:35 UTC	71.6	68	230° 22 kt	28	1005.1	RA
00:55 UTC	68	64.4	200° 14 kt	22	1005.1	RA
01:15 UTC	68	64.4	220° 12 kt		1005.4	+RA
01:35 UTC	69.8	62.6	160° 8 kt		1004.4	RA
01:55 UTC	68	64.4	110° 6 kt		1003.4	+RA
02:15 UTC	69.8	64.4	110° 5 kt		1003	-RA
02:35 UTC	69.8	66.2	130° 3 kt		1003
02:55 UTC	68	66.2	50° 6 kt		1004.1	-RA

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

The radar

The Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 120 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 01:12 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
23:38 UTC	HAIL 0.5	Siren	Burnett, WI
23:45 UTC	HAIL 1	Siren	Burnett, WI
23:54 UTC	HAIL 0.75	3 Ese Webster	Burnett, WI
00:30 UTC	HEAVY RAIN 4.41	1 Nne Frederic	Polk, WI	D6850 APRSWXNET...24 HOUR PRECIP ENDING AT 00 UTC.
00:37 UTC	HAIL 0.75	N Frederic	Polk, WI
01:14 UTC	TSTM WND GST 55	4 S Grantsburg	Burnett, WI
04:00 UTC	FLASH FLOOD	Clam Falls	Polk, WI	NUMEROUS SIDE STREETS UNDER WATER.
04:00 UTC	FLASH FLOOD	Frederic	Polk, WI	NUMEROUS SIDE STREETS UNDER WATER.
04:00 UTC	FLASH FLOOD	Lewis	Polk, WI	NUMEROUS SIDE STREETS UNDER WATER.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the track Every 2012 tornado in Wisconsin Every tornado in Wisconsin since 1950 Warnings in force in Wisconsin now The forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of May 27, 2012

4 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)
May 27	5:06 PM CDT	EF0	Boone, NE	1.4	75
May 27	5:23 PM CDT	EF0	Greeley, NE	0.1	15
May 27	6:05 PM CDT	EF0	Boone, NE	1.7	55
May 27	6:30 PM CDT	EF0	Madison, NE	1.8	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.