Tornadoes · United States · Wisconsin · 2014

EF1 tornado, Clarno to Juda, Wisconsin, June 17, 2014

From Clarno to Juda, this EF1 tornado ran 6.8 miles across Green County on June 17, 2014, touching down at 4:40 AM CDT and reaching 641 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $300,000 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
June 17, 2014
Touchdown
4:40 AM CDT (09:40 UTC)
Lifted
4:48 AM CDT (09:48 UTC)
On the ground
8 minutes
Path length
6.8 miles (10.9 km)
Path width
641 yards (586 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$300,000
County
Green County
Touchdown point
42.532, -89.612
Lift-off point
42.574, -89.492
Record number
1406170340-01

The damage survey

2 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS MKX, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 70 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

A bow echo with a rotating cyclonic comma head on the north end produced one tornado and significant wind damage during the early morning hours. Other storms ahead of the bow echo also produced wind damage.

Numerous large trees uprooted and snapped. Severe damage to several barns, and sheds of various sizes destroyed. Straight line wind damage likely occurred to the right of the tornado path with tree and shed damage in various locations.

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.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 09:14 UTC and running to 10:57 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
02:25 UTC06:23 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WatchMKX
04:21 UTC05:15 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKX
05:05 UTC05:45 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKX
09:14 UTC10:57 UTCTornado WatchMKX
09:33 UTC10:15 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKX
02:00 UTC20:59 UTCFlash Flood WatchMKX
03:15 UTC09:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WatchMKX

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 06:05 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.

Davenport, (KDVN), 00:00Z

9.7 hours before the tornado, 130 km from the path. June 17, 2014.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Davenport, at 00:00Z on 2014-06-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 2074 joules per kilogram, CIN -15, lifted condensation level 1135 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, Davenport, at 00:00Z on 2014-06-17The 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 78 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 45 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
2074 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-15 J/kg
Surface CAPE
2990 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1135 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
45 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
16 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
78 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
122 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.8
Supercell composite
5.2
0-3 km lapse rate
7.0 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Davenport, (KDVN), 12:00Z

2.3 hours after it, 130 km from the path. June 17, 2014.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Davenport, at 12:00Z on 2014-06-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 0 joules per kilogram, CIN -85581, lifted condensation level 1253 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Davenport, at 12:00Z on 2014-06-17The 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 -222 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 50 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-85581 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1253 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
50 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
28 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-222 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-87 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
4.2 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Monroe (EFT), 8 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
07:55 UTC66.264.4180° 9 kt1008.8VCTS
08:15 UTC66.264.4170° 10 kt1008.5
08:35 UTC66.264.4180° 9 kt1008.1
08:55 UTC6866.2230° 22 kt281008.5-TSRA
09:15 UTC6866.2320° 9 kt1008.5-TSRA
09:35 UTC6866.2310° 6 kt1008.5VCTSRA
09:55 UTC66.264.4280° 23 kt381009.8+TSRA
10:15 UTC64.464.4310° 15 kt211008.8-TSRA
10:35 UTC64.462.6360° 4 kt191006.1-RA
10:55 UTC64.462.6180° 13 kt211008.8
11:15 UTC64.462.6200° 15 kt1009.5
11:35 UTC64.462.6210° 19 kt241010.5

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

The radar

The Milwaukee radar (KMKX), 94 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 09:38 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)ReportWhereCountyRemark
09:40 UTCTORNADO 14 Se MonroeGreen, WITORNADO RATED EF-1 TOUCHED DOWN 2.1 MILES ENE OF CLARNO AND LIFTED ONE HALF MILE SOUTHEAST OF JUDA AT 448 AM CDT. PATH LENGTH OF 6.8 MILES WITH AN ESTIMATED PATH WIDTH OF 640 YARDS. NUMEROUS LARGE TREES UPROOTED AND SNAP
09:43 UTCTSTM WND DMGMonroeGreen, WI39 LARGE 50 YEAR OLD TREES LOST. SOME POWER LINES DOWN.
10:00 UTCTSTM WND DMGJudaGreen, WINUMEROUS LARGE TREES TREE LIMBS, AND POWER LINES DOWN THROUGHOUT TOWN. SOME STREETS IMPASSABLE. WIND SPEED ESTIMATED AT 60 MPH.
10:15 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 Nw JanesvilleRock, WILARGE TREE DOWN...ESTIMATED 2 FEET IN DIAMETER...SNAPPED ABOUT 8 FEET OFF THE GROUND.
10:15 UTCTSTM WND DMGOrfordvilleRock, WITREES DOWN FROM ORFORDVILLE TO FOOTVILLE TO HWY 14 AND RIVER ROAD. ASSOCIATED WITH COMMA HEAD PART OF THUNDERSTORM COMPLEX.
10:30 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 Ne MiltonRock, WIBARN BLOWN DOWN DUE TO WIND IN NORTHEAST ROCK COUNTY. ASSOCIATED WITH COMMA HEAD PORTION OF THUNDERSTORM COMPLEX.
10:55 UTCHEAVY RAIN 3.54BeloitRock, WI24 HOUR TOTAL ENDING AT 7 AM
10:55 UTCHEAVY RAIN 3.54BeloitRock, WI
11:01 UTCTSTM WND DMG5 Ne MiltonRock, WIBARN LEVELED
12:26 UTCHEAVY RAIN 1.14AftonRock, WI24 HOUR TOTAL

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2014 tornado in WisconsinEvery tornado in Wisconsin since 1950Warnings in force in Wisconsin nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of June 17, 2014

19 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 1711:57 AM EDTEF1Iosco, MI1.6100$140,000
June 172:27 PM MDTEF3Carter, MT10.0880
June 173:54 PM MDTEF0Garfield, MT0.115
June 174:40 PM MDTEF0Cherry, NE0.240
June 174:40 PM MDTEF0Cherry, NE0.440
June 175:28 PM MDTEF0Cherry, NE0.740$60,000
June 176:00 PM MDTEF0Cherry, NE0.740$10,000
June 177:57 PM CDTEF1Cedar, NE3.9630$10,000
June 178:09 PM CDTEF3Cedar, NE4.02,059$2.0 million
June 177:39 PM MDTEF0Cherry, NE0.220
June 1710:03 PM EDTEF1Oneida, NY11.0250
June 178:07 PM MDTEF0Hooker, NE1.740
June 179:10 PM CDTEF0Cedar, NE1.3100
June 179:10 PM CDTEF1Cedar, NE3.4850$25,000
June 179:28 PM CDTEF2Cedar, NE0.9200$50,000
June 179:45 PM CDTEF2Cedar, NE5.3850$250,000
June 1710:44 PM CDTEF2Minnehaha, SD3.4400$100,000
June 1710:45 PM CDTEF1Dixon, NE2.5100$20,000
June 1711:27 PM CDTEF0Lyon, IA0.350

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.