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EF2 tornado in Marion County, Indiana

Tornado May 30, 2008 · Marion County, Indiana

EF2
Rating
11.6 mi
Whole path
150 yd
Path width
18
Injuries
$29.8M
Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Marion County → Hancock County → Hancock County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 150 yards (0.09 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF2 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF2 is considerable damage: roofs torn off well-built houses, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, consistent with estimated gusts of 111–135 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

Numerous structures were damaged in Marion County with the hardest hit area being an apartment complex near 38th Street and Mitthoefer Road. The tornado was associated with an embedded supercell that was overtaken by a line. Based on damage indicators, wind speeds were estimated around 125 mph. This tornado formed near 42nd Street and Post Road and tracked southeastward for 3.1 miles before exiting Marion County on North County Line Road 500 meters south of East 38th Street. The tornado continued in Hancock County. While in Marion County the tornado was rated EF-2 and while in Hancock County the tornado was rated EF-1. The tornado continued to the southeast in Hancock County for 4.0 miles. This made the entire path length 7.1 miles. The width of the tornado while in Hancock County was 100 yards and lasted from 2132 until 2136. Overall, the tornado was on the ground from 2127 until 2136. The tornado lifted in Hancock County 500 feet south of West 200 North on North 400 West. While in Hancock County the tornado damaged barns, houses, billboards, trees, and powerlines.

The wider storm

A warm front moved through through the area earlier in the day allowing for warm temperatures over central Indiana. Severe storms formed in advance of a cold front that moved through later at night. These storms contained hail and damaging thunderstorm winds. Three tornadoes also formed with these storms including one that moved through the east side of Indianapolis. Heavy rain caused flash flooding across many locations.

Began near Lawrence (39.8333, -86.0098).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

1 more tornado the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 101232. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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