F3 tornado in Adair County, Iowa
Tornado April 14, 1994 · Adair County, Iowa
F3
Rating
14.0 mi
Path length
130 yd
Path width
$500K
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated
The path drawn at its surveyed width of 130 yards (0.07 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.
What F3 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F3 meant severe damage: whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned; the scale paired it with winds of 158–206 mph, figures later judged too high, especially toward the top of the scale, and revised downward in the Enhanced Fujita scale. Ratings then, as now, came from the damage.
What the National Weather Service wrote
Mostly F1 and F2 Damage.
Began near Bridgewater To 4 N Gr (41.2700, -94.7000).
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 10321973. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.
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