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EF0 tornado in Otter Tail County, Minnesota

Tornado May 12, 2022 · Otter Tail County, Minnesota

EF0
Rating
0.9 mi
Path length
50 yd
Path width
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 50 yards (0.03 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF0 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF0 is light damage: shingles and siding peeled, gutters torn, branches broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 65–85 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

This tornado began about 3 miles north northeast of Clitherall, MN as a waterspout on West Mason Lake and lasted for about a minute. The area showed several large 6-10 inch diameter tree branches broken along the north shore. Peak winds were estimated at 85 mph, giving this tornado an EF0 rating, with a path length of 1 mile.

The wider storm

A strong cold front and upper low traversed the area during the afternoon and evening of May 12th. During the afternoon, a larger scale Derecho moved from northeastern Nebraska, through eastern South Dakota and into portions of far southeastern North Dakota and west-central Minnesota. Widespread strong to severe thunderstorms were observed, with large hail, tornadoes, and damaging wind gusts all being reported during this time.

Began near Clitherall (46.3123, -95.5963).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

4 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

EF2 Wilkin CountyEF2 Todd CountyEF1 Grant CountyEF1 Otter Tail County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1032370. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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