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EF2 tornado in Wadena County, Minnesota

Tornado May 12, 2022 · Wadena County, Minnesota

EF2
Rating
18.2 mi
Whole path
500 yd
Path width

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

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 500 yards (0.28 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

This tornado crossed from far northwest Todd County around 7:52 pm, about 2.5 miles southwest of Verndale, MN. It tracked to the north until 8:11 pm where it lifted 5.5 miles east southeast of Sebeka, MN. It caused extreme damage which included numerous snapped power poles and numerous trees which were snapped or uprooted. Extensive damage was noted to farm buildings which had steel roofing and sidewall panels torn off, and turnkey barns and other industrial buildings lost roofing material. Peak winds estimated to 115 mph, with a maximum width of 500 yards.

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 Verndale (46.3688, -95.0426).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1032497. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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