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EF1 tornado in Otter Tail County, Minnesota

Tornado May 30, 2022 · Otter Tail County, Minnesota

EF1

Rating

5.4 mi

Path length

300 yd

Path width

$150K

Damage as recorded

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 300 yards (0.17 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF1 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF1 is moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 86–110 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 was wrapped in damaging downburst winds and rain as it rapidly tracked to the north northeast, into and across Big Pine Lake. Numerous poplar, ash, spruce, and pine trees were snapped or uprooted. One garage had an overhead door blown in and the back wall blown out, though the roof remained intact. Peak wind estimated to 100 mph. Time estimated based on radar.

The wider storm

A potent low-pressure system impacted the region during the afternoon and evening hours of May 30th. A larger scale Derecho tracked from far southeastern South Dakota, through much of western through northcentral Minnesota. Widespread damage was reported from damaging winds, and tornadoes. Hail up to 1.5 inches was reported as well.

Began near Perham (46.5795, -95.5402).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF2 Grant County EF2 Grant County EF2 Todd County EF1 Otter Tail County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1034156. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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