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EF2 tornado in Brown County, Kansas

Tornado May 12, 2023 · Brown County, Kansas

EF2

Rating

1.5 mi

Path length

500 yd

Path width

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

A tornado touched down north of Hamlin and moves north-northeast producing some tree damage and overturning a center pivot before hitting a homestead. Outbuildings were completely destroyed with winds estimated to be 112 mph. The home sustained damage to the siding and roof with the windows broken out. The tornado dissipated after hitting the homestead.

The wider storm

A cluster of thunderstorms developed along a dryline and moved slowly across parts of northeast Kansas during the late afternoon and evening of May 12th. At least 5 tornadoes were documented from these storms. A couple of the tornadoes did produce damage to structures in Jackson and Brown Counties.

Began near Hamlin (39.9400, -95.6300).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF1 Jackson County EF0 Brown County EFU Jackson County EFU Jackson County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1087048. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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