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EF0 tornado in Lake County, Montana

Tornado May 9, 2023 · Lake County, Montana

EF0

Rating

0.5 mi

Path length

15 yd

Path width

$2K

Damage as recorded

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 15 yards (0.01 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

A thunderstorm moved through the Mission Valley, near St. Ignatius and produced a tornado as confirmed by multiple public reports and social media pictures. It briefly touched down and caused some minor property damage. Metal roofing was torn off a farm outbuilding, and minor shingle damage occurred at a house.

The wider storm

A modestly unstable environment led to the development of thunderstorms across western Montana. Conditions were favorable for the formation of cold air funnels and landspouts.

Began near St Ignatius Arpt (47.3610, -114.0550).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1091493. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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