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EF2 tornado in Knox County, Missouri

Tornado August 4, 2023 · Knox County, Missouri

EF2
Rating
1.6 mi
Path length
450 yd
Path width
2
Injuries
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 450 yards (0.26 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

The tornado began on the southeast side of town just southeast of the Highway K and Dairy Avenue intersection. The tornado quickly strengthened as it moved northwest producing EF2 damage southwest of the intersection. A farm outbuilding was completely destroyed, several grain bins were thrown 1/4 to 1/2 mile downwind, and a home was heavily damaged with the roof and several walls removed. The tornado then crossed Highway K and the railroad tracks and moved through the center of the town of Baring. In Baring, 6-7 businesses and 62 homes were damaged. Notable was the post office which was heavily damaged with the removal of the roof and several walls. The tornado then exited town tracking to the northwest producing damage to a farm outbuilding on the east side of Highway 15 and damage to trees on the west side of the highway. The tornado dissipated shortly thereafter. Overall the tornado was rated EF2 with a path length of 1.64 miles. The max path width was 450 yards. Two people sustained minor injuries and no deaths were reported.

The wider storm

An MCV moved through northern sections of Missouri during the evening of August 4th into the early morning hours of August 5th. Widespread showers and storms developed. Some of the storms became severe. There were some damaging winds reported as well as two tornadoes. One tornado moved through Baring, MO with most of the town sustaining some kind of damage. Also, two people sustained minor injuries. Another tornado developed in Adams County in Illinois near Marcelline.

Began near Baring (40.2408, -92.1957).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1146024. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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