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EF1 tornado in Butte County, California

Tornado December 19, 2023 · Butte County, California

EF1

Rating

0.4 mi

Path length

90 yd

Path width

$17K

Damage as recorded

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 90 yards (0.05 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

National Weather Service Meteorologists surveyed storm damage in Oroville, and analyzed radar and video evidence. It was determined that an EF-1 tornado, associated with a line of thunderstorms, moved through for about 2 minutes before lifting, resulting in tree and minor structure damage.

The wider storm

A wet system brought periods of moderate to heavy rain with scattered thunderstorms. Lines of stronger thunderstorms brought local road flooding to portions of interior Northern California. There was also a confirmed EF-1 tornado touchdown in the Oroville area, with minor damage. Snow levels were high, with impacts limited to minor travel delays for Sierra pass levels.

Began near (cic)chico Muni Arpt (39.8043, -121.8366).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1153731. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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