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EF2 tornado in Bartholomew County, Indiana

Tornado March 19, 2025 · Bartholomew County, Indiana

EF2
Rating
13.6 mi
Path length
350 yd
Path width
$1.6M
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 350 yards (0.20 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 produced nearly continuous, yet mainly EF1-intensity damage across its relatively long track from about one mile west-southwest of the Rosstown community to about one mile south-southeast of Newbern. Beginning just east of Interstate 65, damage occurred on the northwest side of both the Rosstown and Waynesville communities, and then about 2-3 miles west and north of the Elizabethtown area, which included two areas of more intense damage consistent with low end EF2 winds: walls and roofs collapsed on well built metal farm buildings, with debris lofted and thrown a quarter to one half mile to the north and northeast at both locations. Elsewhere, most county roads within the circulation's path had several utility poles broken, as well as small metal high transmission towers (not heavier steel structures) twisted and bent down. This damage was EF1-rated given adjacent wooden double poles (H-frame) that had no damage. Maximum winds were estimated at 112 mph.

The wider storm

A low pressure system brought thunderstorms to central Indiana during the evening of March 19. The storms produced an EF-2 tornado to Bartholomew County along with wind damage and large hail to much of central Indiana.

Began near Columbus Arpt (39.1056, -85.9460).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1245326. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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