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EF1 tornado in Larimer County, Colorado

Tornado May 22, 2008 · Larimer County, Colorado

EF1
Rating
38.7 mi
Whole path
500 yd
Path width
1
Death
78
Injuries
$147.0M
Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Weld County → Larimer County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

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 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

A powerful tornado continued into Larimer County. A barn and two out buildings were destroyed near Timnath. A center pivot was overturned and a parked car was swept around the corner of a house and rolled over. The tornado finally lifted 6 miles west-northwest of Wellington.

The wider storm

A powerful tornado swept north-northwestward across Weld County, carving a path of destruction, nearly 39 miles in length. The tornado, up to one-mile wide at times, initially touched down northeast of Platteville and finally lifted 6 miles west-northwest of Wellington. A tornado assessment in the aftermath of the tornado revealed extensive areas of damage. On the enhanced Fujita Scale there were pockets of EF3 damage, mainly near the Missile Silo Park Campground, and to businesses and home in eastern Windsor. Farmers also reported extensive damage to crops and irrigation equipment.

There was one fatality, and 78 injuries ranging from broken bones to minor cuts and lacerations. One man was killed when he tried to escape a trailer park in his motor home. Tractor trailers were flipped along U.S. Highway 85, and over 200 power poles were snapped or blown down. Approximately 60,000 people were left without electricity. The tornado overturned 15 railroad cars and destroyed a lumber car on the Great Western Railway of Colorado. The tornado also flattened Windsor's main feedlot and destroyed a dairy barn. Most of the four-hundred cows were killed in the tornado or destroyed later. In addition to the damaging winds, the thunderstorm also produced hail up to the size of baseballs.

Another tornado rated an EF1, from a separate severe thunderstorm, briefly touched down near Dacono and destroyed 5 buildings. The tornado overturned a five-wheel trailer and injured the man who was sitting inside.

Preliminary estimates from FEMA indicated 850 homes were damaged, and nearly 300 homes were significantly damaged or destroyed. The Poudre Valley Rural Electric Association reported $1 million of damage to electric transmission lines. Privately insured damages totaled $147 million, making it the state's 4th costliest disaster.

Began near Timnath (40.5500, -104.9500).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

1 more tornado the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 126020. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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