EF1 tornado in Richland County, North Dakota

Tornado August 21, 2025 · Richland County, North Dakota

EF1

Rating

1.8 mi

Path length

30 yd

Path width

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 30 yards (0.02 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

This slow moving tornado started in a marshy low lying field and tracked east then northeast encountering a grove of trees. Here the tornado snapped off many tree trunks and continued to the northeast with scouring occurring in the corn field. It encountered another grove of trees snapping more large branches and tree trunks before lifting near 101st Street SE. Drone footage shared by emergency management was used for the survey. Max wind speed is estimated at 100 mph.

The wider storm

A supercell developed in far southern Richland County near the South Dakota border, producing an EF-1 tornado.

Began near La Mars (45.9401, -96.7700).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1282446. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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