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EF2 tornado in Elbert County, Colorado

Tornado May 18, 2025 · Elbert County, Colorado

EF2
Rating
0.9 mi
Path length
50 yd
Path width
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 50 yards (0.03 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

Quick moving and rain wrapped tornado swept through Elk Horn Ranch in extreme northern Elbert County before moving into Arapahoe County and lifting. Numerous homes were damaged.

The wider storm

Four tornadoes occurred just to the south and east of metro Denver in the early afternoon of Sunday, May 18th.

The first tornado that produced damage in northwest Elbert County was an uncharacteristically strong landspout, as well as the last tornado that occurred northeast of Bennett. The other two tornadoes were more strongly associated with a parent thunderstorm, known as a supercell.

The first is for the initial tornado, rated EF2, in and near the Elkhorn neighborhood of extreme northwest Elbert County, Colorado. The second is an EF1 that occurred south

of Manila Village. The third and fourth tornadoes were both ranked EF2. These tornadoes tracked just to the west and north of Bennett, Colorado. They were two separate tornadoes, and were both on the ground at the same time between 140 pm and 146 pm.

Began near Elizabeth (39.5584, -104.6226).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

3 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

EF2 Arapahoe CountyEF2 Adams CountyEF1 Arapahoe County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1298717. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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