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EF1 tornado in Sedgwick County, Kansas

Tornado April 26, 2009 · Sedgwick County, Kansas

EF1
Rating
3.1 mi
Path length
75 yd
Path width
2
Injuries
$85K
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 75 yards (0.04 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

The tornado moved southwest to northeast across the Lake Afton area, inflicting moderate damage to a residence. Two people were injured when their camper rolled at Lake Afton.

The wider storm

A slow moving frontal boundary in conjunction with rich low-level moisture and various upper level disturbances resulted in numerous rounds of heavy showers and thunderstorms from the afternoon of the 25th into the evening hours of the 27th across portions of central, south-central and southeast Kansas. These storms at times produced the full gamut of severe weather, including large hail, damaging winds, tornadoes and flooding. Portions of Marion, Harvey, Butler, Sedgwick and McPherson counties were especially affected by straight-line damaging winds, as a pair or bow echoes surged east to northeast across the area, inflicting damage to numerous barns, outbuildings and some other structures, uprooting trees and downing power poles. Additionally, a handful of relatively weak, short-lived tornadoes skipped across portions of Sumner, Cowley, Butler, Marion and Sedgwick counties during the afternoon and evening hours on the 25th and 26th. A tornado near Lake Afton in southwest Sedgwick county inflicted moderate damage to a residence, and also injured two people. Furthermore, heavy thunderstorms training over the same areas produced widespread areal flooding, river flooding and flash flooding across mainly south-central, east-central and southeast Kansas. Numerous rural and city roads were flooded and subsequently closed due to high water. Various water rescues were needed for stranded motorists, as well as homeowners threatened by flood waters. Numerous homes and businesses were flooded, along with the Cowley County Fairgrounds. Sadly, three flooding deaths occurred, one in Greenwood county and two in Labette county. Some injuries occurred as well.

Began near Garden Plain (37.5832, -97.6463).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 156589. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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