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EF1 tornado in Umatilla County, Oregon

Tornado May 6, 2009 · Umatilla County, Oregon

EF1

Rating

1.6 mi

Path length

40 yd

Path width

$50K

Damage as recorded

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 40 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

Storm observed by farm workers at Ruggs Ranch. One hundred foot section of workshop metal roof torn off and carried up to 1/2 mile. Fifty-gallon drums thrown up to 1/4 mile. Trees uprooted and limbs down. Wooden plank driven through metal building.

The wider storm

An upper level trough combined with an approaching cold front and daytime heating produced severe thunderstorms. A brief tornado was observed near Adams in Umatilla County also near Wallowa in Wallowa County.

Began near Cayuse (45.7202, -118.5161).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF0 Wallowa County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 162727. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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