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EF0 tornado in Lincoln County, Washington

Tornado June 6, 2009 · Lincoln County, Washington

EF0
Rating
1.7 mi
Path length
20 yd
Path width
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 20 yards (0.01 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF0 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF0 is light damage: shingles and siding peeled, gutters torn, branches broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 65–85 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

An EF0 tornado formed two miles south of Highway 2 between Wilbur and Creston. This tornado tracked west before dissipating. This was one of four tornadoes that occurred within a 25 minute period in the area.

The wider storm

The combination of an unstable atmosphere and converging wind boundaries over Lincoln County spawned four tornadoes, as well as large hail and flash flooding. This activity spread into northern Whitman County as well. The tornadoes were observed in a 25 minute period between Wilbur and Creston near Highway 2. All four tornadoes were non-supercell tornadoes and rated EF0. All four tornadoes remained over wheat fields and thus resulted in no property damage. Meanwhile, a severe thunderstorm produced quarter sized hail three miles west-southwest of Sprague. Heavy rain also fell with the storms over Lincoln and northern Whitman County. On Highway 23, about five miles northwest of Sprague, water covered portions of the highway between mile posts 48 and 53. In northern Whitman County, mud and debris washed onto roads near Ewen, Colfax, and St. John.

Began near Creston (47.7204, -118.5727).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 164254. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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