EF2 tornado in Stafford County, Kansas

Tornado June 15, 2009 · Stafford County, Kansas

EF2

Rating

11.6 mi

Whole path

1,400 yd

Path width

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Edwards County → Stafford County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 1,400 yards (0.80 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

This was a multiple vortex tornado that moved out of Edwards county at 609 PM CDT. It did high end EF2 damage to trees, crops, pivot irrigation sprinklers and a barn.

The wider storm

Severe thunderstorms broke out in the afternoon heat and became quite intense by evening producing large hail, high winds and tornadoes.

Began near Macksville Smith Arp (37.9143, -99.0221).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF1 Ford County EF1 Edwards County EF1 Stafford County EF1 Edwards County EF0 Ford County EF0 Edwards County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 186175. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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