EF2 tornado — Butte County, California

EF2 tornado in Butte County, California

Tornado May 25, 2011 · Butte County, California

EF2

Rating

0.2 mi

Path length

10 yd

Path width

$120K

Damage as recorded

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 10 yards (0.01 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

The third tornado in the outbreak developed approximately northwest of Oroville in Butte County at approximately 645 pm and moved northeast. It caused significant damage to a ranch property near the intersection of Table Mountain Road and Hwy 70 including the destruction of a large, well built garage and significant damage to an open barn. The rating of an EF2 was based upon the destruction of the garage, though evidence was found of the footing boards being bolted to the slab in the front portion of the structure. The estimated highest wind speed (3 second gust) based upon damage with this tornado is 120 mph. There were no injuries nor fatalities.

The wider storm

Three tornadoes moved through Glenn and Butte Counties the evening of May 25, 2011. Significant damage was caused to several structures and thousands of almond trees were destroyed.

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 299822. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

EF2 tornado in Butte County, California

What the National Weather Service wrote

The wider storm

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

Tornadoes near your address