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EF3 tornado in Lawrence County, Indiana

Tornado May 25, 2011 · Lawrence County, Indiana

EF3

Rating

6.8 mi

Path length

300 yd

Path width

$150K

Damage as recorded

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 300 yards (0.17 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF3 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF3 is severe damage: whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, consistent with estimated gusts of 136–165 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

National Weather Service storm survey teams determined an EF-3 tornado struck near Bedford, damaging or destroying several buildings in a 6.8 mile long swath up to a quarter mile wide.

The wider storm

The approach of a strong low pressure system from the west set the stage for a significant severe weather outbreak across central Indiana on May 25th. Eight tornadoes touched down in central Indiana, with an additional one moving into the area from southern Indiana. In addition, widespread wind damage and large hail impacted the area. Straight line winds to over 70 mph impacted the area as well, knocking down trees, power lines, as well as damaging structures and blowing over trucks. Straight line wind damage was noted near the tornado paths as well. Hail into the 3 to 4 inch range fell from some of the storms, causing damage. The large hail stones were also blown into structures by the strong straight line winds, causing additional damage.

Began near Erie (38.8597, -86.3642).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF2 Lawrence County EF1 Decatur County EF1 Decatur County EF1 Vigo County EF1 Parke County EF1 Monroe County EF0 Parke County EF0 Shelby County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 317947. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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