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EF3 tornado in Norton County, Kansas

Tornado June 20, 2011 · Norton County, Kansas

EF3
Rating
13.9 mi
Whole path
100 yd
Path width
$10.4M
Damage as recorded

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

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 100 yards (0.06 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

A strong tornado developed just northeast of Almena and traveled roughly along Highway 383 to the Phillips county line near roads E and 14. (The tornado continued northeast for several miles into Phillips county before dissipating). One residence was completely destroyed, but a mother and her four children amazingly escaped without injury after seeking shelter in the basement. Many other farmsteads suffered significant damage to the residence itself, as well as to outbuildings, irrigation pivots, farm machinery and livestock.

The wider storm

A strong, slow-moving low pressure system moved across northwest Kansas during the afternoon, resulting in over a dozen tornadoes, some strong and long-lived. The strongest tornadoes occurred over Graham and Norton counties. Other reports of baseball sized hail were received.

Began near Almena (39.9001, -99.6932).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 327315. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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