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EF2 tornado in Stafford County, Kansas

Tornado May 24, 2011 · Stafford County, Kansas

EF2
Rating
11.8 mi
Whole path
500 yd
Path width
2
Deaths
1
Injury

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

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 500 yards (0.28 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 tornado moved north/northwest and unfortunately claimed two lives. The tornado hit a house (among trees, outbuildings, fences) and the persons involved were parked under a tree in the drive way of the home. Tragically, the very large tree was uprooted and landed on the vehicle. A female (age 21) that was in the back seat was severely injured. A female (age 56) and her son (age 17) in the front seat were crushed and apparently killed instantly. The tornado moved on into Barton county at 606 PM. The house received EF2 damage and the occupant of the home was in the basement, but arrived there less than 30 seconds before the tornado hit.

The wider storm

A vigorous upper level disturbance, jet streak dynamics and a strong dry line combined to produce numerous rotating thunderstorms. Large hail, flooding rains, and tornadoes were observed.

Began near Hudson (38.1530, -98.7050).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF1 Pawnee CountyEF0 Haskell CountyEF0 Gray CountyEF0 Finney CountyEF0 Rush CountyEF0 Rush CountyEF0 Rush County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 328740. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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