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EF2 tornado in Douglas County, Wisconsin

Tornado July 1, 2011 · Douglas County, Wisconsin

EF2
Rating
2.9 mi
Path length
300 yd
Path width
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 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

A house was destroyed and its outbuildings were destroyed. Several other outbuildings and houses were damaged. Many trees were snapped off or uprooted. Peak winds were estimated at 120 to 130 mph.

The wider storm

A strong but nearly stationary cold front ran just inland from the Minnesota north shore of Lake Superior southwestward through the Sioux Falls SD area. Warm and unstable air with high surface dew points pooled along and east of the front, including over the Wisconsin blow down area. A cluster of thunderstorms became severe just west of the upper St Croix river, in Pine County MN, and spread rapidly northeastward through northwest Wisconsin. Extensive straight-line wind damage occurred. In Burnett County 140,000 acres of trees were damaged or destroyed, which is estimated to be 1.5 million cords. Damage to public property, like roads and trails, was $1.8 million. Uninsured property damage was estimated at $350,000. The storm injured 39 people. Most injuries were minor.

Began near Solon Springs (46.3154, -91.8745).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 335692. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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