TornadoLookup

Home / Kansas / Ottawa

EF1 tornado in Ottawa County, Kansas

Tornado May 5, 2007 · Ottawa County, Kansas

EF1
Rating
10.1 mi
Whole path
200 yd
Path width

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

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 200 yards (0.11 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF1 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF1 is moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 86–110 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 tornado touched down at Windmill Rd. between 220th and 230th Rds. Significant damage to a row of trees occurred. The tornado then crossed the county line, and moved into Cloud County.

The wider storm

An upper level low pressure system remained relatively stationary over the Central Plains Saturday through Monday, May 5th through May 7th. Severe weather swept across Northeast Kansas during the late evening hours the 5th, and the early morning of the 6th. Hail, strong winds, and tornadoes were all observed over the course of the evening. An F2 tornado that ripped across Ottawa County killed one woman, and injured one other when their mobile home was demolished. At least three other people were confirmed to have been injured during the tornado. NWS Storm Surveys the following day confirmed that damage was created by both tornadoes and strong winds across portions of northeast Kansas, but 6 tornadoes were confirmed. Cloud county qualified for FEMA funds.

Began near Delphos (39.2800, -97.5272).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF2 Ottawa County 1 deadEF1 Washington CountyEF0 Riley CountyEF0 Ottawa County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 34212. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

Tornadoes near your address

See every tornado that passed near a place you know, measured to its path.