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EF2 tornado in Bent County, Colorado

Tornado April 27, 2012 · Bent County, Colorado

EF2
Rating
6.2 mi
Path length
300 yd
Path width
$25K
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 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

Two locations experienced heavy damage. On State Highway 196 a metal building was destroyed and a home damaged...and four metal power poles were bent over. On County Road PP a metal barn was damaged and horse corrals were destroyed. One horse was killed.

The wider storm

Five separate tornadoes occurred across Bent...Prowers...and Kiowa Counties...causing EF0 to EF2 damage. Eight people were injured...and one horse was killed. Four dwelling were destroyed...along with two mobile homes...one garage...and a metal building. A hog farm was destroyed...including 18 hog barns. Horse corrals were also damaged and destroyed. An electrical substation southeast of Lamar was damaged which contributed to a massive power outage in the Lamar area until the late afternoon hours. Two communication towers were also destroyed.

Began near Mc Clave (38.1200, -102.7700).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF2 Prowers CountyEF2 Prowers CountyEF2 Kiowa CountyEF1 Kiowa County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 375372. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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