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EF1 tornado in Kiowa County, Colorado

Tornado April 27, 2012 · Kiowa County, Colorado

EF1
Rating
2.2 mi
Path length
100 yd
Path width
1
Injury
$40K
Damage as recorded
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 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

Power poles just south of Chivington were downed...and a mobile home was destroyed and a church was damaged.

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 Chivington (38.4121, -102.5345).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF2 Bent CountyEF2 Prowers CountyEF2 Prowers CountyEF2 Kiowa County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 375375. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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