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EF2 tornado in Comanche County, Kansas

Tornado April 30, 2012 · Comanche County, Kansas

EF2

Rating

2.6 mi

Path length

200 yd

Path width

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 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 was observed and photographed as it traveled across mainly open range area. However, it did reach the edge of a farm and did considerable damage to trees, implements, power poles and fence. Some machinery was carried 1/2 of a mile.

The wider storm

A warm front lifting north was the focus for severe weather development during the afternoon. An upper level jet streak helped in creating the lift and speed shear to produce severe weather.

Began near Buttermilk (37.0471, -99.0761).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF0 Ford County EF0 Edwards County EF0 Kiowa County EF0 Kiowa County EF0 Clark County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 380726. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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