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EF1 tornado in Nevada County, California

Tornado October 22, 2012 · Nevada County, California

EF1
Rating
4.0 mi
Path length
100 yd
Path width
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

The Lake of the Pines Tornado: Supercells developed behind the cold front along a north-south boundary in the middle of the Central Valley, where both instability and shear were large. The Fire Department reported a tornado touchdown at approximately 4:30pm (PST). The estimated damage path length was approximately 4 miles with wind speeds estimated at 90-100mph. The tornado touched down near highway 49 and Combie Rd and snapped tree trunks of 1 to 3 ft in diameter. Many trees were uprooted and a few power lines were blown over. Some buildings were also badly damaged in the area.

The wider storm

A strong low pressure system moved through northern California, bringing several feet of snow to the mountains, significant rainfall to the valley and foothills, and tornadic supercells in the valley.

Began near Wolf (39.0450, -121.0910).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 411526. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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