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EF1 tornado in Kewaunee County, Wisconsin

Tornado August 7, 2013 · Kewaunee County, Wisconsin

EF1

Rating

5.1 mi

Path length

100 yd

Path width

$50K

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

The tornado that formed in Brown County at 12:59 am CDT continued east-southeast into Kewaunee County, crossing the county line 2.9 miles southwest of Pilsen at 1:06 am CDT. The tornado caused the walls and roof of a barn to collapse (DI 1, DOD 6) and damaged the tops of two silos. In addition, the tornado damaged and uprooted several dozen trees along its path. Average path width in Kewaunee County was 75 yards.

The wider storm

A line of severe thunderstorms, known as a quasi-linear convective system (QLCS), produced six tornadoes and widespread damaging winds across east-central Wisconsin during the late night hours of August 6-7. The storms formed ahead of a cold front that also produced severe weather in Minnesota and western Wisconsin.

The tornadoes occurred within about 50 minutes--between 12:22 am and 1:10 am CDT. Hundreds of homes, businesses and farm buildings were damaged. Two injuries occurred at a campground in Waupaca County. Thousands of trees and power lines were also downed, leaving tens of thousands of people without power. The strongest tornado of the event reached EF2 intensity (winds estimated at 115 to 120 mph). This tornado caused significant damage to a church in New London.

The six tornadoes that occurred on August 7 were the most nighttime tornadoes in a single event in northeast Wisconsin since accurate tornado records began (1950).

Began near Pilsen (44.4220, -87.7650).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF2 Waupaca County EF1 Brown County EF1 Outagamie County EF1 Manitowoc County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 459669. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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