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F2 tornado in Dakota County, Minnesota

Tornado May 9, 2001 · Dakota County, Minnesota

Rating

12.0 mi

Whole path

50 yd

Path width

Injury

$20.0M

Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Rice County → Dakota County → Goodhue County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 50 yards (0.03 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F2 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F2 meant considerable damage: roofs torn off well-built houses, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted; the scale paired it with winds of 113–157 mph, figures later judged too high, especially toward the top of the scale, and revised downward in the Enhanced Fujita scale. Ratings then, as now, came from the damage.

What the National Weather Service wrote

The Northfield tornado (which originated in Rice County) crossed Highway 19 into extreme southeastern Dakota County, then went into Goodhue County. Five homes sustained major damage, including one with its roof completely removed. 12 other homes received minor damage. Several motorists barely made it into nearby homes before the tornado struck.

Began near Northfield (44.4667, -93.0833).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

F0 Sibley County F0 Sibley County F0 Scott County F0 Scott County F0 Scott County F0 Scott County F0 Rice County F0 Kanabec County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5250125. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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