F2 tornado — Dakota County, Nebraska

F2 tornado in Dakota County, Nebraska

Tornado August 17, 2001 · Dakota County, Nebraska

Rating

1.6 mi

Whole path

400 yd

Path width

Injuries

$3.0M

Damage as recorded

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

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 400 yards (0.23 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

A tornado completely destroyed at least ten houses and heavily damaged several others. The tornado heavily damaged the town school, including taking most of the roof off the school. The only church in town and a telephone company building were also heavily damaged. Power lines, poles, and trees were blown down, and electricity and water service were knocked out. Three empty box cars on the southeast side of Jackson were toppled. Three injuries included a woman with a broken leg and cuts rescued from the rubble of a house, and two children with minor injuries.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5265285. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

F2 tornado in Dakota County, Nebraska

What the National Weather Service wrote

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