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F2 tornado in Benson County, North Dakota

Tornado August 8, 2001 · Benson County, North Dakota

Rating

7.0 mi

Path length

250 yd

Path width

$50K

Damage as recorded

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NOAA recorded where this tornado touched down but not where it lifted, so it appears as a point. 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 tornado began northwest of Maddock and travelled along a path intermittently to near Flora and near Oberon. A 40x60 foot metal shed was demolished. About 2 miles northeast of Maddock, a grain bin was pulled from its foundation and thrown about 500 yards. A hopper bin and concrete pad were also turned on end at this location. Many large trees were flattened all along the path until the tornado weakened from Flora to near Oberon.

Began near Maddock (46.4333, -97.4667).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

1 more tornado the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

F2 Benson County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5265734. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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