F4 tornado — Carter County, Missouri

F4 tornado in Carter County, Missouri

Tornado April 24, 2002 · Carter County, Missouri

Rating

40.5 mi

Whole path

300 yd

Path width

Injuries

$45.0M

Damage as recorded

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

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 300 yards (0.17 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F4 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F4 meant devastating damage: well-built houses levelled; the scale paired it with winds of 207–260 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 damage path began on the west side of Van Buren, right along the Current River, and crossed U.S. Route 60 very close to the Current River bridge. Two businesses in Van Buren, a lodge and a restaurant, were heavily damaged by F-2 intensity winds. The tornado travelled southeast across hilly and forested terrain until reaching the community of Ellsinore. Damage on the south side of Ellsinore was severe, where about 7 businesses were destroyed. Most of the damage at Ellsinore, which was inflicted by F-4 intensity winds, occurred along and near U.S. Highway 60. Across Carter County, 13 homes were destroyed and 12 homes suffered major damage. The tornado then moved into the Mark Twain National Forest and crossed into Butler County north of Highway 60.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5292196. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

F4 tornado in Carter County, Missouri

What the National Weather Service wrote

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