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F3 tornado in Bollinger County, Missouri

Tornado April 27, 2002 · Bollinger County, Missouri

F3
Rating
4.0 mi
Path length
200 yd
Path width
1
Death
16
Injuries
$4.0M
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 200 yards (0.11 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F3 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F3 meant severe damage: whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned; the scale paired it with winds of 158–206 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

This strong tornado with peak winds near 180 MPH touched down in a rural area southwest of Marble Hill. A total of 19 residences were severely damaged, and 6 were destroyed. Approximately 10 of the residences were mobile homes and 15 were single-family homes. Another 50 outbuildings, such as barns and sheds, were destroyed or damaged. Seven people were inside a house that was demolished. One of the victims, a 12-year-old boy, was thrown about 50 yards from the house and fatally injured. Several others in the immediate area, possibly the other occupants of the house, were thrown into a nearby lake and swam to safety. Of the 16 people injured in the tornado, four were air lifted to hospitals with serious injuries. Cars were stacked atop cars. Several residents were trapped inside the debris of their homes for up to 3 hours. The large number of trees down across roads delayed the arrival of rescue teams.

Began near Marble Hill (37.2167, -90.0667).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5292401. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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