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F2 tornado in Taylor County, Wisconsin

Tornado September 2, 2002 · Taylor County, Wisconsin

F2
Rating
17.0 mi
Path length
75 yd
Path width
$3.9M
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 75 yards (0.04 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.

The wider storm

A tornado touched down about a mile northwest of Gilman (Taylor County) and moved southeast into the village a couple minutes later. A few trees and homes were lightly damaged before the tornado hit the Gilman school. The roof was blown off the school gymnasium, where the high school football team had been seeking cover a minute before moving into the hallways and interior rooms. Debris was blown from the school onto the nearby football field and into homes east of Gilman. The tornado kept tracking southeast into the Chequamegon National Forest, producing occasional house damage and knocking down hundreds of trees. The path of the storm crossed Trucker Lane, Winter Sports Road and damaged several homes near Sawyer Avenue as it increased in size and strength. The worst damage was when the top story of a two story house was completely removed along Sawyer Avenue shortly before the tornado dissipated before crossing Highway 64 west of Medford (Taylor County). There were no reports of deaths or injuries. This was the first confirmed tornado in Taylor County since July 30, 1977.

Began near Gilman (45.1833, -90.8167).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5318114. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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