F1 tornado in Blue Earth County, Minnesota

Tornado July 14, 2003 · Blue Earth County, Minnesota

Rating

2.5 mi

Path length

50 yd

Path width

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The path drawn at its surveyed width of 50 yards (0.03 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F1 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F1 meant moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken; the scale paired it with winds of 73–112 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 third tornado in a series touched down in a corn field and trekked straight east. It caused minor house damage and knocked down several sheds and outbuildings, then moved across corn and bean fields before causing minor damage to a farmstead. It dissipated shortly after moving through the farmstead. Videotaped by storm chasers.

Began near Rapidan (44.1333, -94.1000).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

7 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

F2 Blue Earth County F2 Blue Earth County F1 Blue Earth County F1 Blue Earth County F0 Brown County F0 Brown County F0 Waseca County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5329755. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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