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F2 tornado in Blue Earth County, Minnesota

Tornado July 14, 2003 · Blue Earth County, Minnesota

Rating

1.5 mi

Path length

220 yd

Path width

$2.0M

Damage as recorded

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 220 yards (0.12 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.

What the National Weather Service wrote

The sixth tornado in a series was the last of five to hit Blue Earth County. This one took direct aim on four farmsteads. Barns, sheds and outbuildings were downed. A roof was taken off a house and numerous trees were snapped. Law Enforcement video showed this to be a multiple vortex tornado.

Began near St Clair (44.1167, -93.8000).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

F2 Blue Earth County F1 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 5329758. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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