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F2 tornado in Seward County, Kansas

Tornado May 15, 2003 · Seward County, Kansas

Rating

4.9 mi

Path length

100 yd

Path width

$150K

Damage as recorded

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 100 yards (0.06 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 tornado began 15 miles north and 1.5 miles west of the center of Liberal and ended 18 miles north and 2 miles east. One home received minor roof damage and broken windows. The second home was destroyed with debris from the home traveling 1/4 of a mile.

Began near Liberal (37.2500, -100.9333).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

F2 Seward County F2 Seward County F1 Meade County F1 Meade County F1 Ford County F0 Clark County F0 Ford County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5359563. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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