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F2 tornado in Turner County, South Dakota

Tornado June 24, 2003 · Turner County, South Dakota

Rating

1.5 mi

Path length

200 yd

Path width

$3.0M

Damage as recorded

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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 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

A tornado heavily damaged or destroyed numerous structures at the county fairgrounds, uprooted numerous trees, and blew down power lines, resulting in power outages which lasted up to a day. The tornado damaged other structures in Parker including homes and the county courthouse. One home was shifted off its foundation and received broken windows and damaged siding. Some of the damage resulted from falling trees or wind blown debris.

Began near Parker (43.3833, -97.1333).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5366816. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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