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F2 tornado in Ripley County, Missouri

Tornado November 27, 2005 · Ripley County, Missouri

F2
Rating
12.0 mi
Path length
250 yd
Path width
1
Death
$250K
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 250 yards (0.14 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 destroyed a permanent home and a mobile home. Major damage occurred to two other permanent homes. The sole fatality occurred about midway between Gatewood and Briar, where a two-story house was destroyed. The victim was sleeping on the second floor at the time. His body was found in a field about 75 yards from the residence. Two people on the first floor of the house escaped from under the debris without injury. Two mobile homes were unroofed. Many trees were snapped or uprooted. Several trees blocked U.S. Route 160 where the tornado crossed it. Much of the tornado's path was in the Mark Twain National Forest. The average path width was 200 yards. Peak wind speeds were estimated near 140 MPH. The strongest winds and widest path extended from near Tucker to the destroyed house (midway between Briar and Gatewood).

Began near Gatewood (36.5333, -91.1000).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5479578. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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