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EF2 tornado in Marshall County, Indiana

Tornado October 18, 2007 · Marshall County, Indiana

EF2
Rating
20.3 mi
Whole path
440 yd
Path width
8
Injuries
$14.6M
Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Marshall County → Kosciusko County → Elkhart County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 440 yards (0.25 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF2 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF2 is considerable damage: roofs torn off well-built houses, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, consistent with estimated gusts of 111–135 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

The tornado touched down near the intersection of 12B and Gumwood Roads, just west of Bourbon. Initial damage comprised of damage to shingles on a few roofs as well as some tree damage. As the tornado moved northeast and intensified it blew down a 3/8 mile long stretch of power poles. A total of 16 homes suffered damage from the tornado, 3 were destroyed, 1 suffered major damage and 12 suffered minor damage. Some barns, storage sheds, silos and garages suffered damage of varying degrees as well. The tornado reached the higher end of EF2 as it entered into Kosciusko County. A Bourbon Fire Department grass truck crashed into a ditch during the storm, with the driver being taken to the hospital for unknown injuries. It is not known as to why the crash occurred. 3 other non-specific minor injuries were reported. Damage is estimated at around $600,000.

The wider storm

A combination of strong dynamics, wind shear, and rapid low level moisture return all combined to produce severe weather across much of Northern Indiana. One of several supercell thunderstorms produced a long tracked tornado which reached the high end of EF3.

Began near Inwood (41.2973, -86.1698).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 55287. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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