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F0 tornado in Del Norte County, California

Tornado January 20, 1996 · Del Norte County, California

Rating

0.3 mi

Path length

30 yd

Path width

$2K

Damage as recorded

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The path drawn at its surveyed width of 30 yards (0.02 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F0 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F0 meant light damage: shingles and siding peeled, gutters torn, branches broken; the scale paired it with winds of 40–72 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.

The wider storm

A waterspout came ashore near the mouth of the Smith River. About two dozen trees were snapped off at the 20 foot level. The largest trees were up to two feet in diameter. A portion of one tree fell on the porch of a residence, demolishing the porch.

Began near Smith River (41.9500, -124.1700).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5536203. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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