Home / Washington / Pierce

EF1 tornado in Pierce County, Washington

Tornado January 18, 2015 · Pierce County, Washington

EF1

Rating

4.1 mi

Path length

175 yd

Path width

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

NOAA recorded where this tornado touched down but not where it lifted, so it appears as a point. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF1 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF1 is moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 86–110 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

Tornado starting from about 4 miles wsw of Gig Harbor dissipating just ene of Gig Harbor. Tornado determination based on eye-witness reports and video. Maximum intensity EF1. Wind up to 110 mph. Path length 4.1 miles. Maxmimum width up to 175 yards.

The wider storm

Jan 18 there was a tornado. Had multiple reports of a tornado. First report was tornado moving east across SR 16 around 225 pm. Second report was at Harborview drive halfway between Burnham dr and Peacock hill ave. The tornado was then reported to move over the water of Gig harbor.

Began near Gig Harbor (47.3300, -122.5900).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 553878. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

Tornadoes near your address

See every tornado that passed near a place you know, measured to its path.