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F2 tornado in Colfax County, New Mexico

Tornado July 25, 1996 · Colfax County, New Mexico

F2
Rating
2.0 mi
Path length
50 yd
Path width
5
Injuries
$1.7M
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 50 yards (0.03 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.

The wider storm

A tornado destroyed 11 homes and 7 business in Cimarron. Another 43 structures were damaged. Among the building destroyed was the Post Office which was sliced by the air-borne frame of a mobile home. Of the 5 injuries, 2 were serious, requiring hospitalization. All injuries occurred in mobile homes or portable buildings without permanent foundations. A funnel cloud, which went unreported, was observed by deputies for about 20 minutes. The tornado developed as convection moved over a horizontal shear axis created by southeast surface winds and northwest winds aloft above the foothills located just northwest of Cimarron.

Began near Cimarron (36.5000, -104.9200).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5568323. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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