F0 tornado in Scott County, Iowa

Tornado May 18, 1997 · Scott County, Iowa

Rating

10 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 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.

What the National Weather Service wrote

Brief tornado touchdown near 18th and Middle Road.

The wider storm

A very costly hailstorm passed across northeast Iowa into extreme northwestern Illinois, bringing several waves of hail greater than 1.5 inches. While there were a few reports of tornadoes; by far the most significant damage was done by large hail. In particular the hailstorm which hit Iowa City did around 40 million dollars of damage in just fifteen minutes.

Began near Bettendorf (41.5300, -90.5200).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

2 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

F1 Linn County F1 Cedar County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5602725. 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.