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F2 tornado in Mineral County, Colorado

Tornado October 10, 1997 · Mineral County, Colorado

Rating

3.0 mi

Path length

400 yd

Path width

$10K

Damage as recorded

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The path drawn at its surveyed width of 400 yards (0.23 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, up to 1/4 mile wide, tracked through the high country of central Mineral county. The 3-mile long track extended from the northeast side of Fisher mountain to Copper mountain, between 10,500 and 11,500 feet above MSL. It snapped off or uprooted tens of thousands of spruce and pine trees and destroyed a horse trailer. Nearby eyewitnesses described a definite twisting motion to the destructive wind.

Began near Creede (37.6800, -106.9200).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5621751. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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