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F3 tornado in Hanson County, South Dakota

Tornado May 30, 1998 · Hanson County, South Dakota

Rating

14.0 mi

Whole path

700 yd

Path width

Deaths

150

Injuries

$18.0M

Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Hanson County → McCook County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

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The path drawn at its surveyed width of 700 yards (0.40 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F3 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F3 meant severe damage: whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned; the scale paired it with winds of 158–206 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

A large and strengthening tornado destroyed buildings and other property on five farms and also destroyed trees and power lines before crossing the eastern edge of Hanson County.

Began near Farmer (43.7500, -97.6800).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5645425. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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