F4 tornado — McCook County, South Dakota

F4 tornado in McCook County, South Dakota

Tornado May 30, 1998 · McCook County, South Dakota

Rating

14.0 mi

Whole path

1,600 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.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 1,600 yards (0.91 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F4 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F4 meant devastating damage: well-built houses levelled; the scale paired it with winds of 207–260 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

The tornado from Hanson County destroyed most of Spencer as it strengthened and continued to grow. Most homes, other buildings, and other structures in Spencer were completely levelled. Debris and belongings were scattered over a large area, and one receipt blown from Spencer was found just west of Chandler, MN about 80 miles east of Spencer. The tornado killed 6 and injured 150 in Spencer. The tornado continued southeast from Spencer, widened, then weakened, and dissipated 4 miles southwest of Salem with another tornado then forming from the same storm. The tornado caused additional damage to trees, power lines, crops, and buildings on farms after moving southeast of Spencer.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5645426. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

F4 tornado in McCook County, South Dakota

What the National Weather Service wrote

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