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F3 tornado in Pepin County, Wisconsin

Tornado May 15, 1998 · Pepin County, Wisconsin

Rating

8.0 mi

Whole path

66 yd

Path width

Injuries

$120K

Damage as recorded

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

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 66 yards (0.04 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

Tornado touched down in northern Buffalo County, and continued on ground for 9 miles into eastern Pepin County. Two homes were destroyed in Pepin County. House collapse injured 6 family members. Trailer home also damaged. Tornado rated F3 for a brief time east of Durand, however most of its damage track rated F1.

Began near Durand (44.6000, -91.8300).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

1 more tornado the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

F1 Dunn County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5649322. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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