TornadoLookup

Home / Indiana / Elkhart

F1 tornado in Elkhart County, Indiana

Tornado August 25, 1998 · Elkhart County, Indiana

F1
Rating
0.5 mi
Path length
100 yd
Path width
$300K
Damage as recorded
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 F1 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F1 meant moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken; the scale paired it with winds of 73–112 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

THIS TORNADO LIKELY FORMED ALONG THE LEADING EDGE OF THE BOW ECHO WHICH PASSED THROUGH BERRIEN AND ST. JOSEPH COUNTIES EARLIER. IT TOUCHED DOWN ON TOP OF THE FORD DEALERSHIP ALONG HIGHWAY 33 TEARING OFF A LARGE PART OF THE ROOF AND ONE WALL. NEXT IT THREW A FORD AEROSTAR VAN INTO A POWER POLE AND PICKED UP AN RV TOSSING IT OVER 50 YARDS AWAY ACROSS THE HIGHWAY INTO A DITCH. NEXT IT CROSSED A STREET AND HIT A MANUFACTURED HOME DEALERSHIP SHIFTING SEVERAL HOMES OFF THEIR FOUNDATIONS, TEARING A LARGE PART OF THE OFFICE ROOF OFF AND FLIPPING A MOVING VAN OVER. IT THEN PROCEEDED DOWN ALONG HIGHWAY 33 FOR APPROXIMATELY ANOTHER 200 YARDS TEARING OFF PARTS OF ROOFS AND AIR CONDITIONING UNITS BEFORE LIFTING.

Began near Dunlap (41.6200, -85.9000).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

F2 Elkhart County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5677997. 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.