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F3 tornado in Ripley County, Indiana

Tornado April 9, 1999 · Ripley County, Indiana

F3
Rating
15.0 mi
Path length
450 yd
Path width
2
Injuries
$1.4M
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 450 yards (0.26 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 tornado moved into Jefferson Proving Grounds from Jennings county and moved northeast across the county. Four mobile homes were destroyed and 4 were damaged. One house was destroyed while 8 had heavy damage and 20 minor damage. Twenty-one barns were destroyed, 6 had heavy damage, and 14 received minor damage. Seventeen outbuildings were destroyed while 4 had heavy damage and 11 minor damage. Four vehicles received major damage and 3 had minor damage. Five pieces of farm equipment were destroyed while 4 incurred major damage. Seven livestock were lost with 2 being killed and 2 injured. Trees were also downed in the path.

Began near Rexville (38.8800, -85.4200).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5691013. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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