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F2 tornado in Macon County, Missouri

Tornado April 8, 1999 · Macon County, Missouri

Rating

53.5 mi

Whole path

440 yd

Path width

Injuries

$1.9M

Damage as recorded

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

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The path drawn at its surveyed width of 440 yards (0.25 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F2 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F2 meant considerable damage: roofs torn off well-built houses, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted; the scale paired it with winds of 113–157 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 which formed in Carroll County continued northeast through Chariton County and into Macon County, where the most widespread damage occurred. Continuous damage was observed from 2 miles south of New Cambria, where two workers suffered minor injuries at a mining quarry, to 2 miles west of Atlanta. Within this area, thirteen single family homes and 9 mobile homes were destroyed. Six single family homes and 4 mobile homes suffered major damage, and 33 single family homes and one mobile home suffered minor damage. Eighty-five agricultural outbuildings were destroyed, and 37 sustained damage. Widespread tree and power pole damage occurred.

The wider storm

Severe weather broke out in northwest and west-central Missouri around midday on April 8. Storms tracked rapidly northeastward and moved into central and north-central Missouri by early evening. The outbreak included at least five tornadoes, one of which moved along a 54-mile path across three counties. Reports of thunderstorm wind damage were also widespread throughout the area.

Began near New Cambria (39.7000, -92.8700).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

4 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

F2 Macon County F1 Andrew County F1 Livingston County F1 Cooper County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5691928. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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