F3 tornado — Lincoln County, Colorado

F3 tornado in Lincoln County, Colorado

Tornado May 31, 1999 · Lincoln County, Colorado

Rating

7.0 mi

Path length

200 yd

Path width

$4.0M

Damage as recorded

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 200 yards (0.11 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.

The wider storm

Two tornadoes touched down causing extensive damage north of Genoa. The first tornado, an F2, caused minor damage to a home, but substantial damage to trees in the area. The second tornado, an F3, destroyed 2 mobile homes and several grain bins. It also caused moderate damage to 2 framed houses. At one farm, several dogs that were boarded in kennels were killed. Several trees and dozens of power poles were also snapped, and a pickup truck was tossed over a quonset hut. Damage was estimated to be $3-4 million.

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5699026. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

F3 tornado in Lincoln County, Colorado

The wider storm

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

Tornadoes near your address