F2 tornado in Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota

Tornado June 4, 1999 · Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota

Rating

15.0 mi

Path length

875 yd

Path width

Death

Injuries

$3.2M

Damage as recorded

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 875 yards (0.50 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

This was the first of two tornadoes that swept through the town of Oglala. Spotters and law enforcement reported that the tornado went up and down several times. It remained on the ground just prior to hitting Oglala and then dissipated as it moved to the northeast. There was one fatality with 54 people receiving medical care for injuries. A church and three of its surrounding buildings were destroyed, 22 mobile homes destroyed, 30 to 50 buildings damaged and a lot of hail damage to roofs and vehicles.

Began near Slim Butte (43.0500, -102.8500).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

F2 Oglala Lakota County F1 Harding County F1 Lawrence County F0 Tripp County F0 Bennett County F0 Bennett County F0 Bennett County F0 Bennett County F0 Oglala Lakota County F0 Oglala Lakota County F0 Oglala Lakota County F0 Todd County F0 Todd County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5709343. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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