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EF3 tornado in Larimer County, Colorado

Tornado June 4, 2015 · Larimer County, Colorado

EF3
Rating
6.7 mi
Whole path
440 yd
Path width

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

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

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 EF3 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF3 is severe damage: whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, consistent with estimated gusts of 136–165 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

The tornado contiinued its track into Larimer County. At least 25 homes between Longmont and Berthoud were damaged; three of them destroyed. No injuries were reported as the winds tore apart homes and rolled vehicles.

The wider storm

Severe thunderstorms broke out across Boulder, Denver, Elbert, Jefferson and Larimer Counties. Two large and long lived tornadoes developed in Larimer County near Berthoud and near Simla in Elbert County. The tornado that occurred along the Boulder and Larimer county line was rated an EF3 at it's highest damage point, with maximum winds estimated at 135 to 140 mph. The path length was 6 miles long with a width of one quarter mile at times. In Elbert County, 17 tornadoes touched down, with EF1 damage observed southwest and southeast of Simla. Four homes suffered severe damage; two were uninhabitable. In addition, two other homes suffered moderate damage with slight damage reported to eight other residences. Large hail up to baseball size occurred in Elbert County, with hail up to tennis ball size observed in Boulder County. The hail damaged cars and homes; breaking windows and windshields.

Began near Berthoud (40.2600, -105.1900).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF1 Elbert CountyEF1 El Paso CountyEF0 Elbert CountyEF0 Elbert CountyEF0 Elbert CountyEF0 Elbert CountyEF0 Elbert CountyEF0 Elbert CountyEF0 Elbert CountyEF0 Elbert CountyEF0 Elbert CountyEF0 Elbert CountyEF0 Elbert County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 574168. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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