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EF2 tornado in Douglas County, South Dakota

Tornado May 10, 2015 · Douglas County, South Dakota

EF2
Rating
16.2 mi
Whole path
400 yd
Path width
9
Injuries
$1.5M
Damage as recorded

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

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 400 yards (0.23 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF2 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF2 is considerable damage: roofs torn off well-built houses, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, consistent with estimated gusts of 111–135 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

A tornado, crossing into Douglas County from Charles Mix County, destroyed or damaged 84 structures in and near Delmont, and injured 9 people in Delmont. About 50 of the homes and other structures were destroyed or severely damaged. The damage included numerous small farm buildings totally destroyed, most at four farms south of Delmont, several houses severely damaged, a large and 100 year old church severely damaged, and a newly constructed fire hall destroyed. Power lines and poles were down and the town was without power and water for two days. 100 residents were displaced.

The wider storm

Thunderstorms over southeast South Dakota from late morning to the start of the evening on May 10th produced several tornadoes, including one that caused injuries and severe damage in Delmont in Douglas County. The thunderstorms also produced large hail, damaging winds, and flash flooding in locations extending to the eastern border of the state.

Began near Delmont (43.2180, -98.1770).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 576975. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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