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EF1 tornado in Grand Forks County, North Dakota

Tornado August 27, 2016 · Grand Forks County, North Dakota

EF1
Rating
4.0 mi
Path length
600 yd
Path width
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 600 yards (0.34 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF1 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF1 is moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 86–110 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 large tornado tracked to the southeast and snapped or uprooted numerous trees along its path. It demolished a small barn and spread barn and ranch debris over a broad area. Peak winds were estimated at 110 mph.

The wider storm

By the afternoon of August 27th, temperatures across most of the area had risen into the 70s, along with dew points around 60 F. A fairly strong upper level disturbance also moved into the area. Thunderstorms broke out over the southern Red River Valley in the early afternoon, then expanded north and east through the rest of the afternoon and early evening. The thunderstorms mainly dropped large hail, but a few tornadoes also occurred.

Began near Arvilla (47.8500, -97.4800).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF3 Traill CountyEF0 Grand Forks County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 649097. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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