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EF3 tornado in Greenwood County, Kansas

Tornado June 26, 2018 · Greenwood County, Kansas

EF3
Rating
9.2 mi
Path length
500 yd
Path width
8
Injuries
$13.7M
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 500 yards (0.28 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

A large circulation around tree top level moved into the southwest side of town causing minimal damage initially to trees and one business, before descending fully to the ground, as it moved northeast across town. The tornado fully came down to the ground, on the northeast side of town, intensifying, and causing significant damage to homes and businesses. The worst damage, rated EF-3, occurred just south of the high school, with one home having only interior walls remaining standing. Eight injuries were reported due to the tornado, with three of the injuries occurring in one house.

The wider storm

A few thunderstorms developed in Central Kansas in the morning, primarily over Barton County where golf ball-sized hail was reported 5 miles south/southwest of Great Bend. That afternoon and evening, the severe thunderstorms increased considerably as a weak cold front moved across South-Central and Southeast Kansas into a moisture-rich environment. Both large hail, which at times was very large, was the primary severe weather mode early in the event while damaging winds were the dominant mode as the event progressed. One rapidly developing thunderstorm did produce a strong tornado over Greenwood County that touched down on the southwest side of Eureka. The tornado tore a path through town from southwest to northeast, producing EF3 damage on the northeast side of town. Eight injuries occurred with the tornado but fortunately none were life-threatening.

Began near Eureka (37.8115, -96.3084).

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 757551. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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