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EF1 tornado in Clark County, Washington

Tornado January 10, 2008 · Clark County, Washington

EF1

Rating

10.1 mi

Path length

440 yd

Path width

$525K

Damage as recorded

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 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

Tornado had estimated wind speeds of 90 to 110 mph. Damage reports along the path of the tornado include: 200+ trees down, most between 12 to 24 inches in diameter, and approximately 6 trees greater than 36 inches; 30 to 40 homes damaged, with primarily roof damage; 19 power poles were snapped off; 3 lightly constructed structures were destroyed; a parked semi-trailer was tipped over, and several dozen sculling boats were damaged near Vancouver Lake.

The wider storm

In the wake of a rapidly advancing cold front, a severe thunderstorm moved through Clark county in southwest Washington and spawned a tornado. The tornado touched down near Vancouver Lake, moved east into Hazel Dell, then continued eastward to Hockinson while experiencing multiple touchdowns.

Began near Hazel Dell (45.6787, -122.6924).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 76971. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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