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EF1 tornado in Callaway County, Missouri

Tornado May 22, 2019 · Callaway County, Missouri

EF1

Rating

32.7 mi

Whole path

100 yd

Path width

Injuries

$174.0M

Damage as recorded

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

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 100 yards (0.06 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

The tornado crossed the Missouri River from Cole County into southern Callaway County. The only observed damage was to numerous trees before it lifted and dissipated near the Railwood Golf Club. The tornado was rated EF1 in Callaway County with a path length of 2.62 miles and a max path width of 100 yards. No deaths or injuries occurred in Callaway County. Overall the tornado was rated EF3 with a path length of 32.63 miles and a max path width of 1500 yards. Thirty three people sustained injuries from this tornado.

The wider storm

A persistent pattern set up over the Mid Mississippi River Valley during May 21-23. Upper level winds were consistently southwesterly, providing large scale lift and moisture to the area. Converging air along frontal boundaries at the surface provided sufficient low level lift to initial storms each night. During the afternoon of May 22, 2019 specifically, a warm front was moving north into southern Missouri, increasing low level moisture. At the same time a cold front was approaching from the west. Storms developed along the cold front as it pushed southeastward through Missouri. The significant low level wind produced storms favorable for hail and tornadoes.

Began near (jef)jffrsn City Mem (38.5768, -92.1580).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

1 more tornado the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

EF0 Audrain County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 829419. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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