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EF1 tornado in Lee County, Florida

Tornado December 21, 2021 · Lee County, Florida

EF1

Rating

1.3 mi

Path length

50 yd

Path width

Injury

$750K

Damage as recorded

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The path drawn at its surveyed width of 50 yards (0.03 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

Dozens of homes had roof damage and numerous trees and large branches

broken near and along the path of the tornado. One minor injury was

reported due to broken glass and several pool enclosures and vehicles were

also damaged. Initial estimated damages exceed $500K. Damaging winds

continued past the initial tornado damage due to gradient winds.

The wider storm

A low pressure formed in the Gulf of Mexico along with a cold front. These two features pushed across the state as it started to deepen. This caused high winds and spawned a tornado in West Central Florida.

Began near Fort Myers Villas (26.5125, -81.8421).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 991171. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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