Thursday’s Imogene-Essex, Iowa tornado was an EF-1 with winds of 110 mph. The maximum width was 3130 yards, which is 1.8 miles wide! This is not just the widest tornado in Iowa history, but also the widest EF-1 tornado ever recorded. From the Omaha NWS storm survey:

Imogene-Essex, Iowa Tornado Path

“At approximately 8:32 p.m. Thursday, a tornado formed southeast of Randolph, Iowa. The first sign of damage was snapped tree limbs near Lake Shawtee WMA. As the tornado progressed eastward, continued tree damage was observed along with the damage of small outdoor
farm buildings and house roofs. A concentrated area of the most extensive damage was observed south of Imogene, Iowa. In this area, damage included snapped wooden power poles, minor damage to homes, and the continued damage of outdoor buildings and trees. The width of damage also reached its peak, approximately 3130.6 yards in this area. The tornado tracked just north of Essex, Iowa, with more wooden power poles snapped and farm outdoor building damage. After sliding north of Essex, Iowa, the tornado tracked northeast towards Nyman, Iowa. Similar damage, including trees, outdoor buildings, and wooden power poles were observed along this stretch. The tornado lifted just east at Nyman, Iowa at approximately 9:08 PM CDT.”

Here’s a Facebook post of the radar that WHO 13’s Jason Parkin added during the tornado.

EF Scale: The Enhanced Fujita Scale classifies tornadoes into the following categories:

• EFO……65 to 85 mph
• EF1…… 86 to 110 mph
• EF2……111to 135 mph
• EF3……136 to 165 mph
• EF4……166 to 200 mph
• EF5……>200 mph

Past Weather Posts: