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NWS confirms tornado at Dent
Published 11:50 a.m., June 24, 2009
The National Weather Service (NWS) has confirmed that a tornado briefly touched down Thursday, June 18 in Dent.
After surveying the area, NWS Warning Coordination Meteorologist Greg Gust concluded that the tornado touched down at 7:15 p.m., causing extreme damage to a baseball dugout. The tornado lasted until 7:17 p.m., according to Gust’s report.
Gust used what is known as the Fujita Scale to determine whether a tornado hit the area. Originally developed in 1971, the Fujita Scale has since been altered to apply to today’s building structure designs. The scale, largely put together by engineers and meteorologists, uses a variety of damage estimators to determine the type of storm capable of various levels of destruction.
“We look at the different types of buildings, types of construction and research, and make estimates of wind speed,” said NWS meteorologist Mark Ewens.
In the Dent situation, Gust observed that the roof of a dugout had been ripped off. In the same dugout, the bleachers were flipped and had rolled into a fence. After taking photographs and talking with local residents, Gust made the preliminary call that the damage did in fact result from a tornado. After studying photographs and interviews more in depth at the office, Gust officially deemed the damage to be from a tornado.
While most meteorologists are trained to do storm surveys with the Fujita scale, this particular area of study is Gust’s specialty.
Before a trained meteorologist is sent out to do a storm survey, there must be reason enough to believe there is a possibility that a tornado had struck, Ewens said. A single phone call reporting a tree down is not enough. There must be a significant amount of damage reported, or a pattern of damage that could have been caused by a tornado.
Time is another factor in determining whether an area will be surveyed. If staff is needed to monitor and prepare for an oncoming storm, survey efforts will be postponed. If it goes beyond a few days, the level of accuracy is compromised in projecting whether or not a tornado has touched down.
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It takes this long to confirm a touchdown??
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