What the record says
On 9 April 2011, a tornado touched down near Varina, Iowa. The Storm Prediction Center records its path as 3.2 miles long and up to 587 yards wide, rated EF4 on the Enhanced Fujita (EF) scale.
- EF4Enhanced Fujita rating
- 0deaths
- 0injuries
- 3.2 mipath length
- 587 ydmaximum width
It has its own page because it was rated 4 or 5.
This page gives the official record's figures. Numbers of deaths and injuries are sometimes revised after a survey, and they cannot convey what the day was like for the people who lived through it.
Counties it crossed
The start point was at 42.73, -94.86 and the end point at 42.72, -94.79 (latitude, longitude).
How to read this path
The Storm Prediction Center records most tornadoes as a straight line from the point where they touched down to the point where they lifted. The real path usually curved and was not the same width all the way along. The width given is the widest part. Older records are less precise, and the record starts in 1950.
Source: the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database, public domain.
Other notable tornadoes in Iowa
- Hansell, Iowa tornado15 May 1968, F5, 13 deaths, 462 injuries, 62.1 miles long
- Cedar Falls, Iowa tornado25 May 2008, EF5, 9 deaths, 70 injuries, 41 miles long
- Belmond, Iowa tornado14 October 1966, F5, 6 deaths, 172 injuries, 9.7 miles long
- Newton, Iowa tornado5 March 2022, EF4, 6 deaths, 5 injuries, 70.6 miles long
- Rhodes, Iowa tornado16 September 1978, F3, 6 deaths, 45 injuries, 31.8 miles long
- Oelwein, Iowa tornado15 May 1968, F5, 5 deaths, 156 injuries, 13.1 miles long
Other notable tornadoes of 2011
- Joplin, Missouri tornado22 May 2011, EF5, 158 deaths, 1,150 injuries, 21.6 miles long
- Athens, Alabama tornado27 April 2011, EF5, 72 deaths, 145 injuries, 132 miles long
- Tuscaloosa, Alabama tornado27 April 2011, EF4, 64 deaths, 1,500 injuries, 80.7 miles long
- Lakeview, Alabama tornado27 April 2011, EF5, 25 deaths, 33.7 miles long
- Smithville, Mississippi tornado27 April 2011, EF5, 23 deaths, 137 injuries, 37.3 miles long
All tornadoes of 2011 · Iowa tornado history · All notable tornadoes