Bismarck, ND (Kxnet) – More than 20 tornadoes occurred in the Northern Dakota during the Epidemia of severe weather and Derecho on June 20, earlier this year. One of these tornadoes has marked history as the most powerful Twister to hit the United States since 2013.
Today, the National Weather Service has retrospectively improved the Enderlin Tornado force rating at “EF5” – the highest designation on the improved scale of Fujita – after having conducted a meticulous investigation on its damage path. The storm had an impact on parts of the counties of Ransom and Cass in the east of the Dakota in the North shortly after 11:00 p.m. on June 20, killing three. The Enderlin Twister has been the first EF5 since May 2013, when an equally powerful tornado hit the Moore community, Oklahoma.
The investigation into the damage revealed that the Tornado Enderlin caused a train derail, based on several fully loaded grain hopping cars and finding an empty tank car of almost 500 feet. In addition, a local farm was completely destroyed with its swept foundation and the debris dispersed downstream, according to the NWS. The trees in the region were also landed. Based on these damage indicators, the experts estimated that the storm contained maximum winds of more than 210 miles per hour.
Before the storm of Enderlin, the last Tornado F5 / EF5 of the North Dakota occurred in Fargo on June 20, 1957, exactly 68 years earlier.
