Tornado that killed 6 in Iowa upgraded to EF-4
Winterset twister is the first EF-4 tornado in Iowa since 2013
DES MOINES, Iowa – The rating for a tornado that ripped through an Iowa town Saturday, killing 6 and injuring 5, has been upgraded to EF-4.
According to officials at the National Weather Service office in Des Moines, a survey team found that the tornado that hit Winterset had peak winds of 170 mph. The path was nearly 70 miles long and about 800 yards wide.
'WE STARTED HEARING SOUND THAT WASN'T NORMAL': SURVIVORS RECOUNT DEADLY EF-4 TORNADO
This is the first EF-4 tornado in Iowa since a 2013 twister that swept through the town of Climbing Hill in Woodbury County.
The path of Saturday’s tornado in Winterset also ranks as the second-longest in Iowa since 1980. The longest path recorded in the state was 117 miles long on June 7, 1984, with a tornado in southern Iowa.
The Winterset tornado marks the 88th cyclone rated EF-4 or stronger recorded in Iowa since 1950.
A total of seven people were killed in Iowa during Saturday’s tornado outbreak. An EF-3 twister about 60 miles southeast of Winterset was responsible for the seventh person’s death.