BAKER — A preliminary storm survey determined a tornado that hit the east-central Montana town of Baker last weekend reached the EF-3 level, matching the strongest tornadoes ever recorded in the state, the National Weather Service said.
The tornado was on the ground for about 10 minutes Saturday evening, and traveled about a half-mile, destroying six homes and damaging more than 50. Several people were injured. The tornado exhibited EF-3 winds — at speeds of 135 to 165 mph — in a one-block area, the weather service said.
The tornado, which formed over Baker Lake, threw debris like all-terrain vehicles, freezers and a nearby park gazebo into the lake. One witness reported seeing a couple of cows thrown into the water, The Billings Gazette (http://bit.ly/25UYGCR) reported.
The lake is closed to boating, fishing and swimming while it is cleaned and tested for contaminants, said Chuck Lee, Fallon County Disaster and Emergency Services coordinator.
Officials don’t have a damage estimate, but believe it exceeds $1 million not including the cost of cleaning up the lake, Lee said.
Montana has seen four tornados that rated a 3 on the Enhanced Fujita intensity scale since record keeping began in 1950. One person died in an EF-3 in Wibaux County in 1952. EF-3 tornadoes were reported in Chouteau County in 1988, Sheridan County in 2010 and Carter County in 2014. The Sheridan County tornado touched down on a ranch about 15 miles west of the town of Reserve, killing Steven D. Smith, 46, and Robert Richardson, 10.