1After a freak tornado tore through Hawthorne and the Hawthorne Army Depot on Friday, June 5, residents are still trying clean up from the aftermath.

Categorized as a EF-1, the tornado had wind speeds of 86-109 mph as calculated by the Enhanced Fujita Tornado Damage scale.

The path of the twister was 1.54 miles long beginning on the Hawthorne Army Depot and ending in the B-D Streets of Hawthorne.
aIn a short press release, SOC confirmed the damage at the depot. “The Naval Undersea Warfare Center, tenant at the Hawthorne Army Depot, sustained the most damage on the installation.  Building 49-1 had sections of the roof blown off.  There was also an internal fence and a storage shed that incurred significant damage. Clean up is being overseen by safety and industrial hygienist personnel.  Lt. Col. Gregory Gibbons has expressed his thankfulness that no injuries were experienced by personnel.”

A single wide trailer on O Street was damaged when the winds of the tornado hit. The car port, which was sunk two feet into the ground with concrete, was torn loose and pushed the owner’s car five feet. Two other cars at the residence were damaged.

The car port would end up flying in different directions, hitting the neighbor’s home directly behind the O Street home and America’s Best Inn and Suites. Both the home and business suffered damages, including the front of the neighbor’s home being torn away and the gazebo being twisted into a tree.

As the tornado traveled down Fifth Street, the Monarch Motel was hit, tearing the roof off which landed in the home of Wilma Moody, whose home was completely wrecked by the gusts.

As the damage traveled down Fifth Street towards Main Street, the force of the winds decreased to EF-0 where it uprooted trees, flipped a mill van and ripped the awning and part of the roof off of Old Nevada Pizza. The local pizza place all had its front windows blown out which have since been replaced.

As residents were trying to comprehend the severity of the situation, they were also dealing with the golf ball sized hail and heavy rains.

Many businesses and homes within Hawthorne saw flooding. A spokesperson for Isom Insurance said that they have had many residents come forth with damage, mostly to vehicles.

Experts were able to piece together the path of the tornado from amateur video shot by residents which was loaded up on social media sites. An onsite visit was also made.

The extent of the damage is still being documented. The tornado was the first to be acknowledged in Mineral County.