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How the National Weather Service classifies a storm as a tornado

Reporter Cole Johnson went to Fort Worth to learn how the National Weather Service comes to its conclusions following a storm.

FORT WORTH, Texas — The National Weather Service officially confirmed Sunday's storm in Copperas Cove was an EF2 tornado. The confirmation came almost 24 hours after the storm hit. 

News stations and meteorologist alike need to wait for the weather center's official ruling before calling a storm a tornado. 

"[An EF2 tornado] usually equates to wind speeds anywhere from about 110 miles an hour to 115 miles an hour," NWS meteorologist in charge Tom Bradshaw said. 

You would think the fact that 196 homes were damaged would be enough to call the storm a tornado. However, it's not that simple. 

"The National Weather Service has the official say as to whether or not it was damaging straight-line winds or a tornado," NWS meteorologist Lamont Bain said. 

So, the NWS sends out surveyors following a storm to decide how to classify a storm. 

"There are certain patterns in the debris field when we go out and we look at it," Bain said. 

When a storm is about to strike, the NWS sends out the word. 

"Our main responsibility is that we issue watches, warnings and advisories for essentially anywhere in the United States," Bain said. 

The team uses radar and satellites to track severe weather, then will warn folks if something is heading their way. After it hits, they'll work to see what happened. 

In the case of Copperas Cove's Sunday storm, Bradshaw said they knew pretty quickly it was a tornado. 

"Emergency manager or another city official will accompany us out on the survey that helps us look at the telltale clues on the ground there," he said. 

Despite seeing incredible amounts of damage, Bradshaw said one thing about Copperas Cove stuck out to him. 

"I was really amazed how quickly folks were starting to clean things up," he said. 

Other stories on KCENTV.com: 

NWS confirms EF2 tornado damaged 196 homes in Copperas Cove, no injuries reported

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