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EF1 tornado in Bell County, Texas

Tornado March 21, 2022 · Bell County, Texas

EF1
Rating
34.6 mi
Whole path
40 yd
Path width
$2K
Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Travis County → Williamson County → Bell County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 40 yards (0.02 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF1 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF1 is moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 86–110 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

This tornado crossed the Williamson/Bell County line moving towards the north-northeast, crossing Alligator Rd where some power poles and trees were damaged. The tornado continued northeast, damaging more trees and power poles near FM-487 and along Donahoe Rd. It is believed to have lifted just as it was crossing FM-2268 east of the town of Vilas. Maximum estimated winds in Bell County were 90 mph.

The wider storm

A strong shortwave trough aided in the development of scattered to numerous thunderstorms during the late morning, afternoon, and evening hours of March 21. Thunderstorms initially fired along a dryline, many of which became severe, and some of which produced strong tornadoes. A total of 17 tornadoes were confirmed by storm survey teams, the strongest of which was the EF-3 Jacksboro tornado. One death occurred in a tornado in Grayson County near the Red River.

Began near Bartlett (30.7696, -97.3612).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

16 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

EF3 Jack CountyEF2 Grayson County 1 deadEF1 Palo Pinto CountyEF1 Montague CountyEF1 Montague CountyEF1 Montague CountyEF1 Cooke CountyEF1 Williamson CountyEF1 Milam CountyEF0 Wise CountyEF0 Tarrant CountyEF0 Tarrant CountyEF0 Tarrant CountyEF0 Denton CountyEF0 Limestone CountyEF0 Falls County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1014291. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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