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F3 tornado in Burnet County, Texas

Tornado May 13, 1994 · Burnet County, Texas

F3
Rating
3.5 mi
Path length
800 yd
Path width
1
Injury
$5.0M
Damage as recorded
$50K
Crop damage
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 800 yards (0.45 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F3 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F3 meant severe damage: whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned; the scale paired it with winds of 158–206 mph, figures later judged too high, especially toward the top of the scale, and revised downward in the Enhanced Fujita scale. Ratings then, as now, came from the damage.

What the National Weather Service wrote

The storm approached the city from the west-southwest. There were unconfirmed reports of funnels in the Horseshoe Bay area, four miles southwest of Marble Falls, before the storm arrived. Spotty damage was reported to roofs in the Horseshoe Bay area. The tornado first struck the west side of the city, crossing a heavy commercialized and residential area. Roofs were severely damaged at this time with several structures sustaining F1 and F2 damage. Several boats at a dealership were tossed on top of each other. Two-by-four's were embedded into the side of a church preschool care center, penetrating an inside classroom wall by four to five feet. Fortunately, all children had been moved into hallways just before the tornado arrived. Numerous commerical signs were down with widespread roof damage. This damage became even more extensive as the tornado moved across the northern part of the city. Marble Falls primary school also sustained damage, but students had been evacuated to the main school. Trees were uprooted on the school grounds and damage was reported to outbuildings. Metal I-beams were bent at a nearby metal building, indicating F2 to F3 damage. Three nearby semi-tractor trailer delivery trucks and a bread delivery truck were overturned. Two of these trucks were reported to have been lifted "two to three feet off of the ground" as they were overturned. At a nearby Wal-Mart department store 100 to 200 employees had taken shelter, having practiced their severe weather drill the day before. The store was hit and severely damaged, with the employees sustaining only a few minor injuries. Additional roof damage was reported at Marble Falls High School. Students had just executed a tornado drill as the storm struck. There was extensive peeling of metal from the auditorium and gymnasium roofs. In summary, over 440 homes sustained damage, with one house and 17 mobile homes destroyed and major damage to 36 homes. Eighteen businesses reported major damage with 47 others reporting minor damage. In addition, two bridges were damaged, along with severe damage to schools. In all, 512 structures sustained damage.

Began near Marble Falls (30.5700, -98.2700).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 10348164. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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