TornadoLookup

Home / Texas / Bell

EF2 tornado in Bell County, Texas

Tornado May 22, 2024 · Bell County, Texas

EF2
Rating
2.8 mi
Path length
420 yd
Path width
30
Injuries
$5.0M
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 420 yards (0.24 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF2 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF2 is considerable damage: roofs torn off well-built houses, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, consistent with estimated gusts of 111–135 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

An EF-2 tornado formed near TX-317 between FM 2483 and W Adams Ave where at least a dozen power poles were significantly damaged. The tornado continued to move east/southeast across the Terrace at Lake Pointe subdivision damaging many homes, especially roofs and windows. Significant roof and tree damage was found in the neighborhood south of Tarver Elementary School. At least, four homes lost most of the roof, some outside walls, and sustained significant damage to the windows. Several trees were snapped or uprooted across the neighborhood. Then, the tornado crossed Tanglehead Dr. towards W. Adams Ave damaging many businesses, including stand-alone restaurants, shops, banks, and strip malls. A few of the businesses in this area lost most of their roof (DI 9, DODs 5 &7). Several cars sustained moderate to significant damage and cars were flipped. Most of the power poles were damaged or snapped along W. Adams Ave. The tornado continued to move southeast, crossing Old Waco Rd, damaging other homes and businesses (DI 2, DOD 6). Additional tree damage was found as the tornado tracked across an open field south of W. Adams Ave and west of S Kegley Rd. Maximum estimated winds were 120 mph.

The wider storm

Isolated thunderstorms associated with the dryline occurred on May 21. Much more widespread thunderstorm activity took place on May 22 as a cold front sagged south into the area and a strong jet stream developed aloft. Large hail, damaging winds, and flash flooding affected several locations on the 22nd. An EF2 tornado occurred in the Temple area of Central Texas, causing significant damage and injuring dozens of people. A second tornado occurred in Bell County southeast of Temple and was rated an EF-1.

Began near (tpl)temple Muni Arp (31.1334, -97.4388).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

1 more tornado the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1180126. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

Tornadoes near your address

See every tornado that passed near a place you know, measured to its path.