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EF2 tornado in Midland County, Texas

Tornado May 30, 2024 · Midland County, Texas

EF2
Rating
10.3 mi
Path length
1,700 yd
Path width
$75K
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 1,700 yards (0.97 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

This tornado likely began as a weak, uncondensed tornado near Highway 80 and FM 1788, causing minor damage as it tracked towards I-20 and FM 1788. The tornado was then observed crossing I-20 and becoming a dusty circulation, causing damage to power poles, buildings, and RVs near CR1270. NWS employees could see this tornado from the office to the south of I-20. A strong RFD surge overtook the circulation after this time. Reports indicated the tornado may have dissipated, but it most likely became shrouded in rain and dust as a very intense couplet quickly developed as the circulation moved south-southwest. A VROT of 90-100 knots was observed on KMAF radar data at its peak. Limited damage indicators existed during its peak intensity. Minor damage was reported southeast after this time as the circulation slowly weakened and broadened, potentially becoming a larger, multivortex circulation. This tornado likely reached its peak width of approximately a mile wide at this time. This tornado likely dissipated a short time later to the southwest as the TDS dissipated. Property damage cost is an estimation.

The wider storm

A dryline would set up and become focused near the Texas/New Mexico state line south into the Lower Trans Pecos during the afternoon. At the same time, a southwestward advancing outflow boundary generated by a convective system east of the region would interact with the dryline. Initial thunderstorm development occurred near the Stockton Plateau and Llano Estecado. These thunderstorms would mainly produce instances of very large hail through the evening. A separate prolific severe weather-producing supercell would quickly develop at the intersection of the dryline and outflow boundary. This supercell would impact portions of Ector, Midland, and Upton Counties, producing several tornadoes, very large hail, damaging winds, and flash flooding.

Began near Warfield (31.9200, -102.2300).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1181858. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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