EF2 Tornado — Runnels, Texas

2024-05-02 · near Ballinger, Runnels, Texas

Event narrative

The tornado damaged trees off County Road 121 and County Road 122

before damaging several structures at a private residence off

County Road 123. The tornado moved a one story house off of its

foundation and severely damaged a metal barn structure next to the

home. The tornado damaged additional trees west of County Road 123.

In addition, the tornado damaged wooden utility poles along County

Road 123. The estimated peak wind of the tornado was 115 mph.

Wider weather episode

A favorable weather pattern for widespread severe weather was in place across west central Texas during early May. There was an upper level southwest flow and a sharp dryline in the area. Also, extreme instability was present along with strong vertical wind shear during the late afternoon and evening hours. Supercell thunderstorms developed and produced strong tornadoes in Jones, Runnels and Sterling counties which resulted in damage to homes and other structures. Also, severe thunderstorms produced giant size hail and damaging winds.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (31.7582, -99.9230)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1187523. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.