EFU Tornado — Castro, Texas

2024-09-21 · near Nazareth, Castro, Texas

Event narrative

Local broadcast media relayed a video report of a tornado in an open field approximately four miles north of Nazareth.

Wider weather episode

A strong upper level low pressure system moving across the southwestern United States into the four-corners region brought ample lift to create scattered thunderstorms late in the afternoon of the 21st. Thunderstorms initially developed across eastern New Mexico by mid-afternoon in response to the approaching upper level system and moderate boundary layer instability. These thunderstorms moved into the extreme southwestern Texas Panhandle late in the afternoon producing large hail up to two inches in diameter and several severe wind gusts. Hail up to two inches in diameter in Dimmitt destroyed numerous car windshields. Several gustnadoes were observed along the leading edge of activity as it tracked across the area. Increasing low level shear, due to a low level jet, interacted with the inflow to a thunderstorm east of Dimmitt (Castro County) producing a brief tornado in an open field. Although storms were moving quickly during the late afternoon through early evening, repeated rounds of storms created flash flooding in and around Dimmitt and flooding in isolated other locations.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (34.6021, -102.1306)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1205966. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.