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EF3 tornado in Chambers County, Texas

Tornado December 28, 2024 · Chambers County, Texas

EF3
Rating
23.7 mi
Path length
380 yd
Path width
1
Injury
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

NOAA recorded where this tornado touched down but not where it lifted, so it appears as a point. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF3 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF3 is severe damage: whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, consistent with estimated gusts of 136–165 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

The local fire department initially reported that a car near Smith Point was thrown by a tornado.

The survey team found evidence of long track tornado from just east of Smith Point through the Chambers/Jefferson County border. Multiple spots of EF2 damage were found with snapped wooden power line poles and a tossed and destroyed mobile homes. EF3 damage was found along FM 1941 and TX-124 where two steel transmission lines were blown down. One injury was reported with this tornado, which had occurred along Smith Point Rd where a pickup truck was tossed, confirming the initial report by the fire department.

Based on radar data, it is likely this track is a direct continuation of the tornado on the west side of the Galveston Bay. However, there is no way to confirm this is the case as the tornado entering the bay was completely rain wrapped and there is no evidence confirming the tornado crossed Galveston Bay.

The wider storm

Multiple tornadic storms occurred during the afternoon on the 28th, producing hail, wind and tornadoes.

Began near Oak Island (29.6500, -94.7000).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1224049. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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