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EF1 tornado in Dawson County, Texas

Tornado May 29, 2025 · Dawson County, Texas

EF1
Rating
4.4 mi
Path length
50 yd
Path width
$20K
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 50 yards (0.03 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF1 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF1 is moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 86–110 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 was the estimated path of a brief tornado in the vicinity of Sparenberg to the southeast of Lamesa. Irrigation pivots were found lying towards the southeast. This was estimated to have been due to wind speeds of approximately 90 MPH. This tornado is rated EF-1. Open dirt fields in the vicinity did not allow for further survey damage. The time of occurrence is radar estimated. The cost of damages is also estimated.

The wider storm

A disturbance in the quasi-zonal/northwesterly flow aloft, a dryline, and a cold front moving across the northern Permian Basin allowed for the development of scattered thunderstorms across Southeast New Mexico and West Texas. Thunderstorm coverage continued to increase into the afternoon and evening, and a number of storms became severe. The strongest storm of the day was in Dawson and Howard counties. This storm latched onto the stationary boundary and produced two brief EF-1 tornadoes in Dawson County as well as damaging straight line winds and large hail. Other thunderstorms also produced large hail and damaging winds, and a landspout was reported near Loving, New Mexico.

Began near Sparenburg (32.6500, -101.8800).

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 1260976. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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