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EF1 tornado in Palo Pinto County, Texas

Tornado May 18, 2025 · Palo Pinto County, Texas

EF1
Rating
2.1 mi
Path length
995 yd
Path width
4
Injuries
$750K
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 995 yards (0.57 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

An EF-1 tornado formed north of Gordon and moved south-southeast into Gordon. One property near FM 919 and Harlin Road sustained damage to a small building on the property and 2 barns. In the town of Gordon, notable tree damage and power pole damage was observed along with damage to roofs. Most of the roof damage was partial removal of metal panels, leaving some homes with holes in their roofs. The school stadium and nearby athletic fields also suffered significant damage to the locker rooms, weight room, bleachers, scoreboards, and more. One tall stadium light pole was bent in half. In the southeast part of Gordon, a manufactured home was destroyed. In Gordon is where the tornado received its strongest rating of EF-1 with 105 mph winds. The tornado was tracked through tree damage just outside of Gordon to the southeast where it dissipated. Several minor injuries were reported with 4 hospital transports, but all 4 were already released the next morning.

The wider storm

On the afternoon of May 18, scattered thunderstorms ignited over the Big Country, initiated by an upper trough digging southeast over the Intermountain West. These storms formed along a dryline and rapidly intensified, spreading east into western North Texas. Several of these storms produced large hail, damaging winds, and tornadoes. A total of 6 tornadoes were surveyed were Eastland to Parker counties: one EF-Unknown, three EF-0s, and two EF-1s.

Began near Gordon (32.5706, -98.3718).

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 1265214. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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