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EF1 tornado in Victoria County, Texas

Tornado May 1, 2026 · Victoria County, Texas

EF1
Rating
1.1 mi
Path length
400 yd
Path width
$500K
Damage as recorded
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 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

Evidence of a high-end EF-1 (110mph) tornado was found in south- central Victoria County. Drone footage showed a scour track that began over farmland between Crouch Rd and HWY-185, and ended near Crouch Rd east of York Rd along with a track of debris. In between, several manufactured homes on Jared Rd, Lexie Ln, and York Rd suffered significant roof damage, broken windows, and scattered debris correlated to circulation of a tornado. One manufactured home was completely destroyed along Jared Rd. The tornado track was found to be around 1.1 miles long and a width of around 400 yards, spanning from 2:02-2:06pm CDT.

The wider storm

On May 1, 2026, severe weather developed across South Texas as a shortwave trough moved eastward out of northern Mexico and interacted with a quasi-stationary frontal boundary draped across South Texas and the middle Texas coast. North of the front, a very moist air mass characterized by dewpoints in the lower to middle 70s combined with moderate instability to support widespread showers and thunderstorms. As the upper-level disturbance approached, increasing large-scale ascent and strengthening mid-level winds enhanced deep-layer shear, allowing some storms to become better organized and rotate. Despite extensive cloud cover and ongoing convection, sufficient instability remained in place for stronger updrafts capable of producing large hail. The combination of strengthening shear and organized storm structures also supported isolated severe wind gusts. Additionally, the development of a surface low along the Texas coast locally enhanced low-level wind fields and directional shear near the frontal boundary, creating a favorable environment for a brief, isolated tornado.

Began near Dacosta (28.7366, -96.9158).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1332219. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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