TornadoLookup

Home / Texas / Gray

EF3 tornado in Gray County, Texas

Tornado March 28, 2007 · Gray County, Texas

EF3
Rating
8.0 mi
Path length
1,760 yd
Path width
$27K
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 1,760 yards (1.00 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. 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

This tornado developed from the same storm that moved just east of McLean. The initial circulation developed eight miles north northeast of McLean at 1945 CST and was initially moving northeast at forty miles per hour. As it crossed Farm to Market Road 2473 at the McClellan Creek bridge...high-tension power lines supported by double wooden pole structures were broken or snapped at the ground at several locations. Numerous hard and softwood trees were debarked with only stubs remaining. At 1949 CST...the tornado moved more northwesterly and accelerated to forty-five miles per hour. A local rancher...who lives seven miles northwest of Kellerville heard the tornado approaching and took shelter. Damage to his property included a covered porch that was completely blown off and steel roofing was peeled back on the the southward facing side. A brick chimney also collapsed. Several trees...as much as two hundred feet from the west edge of the house...were blown down. A bunkhouse on the property lost of the roof. An anchored large steel feed bunk was pulled out of the ground. No injuries were reported.

The wider storm

Severe thunderstorms during the evening hours produced numerous tornadoes and large hail across the southern...central and eastern Texas panhandle. Heavy rains caused flash flooding in the eastern Texas panhandle during the late night and early morning hours. One man was killed by a tornado in the northeastern Texas panhandle and another person was injured.

Began near Mc Lean (35.3235, -100.5526).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 21934. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

Tornadoes near your address

See every tornado that passed near a place you know, measured to its path.