EF1 tornado in Nueces County, Texas

A National Weather Service (NWS) storm survey team determined a tornado, that touched down 4 miles southeast of Alice International Airport in Jim Wells county continued northeast for 21.5 miles. It travelled through the northwest side of Robstown and ended near Five Points in Calallen. The tornado was strongest from the west-southwest side of Robstown to its end point near Calallen, where wind speeds of up to 100 mph and a width of 200 yards were estimated.

Damage to high voltage power lines, poles, large trees, and signs were observed along the path length. In addition, two large sheds, a barn and a tractor were destroyed southwest of Robstown. On the northwest side of Robstown, numerous trees were snapped and several homes had damage to shingles and wooden roofing. Debris in the form of tin, wood, and sports equipment were strewn across Robstown High School. A large section of the roof of the Robstown High School gymnasium was torn off and a two fifteen-ton air conditioning units, weighing around 1 ton each, were blown off the auditorium. Damage occurred to hundreds of cars at two dealerships south of Calallen.

This was the first tornado on record in South Texas during the month of January. Total property damage was estimated to be around 5 million dollars with the tornado.

A cold front moved through South Texas on Saturday morning, January 8, 2011 and was situated over Deep South Texas Saturday afternoon, with temperatures generally in the 50s area-wide. However as the storm system approached, a surface low pressure area formed along the frontal boundary, which helped to draw warm and humid conditions northward into the Coastal Bend.

As the upper level storm system moved through the region, very strong wind shear developed and combined with an unstable atmosphere to produce a line of severe thunderstorms. A tornadic thunderstorm developed near the proximity of the surface low and retreating warm front, which persisted for over 20 miles travelling from just southeast of Alice to near Calallen. Damaging straight line winds affected most of the Coastal Bend and extended well into the Gulf of Mexico east of Rockport. Widespread wind damage was observed across the Coastal Bend as the storms moved quickly through the region. Approximately 30,000 customers lost power as a result of the storms. This marks the first time a tornado has been recorded in South Texas in the month of January, dating back to 1950. Property damage for the tornado and straight-line winds for the Coastal Bend was estimated to be around 10 million dollars.

From Calallen through Portland and Rockport, doppler radar indicated a broad, yet strong rotation between 4 and 430 AM CST. A NWS storm survey concluded straight-line winds between 70 and 90 mph occurred along this path. A path length of damage of nearly 65 miles was observed from the starting point of the tornado in Jim Wells County to the end of the straight-line wind damage in Rockport.

Further north, doppler radar indicated another bowing segment in the line across Victoria and Calhoun Counties between 400 and 500 AM CST. The Seadrift TCOON site recorded a wind gust of 70 mph. A NWS storm survey team concluded straight line wind speeds of around 70 mph occurred from rural southern Victoria County to Seadrift in southwestern Calhoun County.