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EF2 tornado in Bexar County, Texas

Tornado March 19, 2012 · Bexar County, Texas

EF2
Rating
5.0 mi
Path length
100 yd
Path width
4
Injuries
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 100 yards (0.06 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF2 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF2 is considerable damage: roofs torn off well-built houses, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, consistent with estimated gusts of 111–135 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

A supercell thunderstorm moved through southeastern Medina County and into southwestern Bexar County and produced three tornadoes. The first tornado touched down in Devine, the second in Natalia, and the third in Bexar County. The tornado in Bexar County destroyed eight homes (four single family and four mobile), caused major damage on five others, and minor damage on two more. Four people were injured by these storms in Bexar County.

The wider storm

A deep upper level trough of low pressure and strong cold front moved into an area of deep boundary layer moisture. The system initially produced supercell thunderstorms which produced several tornadoes and large hail. There storms then transitioned into a quasi-linear convective system that produced heavy rainfall and flooding.

Began near Atascosa (29.2450, -98.7610).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF2 Medina CountyEF1 Medina CountyEF0 Bexar CountyEF0 Bexar CountyEF0 Karnes County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 367954. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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