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EF2 tornado in Medina County, Texas

Tornado March 19, 2012 · Medina County, Texas

EF2

Rating

3.5 mi

Path length

440 yd

Path width

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 440 yards (0.25 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 tornadoes in Medina County destroyed 14 homes, caused major damage on 11 others, and minor damage on seven. Ten people were injured by these storms in Medina 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 Devine Muni Arpt (29.1440, -98.9420).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF2 Bexar County EF1 Medina County EF0 Bexar County EF0 Bexar County EF0 Karnes County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 368119. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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