F3 Tornado — Gillespie, Texas

2001-10-12 · near Stonewall, Gillespie, Texas

Event narrative

The strongest of the Friday night tornadoes struck the town of Stonewall. This tornado, rated F3 on the Fujita Scale, was preceded by brief gusty winds of 30 to 40 miles per hour, very heavy rainfall and spotty .5-inch hail. The tornado formed around 830 pm CST near the intersection of Hahn Road and SH290. It moved north-northeastward for .75 miles, crossing SH290 and the Pedernales River. Just north of the river, it made a slight turn toward the east, now moving another mile toward the northeast. It crossed North River Road and continued over open country until it crossed Ranch Road 1623. After passing RR1623 for approximately .25 miles, it dissipated. The worst damage, F3 level, was to trees and homes between RR1623 and SH290, across the northwest and north central part of Stonewall. Ninety homes sustained damage with 6 destroyed. In addition, 7 mobile homes were destroyed and 20 damaged. Damage was also reported to 22 buildings. A two-story home had the entire second story destroyed, and a concrete building lost most of its walls and all of its roof. Other damage along the path typically included destroyed and damaged roofs and walls of homes and businesses as well as widespread damage to trees. The tornado path was approximately .25 miles in width and 2.5 miles in length. Although the tornado was not seen due to the late hour and darkness, residents did report that after heavy rain and hail, the wind became calm, and it was followed by a "roaring sound" so often reported in tornadoes. Five persons were injured with one man hospitalized as a result of the tornado.

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Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5269590. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.