Thunderstorm Wind — Medina, Texas

2001-10-12 · near Hondo, Medina, Texas

Event narrative

The damage at Hondo was due to the combination of a large tornado, severe downburst winds and large hail. The event was classic, as taught in the NWS Skywarn training program. Severe downburst winds (estimated in excess of 100 miles an hour), struck first, followed by heavy rain, then hail to the size of golfballs, and finally, just in front of the tornado, winds began to calm. This is the classic sequence - wind - rain - hail - calm - tornado. Wind damage began 2 miles northwest of the Hondo Airport, continued across the downtown area, and ended 5 miles southeast of the center of town. This damage was characterized by large limbs knocked from trees, trees uprooted, roofs and winds torn from homes and businesses, and power lines knocked down.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (29.3667, -99.1667)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5269657. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.