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F3 tornado in Jefferson County, Texas

Tornado January 1, 1999 · Jefferson County, Texas

F3
Rating
9.5 mi
Whole path
400 yd
Path width
5
Injuries
$675K
Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Liberty County → Jefferson County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 400 yards (0.23 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F3 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F3 meant severe damage: whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned; the scale paired it with winds of 158–206 mph, figures later judged too high, especially toward the top of the scale, and revised downward in the Enhanced Fujita scale. Ratings then, as now, came from the damage.

The wider storm

A strong tornado that developed in Liberty County moved into western Jefferson County, destroying several rice dryers, two mobile homes, and a brick house. Five people were injured in the mobile homes and brick house. Two people received broken necks and other injuries after they were ejected from one of the mobile homes.A fiberglass tub from the destroyed brick home was found one mile away. Cancelled checks and other paperwork were found seven miles away in southern Hardin County.This tornado was strongest southwest of Nome, and was weakening as it passed through the small community of Nome. At least 20 homes received minor damage such as shingles blown off, and many trees were blown down.

Began near Nome (30.0000, -94.4500).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5684313. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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