TornadoLookup

Home / Texas / Williamson

EF1 tornado in Williamson County, Texas

Tornado May 23, 2015 · Williamson County, Texas

EF1
Rating
3.1 mi
Path length
200 yd
Path width
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 200 yards (0.11 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF1 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF1 is moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 86–110 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 NWS storm survey team found an EF-1 tornado initially touched down near County Road 201 just west of County Road 200. The tornado traveled to the north-northeast through the Indian Oaks and Carriage Oaks subdivisions before crossing County Road 200 and lifting near East Bear Creek Rd. Damage was primarily to large oak trees, but about 7 to 10 homes suffered damage mainly to roofs. The most substantial damage was a complete loss of a chimney. Also, a barn lost part of its roof. Peak winds were estimated at 100 mph.

The wider storm

An upper level shortwave trough moved around the longwave low over the Four Corners region. This upper distubance interacted with a surface boundary moving northward as a warm front from South Texas into a very moist airmass. This combination led to thunderstorms that produced heavy rain and isolated severe weather. A historic flash flood occurred on the Blanco River late Saturday night into Sunday. Hundreds of homes were destroyed along the river from the City of Blanco down into Wimberley and San Marcos. The flood wave continued downstream for days affecting residents and homes along the San Marcos and Guadalupe Rivers. Early estimates show damages in excess of 100 million dollars. Several people lost their lives due to flash flooding. A large tornado outbreak occurred this Saturday night producing numerous small brief tornadoes.

Began near Liberty Hill (30.6909, -97.9411).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 581288. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

Tornadoes near your address

See every tornado that passed near a place you know, measured to its path.