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EF1 tornado in Bastrop County, Texas

Tornado May 23, 2015 · Bastrop County, Texas

EF1
Rating
0.8 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 found that an EF-1 tornado initially touched down around Frio Ct, in the River Crossing subdivision producing tree and roof damage at a residence. The tornado moved ENE and crossed several streets in the subdivision. Several trees were uprooted and large oak trees suffered substantial damage. Peak winds were estimated at 95 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 Elysium (30.1692, -97.4940).

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 581290. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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