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EF0 tornado in Medina County, Texas

Tornado October 30, 2015 · Medina County, Texas

EF0
Rating
2.8 mi
Path length
100 yd
Path width
$250K
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 100 yards (0.06 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF0 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF0 is light damage: shingles and siding peeled, gutters torn, branches broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 65–85 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 weak EF0 tornado formed 1 mile southwest of the town of D'hanis during the early morning hours of October 30. The tornado produced minor tree damage on the southwest side of town along and near CR 5223. The tornado crossed Hwy 90 and produced additional damage to a few homes including roof and shingle damage. Winds were estimated to be near 85 mph when the tornado crossed the downtown area. The second story of a building in downtown D'hanis collapsed. Other damage was observed to several businesses and private residences as the tornado moved northeast and crossed FM 1796 before finally dissipating near CR 423 approximately 2 miles NE of town. Peak winds were estimated to be 85 mph.

The wider storm

A warm front combined with an upper level trough and deep moisture produced heavy rainfall and severe thunderstorms across much of South Central Texas on October 30th and 31st. Damage surveys confirmed four tornadoes. Along with the severe weather, excessive rainfall resulted in widespread flash flooding along the Interstate 35 corridor Friday morning. Rainfall rates on the order of 5-7 inches per hour fell from San Marcos up through South Austin. Historic rainfall totals fell at the Austin Airport where over 1 foot of rain fell within a few hours time. 12.49 inches of rain for Oct 30 was the most ever in one day for Austin. Other daily rainfall totals exceeded 15 inches. Record flooding occurred in southern Travis County and portions of Hays County. River and creek flooding was extensive across Hays, Travis, Bastrop, Caldwell, and Comal Counties. Many areas, especially in San Marcos, compared this flooding to the record flooding of Oct 1998. Estimates of 2000 homes were flooded in or near this I-35 corridor, many of them destroyed or sustained Major damage. Estimates of insured losses were not available as of this writing, but the counties experienced monetary losses in the tens of millions.

Began near (hdo)hondo Muni Arpt (29.3261, -99.2880).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 605486. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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