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EF2 tornado in Guadalupe County, Texas

Tornado October 30, 2015 · Guadalupe County, Texas

EF2
Rating
8.3 mi
Path length
440 yd
Path width
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 440 yards (0.25 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF2 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF2 is considerable damage: roofs torn off well-built houses, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, consistent with estimated gusts of 111–135 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 tornado developed in an open field just south of Cordova Rd. between CR 105 and Hwy 123. The tornado continued north-northwestward for approximately 8.3 miles and dissipated in an open field just north of Schwarziose Road. The tornado damaged approximately 20 homes along the path and destroyed approximately 5 homes. The most severely damaged homes were along and off of CR 105 (Huber road). Damage to slab homes ranged from minor loss of roofing material to complete removal of the roof structure. One mobile home was displaced roughly 20 yards. Another mobile home was rolled and completely destroyed. Several other garages, barns, trailers, and farm equipment were also damaged or destroyed. Numerous trees were snapped with a few uprooted. The peak wind was estimated to be 111-120 mph. Two people were injured. At the time of this writing, there is no estimate of insured monetary losses.

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 Seguin Guadalupe Arp (29.6240, -97.9820).

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 605508. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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