EF3 Tornado — Roberts, Texas

2015-11-16 · near Codman, Roberts, Texas

Event narrative

This long track tornado moved into Roberts County from Gray County and caused damage mainly to power lines and trees due to its rural track. It was the first tornado to pass near Pampa. Some trees were debarked and completely defoliated leaving only the trunks. The collapse of a high tension power line metal truss tower is the basis for the EF-3 rating. Maximum winds were estimated to be 140 mph.

Wider weather episode

A powerful storm system brought significant severe weather to the region. Tornadoes, damaging winds, and large hail accompanied thunderstorms that formed during the afternoon hours and persisted into the evening. This was a very unusual event for late fall in the Central High Plains. One significant factor in this anomalous event was the presence of an unusual amount of moisture for mid-November, contributing to relatively high values of instability. No tornadoes had previously been documented in the Texas Panhandle during the month of November.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (35.6204, -100.7760)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 608862. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.