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EF1 tornado in Ochiltree County, Texas

Tornado November 16, 2015 · Ochiltree County, Texas

EF1
Rating
11.0 mi
Whole path
400 yd
Path width

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Ochiltree County → Ochiltree County → Beaver County, Oklahoma; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 400 yards (0.23 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

There were multiple reports from local government officials and storm spotters of this tornado developing between County Road H and County Road F, west of Booker. The tornado crossed Highway 15 near County Road 28. The tornado then continued to move northeast and passed north of Booker. Multiple power flashes were witnessed just west of town. Tree and fence damage was found near the Texas/Oklahoma state line. A rating of EF-1 was given with a maximum wind speed of 86 mph.

The wider storm

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.

Began near Twichell (36.4430, -100.5750).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF3 Gray CountyEF3 Gray CountyEF2 Carson CountyEF1 Gray CountyEF1 Hemphill CountyEF1 Ochiltree CountyEF0 Ochiltree CountyEF0 Lipscomb CountyEF0 Carson CountyEF0 Potter CountyEF0 Armstrong CountyEF0 Hutchinson CountyEF0 Roberts CountyEF0 Roberts County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 608884. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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