F0 tornado in Erath County, Texas

Tornado December 29, 2006 · Erath County, Texas

Rating

1.4 mi

Path length

40 yd

Path width

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The path drawn at its surveyed width of 40 yards (0.02 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F0 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F0 meant light damage: shingles and siding peeled, gutters torn, branches broken; the scale paired it with winds of 40–72 mph, figures later judged too high, especially toward the top of the scale, and revised downward in the Enhanced Fujita scale. Ratings then, as now, came from the damage.

What the National Weather Service wrote

A tornado was reported on the ground at Highway 377 North moving north towards CR 176. No damage was reported.

The wider storm

A rare winter tornado outbreak occurred on December 29 over portions of North Texas, spawning almost two dozen tornadoes. Very high shear and low instability created an environment favorable for tornadoes. A strong surface low pressure system and warm front located in southern North Texas increased the probablitity for low-level rotation. In addition to tornadoes, severe reports of large hail and flash flooding were widespread.

Began near Stephenville (32.2198, -98.1879).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 7374. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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