EF2 tornado in Lipscomb County, Texas

The tornado began in Lipscomb County in Texas, crossed into southeast Beaver County Oklahoma and crossed into Ellis and Harper Counties from there. The tornado got stronger and larger with time, but mainly damaged trees, fences and power poles in the area of this survey limiting the EF rating to a 2. The tornado did greater damage (and earned higher rating) as it destroyed a home just feet across the county line. This damage was surveyed by the Norman Weather Forecast Office.

A vigorous upper level low pressure system developed across southern Nevada. Significant wind shear and instability developed as moisture was drawn north into the Panhandles setting the stage for a very long duration and higher end severe episode. Initially, elevated supercell storms developed in the NW Texas Panhandles on the cold side of a nearly stationary frontal boundary and moved northeast into the central Oklahoma Panhandle as the first of multiple disturbances moved across the area. Hail up to golf ball size and wind damage was reported with these storms.

During the afternoon hours, upper level disturbances, daytime heating and the very pronounced frontal boundary stretching from near Amarillo northeast into Beaver County, Oklahoma became the main catalyst for surface based supercells, which produced very large hail up to baseball size and several tornadoes. Two very large and long tracked tornadoes produced damage across the northeast Panhandles. Both were rated EF-2s based on the damage, but they remained in very rural areas throughout their life-cycle. A total of eight tornadoes occurred during this event, however three of these were landspouts that developed along an outflow produced by storms early in the event. With the loss of daytime heating, supercells congealed into a line which produced gusty winds and hail across the eastern Texas Panhandle before finally moving east and exiting the region in the early morning hours on May 24th.