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EF1 tornado in Stephens County, Texas

Tornado April 9, 2008 · Stephens County, Texas

EF1
Rating
7.1 mi
Path length
400 yd
Path width
6
Injuries
$1.0M
Damage as recorded
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

The second tornado began approximately a half mile west of Highway 183 and south of FM 2231. Power poles were damaged along FM 2231 and Highway 183 and roof and barn damage was noted along Highway 183. The most significant damage occurred at and just west of the Stephens County Airport where several homes had considerable damage along CR 150. Several airport buildings had overhead doors blown in, roof damage, and damage to girders. Power poles were also damaged northeast of the airport near the eastern end of FM 2231. Damage to mobile homes, roofs, power poles, and storage buildings continued across Highway 180 and between Highways 67 and 207. This tornado has been rated as an upper end EF-1 with winds approaching 110 MPH. An estimated 46 homes were damaged in total. Three injuries required hospitalization and there were a few minor ones as well.

The wider storm

Several rounds of storms moved across north Texas on April 8th through 10th. Numerous reports of large hail were received on Tuesday evening. A lone supercell evolved during the afternoon hours of the 9th, producing tornadoes and large hail along its path. Later that evening and into Thursday morning a squall line tracked across north Texas, producing damaging winds and tornadoes into the morning hours.

Began near Breckenridge Arpt (32.7238, -98.9127).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 88425. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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