F1 tornado, Charlie, Texas, June 16, 1997

1. F040 to 72 mph

   Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

2. F173 to 112 mphthis tornado

   Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

3. F2113 to 157 mph

   Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

4. F3158 to 206 mph

   Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

5. F4207 to 260 mph

   Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

6. F5261 to 318 mph

   Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

7. Unrated

   The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

Rating

F1

Date

June 16, 1997

Touchdown

9:50 PM CDT (02:50 UTC)

Path length

6.5 miles (10.5 km)

Path width

100 yards (91 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Property damage

$150,000

County

Clay County

Touchdown point

34.030, -98.380

Lift-off point

34.130, -98.320

Record number

1046

Summary of events of June 16, 1997:During the evening of the 16th, severe thunderstorms moved eastward from west Texas into north Texas, producing large hail, widespread reports of wind damage, and two tornadoes in the western part of north Texas. The two tornadoes, both resulting in damage and rated F1, occurred in Wichita County southeast of Burkburnett and in Clay County in the Charlie area. The first tornado was on the ground in Wichita County for about 3/4 mile and the second in Clay County for about 6.5 miles. A damage survey was conducted by a National Weather Service meteorologist on the 17th, the day after the storm. Both radar signatures and this survey indicated that the two tornadoes were produced by the same storm. See individual Storm Data entries on these tornadoes for further details.While the tornadoes did produce significant structural damage, severe straight-line thunderstorm winds caused much more widespread damage across the region. Peak measured wind speeds reached 70 mph in Vernon in Wilbarger County and at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita County. Reports of structural damage came from Knox City in Knox County, Mankins in Archer County, Petrolia in Clay County, and Electra, Wichita Falls, and Burkburnett in Wichita County. Tree, limb, and power line damage was also reported in Quanah in Hardeman County, Vernon in Wilbarger County, Archer City in Archer County, and Henrietta in Clay County. The largest reported hail fell near Lake Kemp in Baylor County, where hail reached the size of golf balls. See preceding individual Storm Data entries for further details and additional reports.

A damage survey conducted by a National Weather Service meteorologist revealed a 6.5 mile tornado track across northern Clay County. The tornado began around 20:50 CST about 6 miles southwest of Charlie, TX, moved northeast, and lifted about 2 miles north of Charlie. Downed power poles and several trees on Ratt Road marked the beginning of the damage, with increasing damage through a pecan grove along Highway 171. Damage to a barn and over 1000 trees in the grove was rated at F1. Farther northeast along the track of the tornado, two homes and at least 3 barns/garages also sustained F1 damage along Linville and T-Bone Roads. The roof of a house on T-Bone Road was completely blown off, probably because the garage door had been left open. The heaviest damage from this tornado was along a three mile path from the pecan grove on Highway 171 to the houses on Linville and T-Bone Roads. Path width ranged from 50 to 100 yards.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down.

Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Slight Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 05:56 UTC.

SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.

The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.

The live radar over the trackEvery 1997 tornado in TexasEvery tornado in Texas since 1950Warnings in force in Texas nowThe forecast where you are

24 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.