F0 tornado, Crowell, Texas, April 30, 2000

1. F040 to 72 mphthis tornado

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

2. F173 to 112 mph

   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

F0

Date

April 30, 2000

Touchdown

4:20 PM CDT (21:20 UTC)

Path length

3.0 miles (4.8 km)

Path width

50 yards (46 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

County

Foard County

Touchdown point

33.970, -99.730

Lift-off point

34.000, -99.720

Record number

724

Numerous severe thunderstorms moved across western portions of north Texas during the afternoon and evening of the 30th. Four tornadoes were confirmed, and there were numerous reports of large hail and some straight-line wind damage.

This tornado was closely intersected by a Doppler-On-Wheels chase team 6 miles west of Crowell. No structures or trees were present to be affected by strong winds, and thus it was rated F0.

This tornado was also closely intersected by a Doppler-On-Wheels chase team and was later confirmed by another chase team associated with the MOCISE project. The tornado developed 2 miles southwest of Crowell just south of Highway 70 and tracked northward before turning to the right as it dissipated 1 mile north of Crowell. Power flashes were observed early in its development, and thus the tornado has earned an F0 rating.

This tornado was indentified by a Doppler-On-Wheels chase team 2 miles east of Crowell while another tornado dissipated. Small debris consisting of small tree limbs and leaves, was observed moving rapidly northward across a Doppler-On-Wheels chase vehicle, and thus the tornado has been rated F0.

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

22 minutes of warning. NWS OUN issued a tornado warning for this county at 20:58 UTC, 22 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 21:30 UTC.

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 Moderate Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 19:19 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 live radar over the trackEvery 2000 tornado in TexasEvery tornado in Texas since 1950Warnings in force in Texas nowThe forecast where you are

13 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.