F1 tornado, Kyle, Texas, November 15, 2001

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

November 15, 2001

Touchdown

3:21 PM CST (21:21 UTC)

Path length

3.5 miles (5.6 km)

Path width

500 yards (457 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

3

Property damage

$500,000

County

Hays County

Touchdown point

30.020, -97.870

Lift-off point

30.030, -97.800

Record number

1148

This F1 tornado formed immediately after a previous F1 tornado that had been observed by a Department of Public Safety Trooper along I-35 between mile markers 215 and 217 from 2.5 miles north of Kyle to 5 miles northeast of Kyle. The two tornadoes continued together for several minutes, causing extensive tree damage along the frontage road with tops of trees sheared off. Large oak tree branches 5 to 8 inches round were twisted and scattered across the area. Numerous road signs bent over and twisted at the base along with uprooted trees. Some downed trees were pointing south, others were pointing north. The same held true with the bent over highway signs. Power line poles were snapped. They damaged the truck stop at exit #217 sustained extensive damage to the awnings and roof. Several 18-wheelers were knocked over the by tornadoes. A hotel under construction also was damaged along with a restaurant across I-35 from the GAS station. The Hays County Independent School District Headquarters building was also damaged. In all, over 100 homes were damaged by the tornadoes and two were destroyed. Almost 20 businesses suffered damage. Repair costs to area roads and bridges were estimated at near 1/2 million dollars.

This first F1 tornado was observed by a Department of Public Safety Trooper as it formed some 2.5 miles north of Kyle. It moved across I-35 between mile markers 215 and 217 to 5 miles northeast of Kyle. The trooper also reported a second tornado that formed in the same vicinity as the first and moved alongside the first for several minutes. The two tornadoes caused extensive tree damage along the frontage road with tops of trees sheared off. Large oak tree branches 5 to 8 inches round were twisted and scattered across the area. Numerous road signs bent over and twisted at the base along with uprooted trees. Some downed trees were pointing south, others were pointing north. The same held true with the bent over highway signs. Power line poles were snapped. They damaged the truck stop at exit #217 sustained extensive damage to the awnings and roof. Several 18-wheelers were knocked over the by tornadoes. A hotel under construction also was damaged along with a restaurant across I-35 from the GAS station. The Hays County Independent School District Headquarters building was also damaged. In all, over 100 homes were damaged by the tornadoes and two were destroyed. Almost 20 businesses suffered damage. Repair costs to area roads and bridges were estimated at near 1/2 million dollars.

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

23 minutes of warning. NWS EWX issued a tornado warning for this county at 20:58 UTC, 23 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 22:00 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 Slight Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 19:39 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 Austin/San Antonio radar (KEWX), 40 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 21:22 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track

Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.

The live radar over the trackEvery 2001 tornado in TexasEvery tornado in Texas since 1950Warnings in force in Texas nowThe forecast where you are

22 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.