Tornadoes · United States · Texas · 2001

F1 tornado, George West, Texas, November 15, 2001

Name: F1 tornado, George West, Texas, November 15, 2001
Start: 2001-11-15T20:46:00.000Z
Location: George West, Texas

This F1 tornado ran 0.6 miles across Live Oak County on November 15, 2001, touching down at 2:46 PM CST and reaching 200 yards wide. It killed nobody.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

F040 to 72 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
F173 to 112 mphthis tornado
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
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.
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.
F4207 to 260 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
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.
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.

The record

Rating: F1
Date: November 15, 2001
Touchdown: 2:46 PM CST (20:46 UTC)
Path length: 0.6 miles (1.0 km)
Path width: 200 yards (183 m)
Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
County: Live Oak County
Touchdown point: 28.330, -98.120
Lift-off point: 28.330, -98.120
Record number: 313

What the Weather Service recorded

5 Miles NE of George West - House damaged and large tree libs through roof - Shed blown away.

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

The warnings

2 minutes of warning. NWS CRP issued a tornado warning for this county at 20:44 UTC, 2 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 21:15 UTC.

Issued (UTC)	Expired	Product	Office
03:35 UTC	06:30 UTC	Flash Flood Warning	CRP
03:49 UTC	04:45 UTC	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CRP
20:03 UTC	23:00 UTC	Flash Flood Warning	CRP
20:44 UTC	21:15 UTC	Tornado Warning	CRP
21:24 UTC	22:30 UTC	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CRP
23:34 UTC	00:15 UTC	Tornado Warning	CRP
23:37 UTC	02:30 UTC	Flash Flood Warning	CRP
04:32 UTC	07:15 UTC	Flash Flood Warning	CRP

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 forecast that day

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.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the tornado touched down, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Corpus Christi, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Nov 15, 2:45 PM CST, 1 minute earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 15, 2:45 PM CST, 1 minute before

COASTAL BEND FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CORPUS CHRISTI TX
245 PM CST THU NOV 15 2001

VISIBLE SATELLITE REVEALS RICH MOISTURE AXIS EXTENDING FROM DEEP
SOUTH TEXAS INTO CENTRAL TX...WHERE PRECIP WAS ONGOING.  ANOTHER
BAND OF STRONG STORMS WAS MOVING INLAND ALG THE WARM FRONT FROM
CALHOUN TO GONZALES COUNTY. STRONG VEERING WINDS AND DAY TIME
HEATING RESULTING IN ISOLATED SUPERCELLS ATTM. CURRENT TOR WATCH
WILL EXPIRE AT 00Z. SPC MONITORING S TX FOR ANOTHER WW LATER THIS
AFTN.  BELIVE DRYING OUT WEST WILL MAINTAIN STORM DVLPMT ACROSS
CNTRL COUNTIES INTO THE EVENING HOURS...WITH STRONG DIFLUENCE ALOFT
ENHANCING ACTIVITY INTO THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. LOW LVL JET DIMINISHES
TONIGHT AS CLOSED UPR LOW BEGINS TO RETREAT. THIS WOULD LEAD TO
SLOWER STORM MOTIONS AND HEAVY RAIN.  WILL MAINTAIN HIGH POPS
THROUGH FRI...THEN WILL DIMINISH SAT AS DRY RIDGE SETTLES INTO THE
REGION FROM NE.  WILL EXAMINE FFA AND MAY DROP WEBB COUNTY WHICH HAS
NOT SEEN ANY RAINFALL YET.

WEATHER QUIETS DOWN SUNDAY AS THE UPPER LOW WEAKENS AND MOVES OVER
THE CENTRAL ROCKIES...FORCING DOWNSTREAM TROUGHING. THIS WILL BRING
A DRY COOL FRONT INTO S TX MON.  UPR TROF FINALLY OPENS UP AND
TRACKS ACROSS TX WED WITH MAINLY MID/HIGH CLOUDS AND SLGT CHC
PRECIP. SFC TROF AXIS WILL POSITION INTO OUR CNTRL ZONES
THANKSGIVING DAY WITH NICE CONDITIONS OUT WEST AND SLGT CHC PRECIP
EAST.

NEAR NORMAL TEMPS ARE EXPECTED THRU SAT BEFORE DRIER AIR FILTERS IN
MAKING FOR COOLER NIGHTTIME LOWS SAT NGT-TUE.

MARINE...A STRONG UPPER LEVEL LOW OVER EXTREME WESTERN TEXAS WILL
CONTINUE TO ADVECT ABUNDANT MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY INTO SOUTH
TEXAS. CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY WILL CONTINUE OVER THE BAYS AND COASTAL
WATERS INTO TONIGHT. SOME STORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE. WILL CONTINUE
WITH SCEC CONDITIONS TONIGHT AND FRI. EXPECT WINDS TO SLOWLY
DECREASE OVER THE WEEKEND AS THE UPPER DISTURBANCE WEAKENS. SHOULD
SEE DRIER AIR OVER THE AREA BY SUNDAY.

CRP TB 068/078 064/076 060 77230
VCT TB 067/076 060/075 055 55220
LRD TE 067/080 063/076 061 55341

75/71

.CRP...FFA ZONES TXZ229>234-240>247.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Nov 15, 10:30 AM CST, 4 hours 16 minutes before

TXZ229>234-239>247-160300-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CORPUS CHRISTI TX
1030 AM CST THU NOV 15 2001

...SLIGHT THREAT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND
TONIGHT...

SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP OVER THE COASTAL
BEND THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. BECAUSE THE ATMOSPHERE IS VERY
UNSTABLE AND THE WIND SHEAR IS STRONG...A FEW STORMS COULD BECOME
SEVERE...WITH WIND GUSTS OVER 60 MPH AND LARGE HAIL. AN ISOLATED
TORNADO IS ALSO POSSIBLE.

THE GREATEST CONCERN FOR TODAY HOWEVER IS FLOODING. THE SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO REDEVELOP OVER THE SAME AREAS BRINGING
A THREAT OF FLASH FLOODING. RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 2 TO 4 INCHES ARE
LIKELY...MAINLY OVER CENTRAL PORTIONS OF THE COASTAL BEND...WITH
LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS POSSIBLE.

RESIDENTS ACROSS SOUTH TEXAS SHOULD CLOSELY MONITOR THIS DEVELOPING
WEATHER SITUATION AND BE ALERT TO RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER
CONDITIONS.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...COMMERCIAL RADIO...OR TELEVISION
FOR THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION.

Special weather statement, Nov 15, 12:24 PM CST, 2 hours 22 minutes before

TXZ230>234-243>247-160000-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CORPUS CHRISTI TX
1224 PM CST THU NOV 15 2001

...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM CST...

A TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR ARANSAS...BEE...LIVE OAK...
NUECES...CALHOUN...REFUGIO...VICTORIA...MCMULLEN...SAN PATRICIO...
AND GOLIAD COUNTIES.

AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE OVER THE AREA IS CAUSING A VERY UNSTABLE
ATMOSPHERE TODAY. IN ADDITION TO POSSIBLE TORNADOS...PERSONS SHOULD
BE AWARE OF THE THREAT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND LARGE HAIL.

SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE WITH THE SLOW
MOVING UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM.

FOR THE LATEST WEATHER FORECASTS AND WARNINGS...CHECK OUR WEB SITE AT
HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/CRP

The air that afternoon

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.

Corpus Christi, TX (KCRP), 12:00Z

8.8 hours before the tornado, 102 km from the path. November 15, 2001.

Skew-T log-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.

Hodograph

The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.

Mixed-layer CAPE: 2181 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -2 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 2299 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 580 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 37 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 115 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 160 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.9
Supercell composite: 5.8
0-3 km lapse rate: 5.1 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Corpus Christi, TX (KCRP), 00:00Z

3.2 hours after it, 102 km from the path. November 16, 2001.

Skew-T log-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.

Hodograph

Mixed-layer CAPE: 2644 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -1 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 3651 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 634 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 41 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 19 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 156 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 221 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 3.0
Supercell composite: 15.4
0-3 km lapse rate: 6.6 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Corpus Christi radar (KCRP), 85 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 20:47 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.

This ground now

The live radar over the track Every 2001 tornado in Texas Every tornado in Texas since 1950 Warnings in force in Texas now The forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of November 15, 2001

22 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
November 15	3:53 AM CST	F0	Bee, TX	0.3	100
November 15	5:05 AM CST	F0	Kendall, TX	1.2	50		$10,000
November 15	5:20 AM CST	F0	Kendall, TX	4.0	200	2	$100,000
November 15	9:30 AM CST	F0	Blanco, TX	3.0	50		$3,000
November 15	9:45 AM CST	F0	Hays, TX	2.0	100	1	$50,000
November 15	10:20 AM CST	F0	Hays, TX	2.0	50		$50,000
November 15	12:55 PM CST	F0	Karnes, TX	0.1	20
November 15	1:35 PM CST	F1	Karnes, TX	2.5	200		$120,000
November 15	3:20 PM CST	F1	Hays, TX	3.5	500	3	$500,000
November 15	3:21 PM CST	F1	Hays, TX	3.5	500	3	$500,000
November 15	3:50 PM CST	F1	Travis, TX	2.5	800		$100,000
November 15	3:53 PM CST	F0	Bee, TX	0.3	100
November 15	3:53 PM CST	F1	Bee, TX	0.2	50
November 15	4:36 PM CST	F1	Bee, TX	0.5	200
November 15	4:45 PM CST	F0	Travis, TX	2.0	30		$30,000
November 15	4:50 PM CST	F0	Williamson, TX	3.5	30
November 15	5:30 PM CST	F1	Travis, TX	3.0	500		$80,000
November 15	5:44 PM CST	F0	Travis, TX	4.5	50		$10,000
November 15	6:02 PM CST	F0	Travis, TX	0.3	30
November 15	6:35 PM CST	F0	Guadalupe, TX	1.1	50		$50,000
November 15	7:15 PM CST	F1	Goliad, TX	0.6	300
November 15	8:10 PM CST	F0	Goliad, TX	0.3	100

What this means

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.

Sources

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