F1 tornado, Austin, 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

3:50 PM CST (21:50 UTC)

Path length

2.5 miles (4.0 km)

Path width

800 yards (732 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Property damage

$100,000

County

Travis County

Touchdown point

30.230, -97.750

Lift-off point

30.270, -97.730

Record number

504

An F1 tornado estimated to be near 1/4 mile wide formed near William Cannon Road about 1/4 mile east of I-35 in Austin. It moved northeast for just over 2 miles. In the North Bluff Estates Trailer Park, at least two dozen mobile homes sustained minor to extensive damage. One mobile home in particular was overturned upside down against another mobile home and a car. The mobile home was tied-down. No reports of injuries as both trailers were empty at the time. In addition, tree and roof damage was evident to businesses in the area and an apartment complex across William Cannon from the trailer park. Several trees were again sheared at the top or completely uprooted. One pickup truck was lifted and placed on top of a pile of debris. It is possible there were two tornadoes in this event, especially due to the width of the damage path. However, based on the reports received to this time, and the survey made, the best conclusion is that one tornado occurred.

A small F0 tornado struck near Yeager Lane in northeast Austin. It moved toward the northeast for two miles, then dissipated. Along its path, it damaged several carports and mobile homes and destroyed numerous trees. One school was involved in a tornado drill as the tornado approached. With students already safely in the hallways, no additional action was needed.

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

52 minutes of warning. NWS EWX issued a tornado warning for this county at 20:58 UTC, 52 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 General Thunderstorms 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.

NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Nov 15, 3:05 PM CST, 45 minutes earlier.

SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
305 PM CST THU NOV 15 2001

UPPER LOW CENTERED NEAR GUADALUPE PEAK TO CONTINUE CHURNING OUT BITS
OF ENERGY ON ITS SOUTH SIDE.  AS THESE VORTICIES COLLIDE WITH THE
MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIR MASS OVER SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS AND THE HILL
COUNTRY TONIGHT AND FRIDAY...EXPECT MORE LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN EVENTS
ON TOP OF WHAT WEVE ALREADY RECEIVED LAST NIGHT AND TODAY.  A BRIEF
RESPITE NOTED IN RADAR AND SATELLITE DISPLAYS BUT THIS WILL BE SHORT
LIVED AS SATELLITE IMAGERY ALREADY SHOWS A SPEED MAX JETTING ACROSS
THE BIG BEND AND NORTHERN MEXICO TOWARD THE RIO GRANDE WITH
CONVECTION ONCE MORE BLOSSOMING WEST OF THE RIVER IN RESPONSE TO
THIS UPPER-LEVEL FEATURE.

UPPER LOW FORECAST TO MOVE OUT ON SUNDAY WITH SOME MENTION OF PRECIP
REMAINING IN THE EXTENDED FORECAST MUCH OF NEXT WEEK.

WILL CONTINUE THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH TONIGHT AND MENTION THE
POSSIBILITY OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN THE BODY OF THE FORECAST.
TORNADO WATCH TO RUN UNTIL 6 PM CST.

.PRELIMINARY NUMBERS...
AUS 62/72/60/73 9876
DRT 60/72/60/72 7765
SAT 63/72/62/73 9876

.EWX...FLASH FLOOD WATCH TONIGHT ALL OF SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS AND HILL
COUNTRY.

In the hours before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO, TX
1125 AM CST THU NOV 15 2001

TIME(CST)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0940 AM    9 NW WIMBERLEY            TX   TORNADO
11/15/01   HAYS                           *** 1 INJ ***
                                          REPORTED BY HAYS COUNTY
                                          EMERGENCY COORDINATOR

0940 AM    9 NW WIMBERLEY            TX   PROPERTY DAMAGE
11/15/01   HAYS                           REPORTED BY HAYS COUNTY
                                          EMERGENCY COORDINATOR
WR

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO, TX
340 PM CST THU NOV 15 2001

TIME(CST)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

312 PM    4 N SAN MARCOS            TX   TORNADO
11/15/01   HAYS                           REPORTED BY LAW
                                          ENFORCEMENT

315 PM    2 S BUDA                  TX   TORNADO
11/15/01   HAYS                           REPORTED BY LAW
                                          ENFORCEMENT

335 PM    4 S AUSTIN BEN WHITE & I35  TX   TORNADO ON GROUND
11/15/01   TRAVIS                          REPORTED BY CITY OF
                                           AUSTIN

WR

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 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.