Tornadoes · United States · Texas · 2003

F0 tornado, Friendswood, Texas, October 9, 2003

This F0 tornado ran 1.5 miles across Harris County on October 9, 2003, touching down at 5:05 PM CDT and reaching 50 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $20,000 of property damage.

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.

  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.

The record

Rating
F0
Date
October 9, 2003
Touchdown
5:05 PM CDT (22:05 UTC)
Path length
1.5 miles (2.4 km)
Path width
50 yards (46 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$20,000
County
Harris County
Touchdown point
29.530, -95.420
Lift-off point
29.530, -95.420
Record number
795

What the Weather Service recorded

Tornado caused roof damage to apartment complex at Blackhawk and FM 528. Minor damage to local businesses.

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

The warnings

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down. One was issued for the county at another hour that day.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
16:46 UTC17:30 UTCTornado WarningHGX
22:21 UTC23:00 UTCTornado WarningHGX
22:59 UTC23:45 UTCTornado WarningHGX
23:41 UTC00:30 UTCTornado WarningHGX
01:10 UTC03:30 UTCFlash Flood WarningHGX
01:44 UTC02:30 UTCTornado WarningHGX

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 General Thunderstorms Risk, with a 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 19:53 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 Houston/Galveston, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Oct 9, 3:37 PM CDT, 1 hour 28 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 9, 3:37 PM CDT, 1 hour 28 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
337 PM CDT THU OCT 9 2003

DONT HAVE A LOT OF TIME TO WRITE TODAY...SO ITLL BE QUICK.

SHORT WAVE CURRENTLY MOVING ESE ACROSS OUR CWA WITH WIDESPREAD
MODERATE TO OCCASIONALLY HEAVY RAIN PREVAILING. BELIEVE THE THREAT
OF SOME ADDITIONAL LOW TOP SPINNERS IS GOING DOWN AS I TYPE BASED ON
OUR LATEST VWP. ADDITIONAL SCT PRECIP IS BEGINNING TO DEVELOP TO
OUR WEST AND SOUTH WHERE BREAKS OF SUNSHINE HAVE ALLOWED TEMPS TO
CLIMB INTO THE MID 80S. APPEARS RAINFALL WILL MOSTLY END FROM WEST
TO EAST DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS.

DONT THINK LLVLS OF THE ATMOS WILL DRY OUT ALL THAT MUCH IN THE
WAKE OF THE PASSING SHORTWAVE...ESP SW ZONES. WILL MAINTAIN 20-40%
POPS FOR FRI. NEXT FRONT/WIND SHIFT FORECAST ON SUNDAY. THIS SYSTEM
DOES NOT APPEAR ALL THAT IMPRESSIVE TEMPERATURE-WISE NOR DOES IT DRY
US OUT ALL THAT MUCH EITHER. STRONGER FRONT LOOKS TO ARRIVE NEXT
TUESDAY. SO OVERALL...LOWISH POPS REMAIN IN THE FCST FOR THE NEXT
5-7 DAYS.

SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL THE MEDIA OUTLETS AND SPOTTERS THAT RELAYED
REPORTS TO US EARLIER THIS MORNING THOSE TYPE OF STORMS ARE WHAT WE
TYPICALLY SEE IN THE SUMMER MONTHS DURING THE MORNING HOURS THAT
MANY TIMES PRODUCE FUNNELS/WATERSPOUTS AND ARE A BEAR TO WARN ON.
THE REPORTS REALLY HELPED OUT...

47/45

.HGX...NONE.

CLL BB 069/084 067/084 065 521
IAH EB 071/082 068/084 066 832
GLS EB 075/081 074/082 073 842
Hazardous weather outlook, Oct 9, 3:50 PM CDT, 1 hour 15 minutes before
GMZ330-335-350-355-370-375-TXZ163-164-176>179-195>200-210>214-226-
227-235>238-100500-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
350 PM CDT THU OCT 9 2003

...HEAVY RAINFALL THREAT THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS......

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST TEXAS.

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT.
RAIN WITH EMBEDDED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORM WILL CONTINUE ALONG A
WEAK BOUNDARY FROM THE NAVASOTA AREA TO LAKE HOUSTON TO BEAUMONT
AREA. AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL MOVE EAST OVER THE BOUNDARY
FOCUSING THE HEAVIER RAINFALL AS IT MOVES EAST THIS EVENING.
SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE INTO PORTIONS OF THE
AREA FROM THE SOUTHWEST AS WELL THOUGH ACCUMULATIONS FROM THESE
SHOULD BE LESS.

RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 1 INCH WILL BE FAIRLY COMMON WITH ISOLATED
AMOUNTS OF 3 TO 4 INCHES POSSIBLE IN MAINLY HARRIS...MONTGOMERY...AND
LIBERTY COUNTIES.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY.
HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME.

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.

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), 12:00Z

10.1 hours before the tornado, 224 km from the path. October 9, 2003.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Lake Charles Mun, LA at 12:00Z on 2003-10-09Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 49 joules per kilogram, CIN -61, lifted condensation level 805 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
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.
HodographHodograph, Lake Charles Mun, LA at 12:00Z on 2003-10-09The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 94 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 35 knots.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
49 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-61 J/kg
Surface CAPE
67 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
805 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
15 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
94 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
122 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.5
0-3 km lapse rate
4.6 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), 00:00Z

1.9 hours after it, 224 km from the path. October 10, 2003.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Lake Charles Mun, LA at 00:00Z on 2003-10-10Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 36 joules per kilogram, CIN -65, lifted condensation level 636 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
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.
HodographHodograph, Lake Charles Mun, LA at 00:00Z on 2003-10-10The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 114 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 27 knots.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
36 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-65 J/kg
Surface CAPE
170 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
636 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
27 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
21 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
114 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
184 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
4.6 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Pearland Regional (LVJ), 17 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
20:21 UTC7775.2150° 7 kt1009.8-RA BR
20:43 UTC78.875.2150° 4 kt1009.5-RA
20:53 UTC7876140° 6 kt1009.1-RA
21:04 UTC78.875.2130° 6 kt1009.1-RA
21:20 UTC7775.2120° 6 kt1009.1+RA BR
21:26 UTC7775.280° 5 kt1009.1VCTS +RA BR
21:34 UTC7775.2280° 11 kt1009.5+TSRA BR
21:41 UTC7775.2 5 kt1009.5+TSRA FG
21:46 UTC7775.2180° 4 kt1009.5+TSRA BR
21:53 UTC7776150° 7 kt1009.1VCTS +RA BR
22:00 UTC7775.2120° 4 kt1009.1VCTS +RA BR
22:06 UTC7775.2140° 3 kt1009.1VCTS RA BR
22:11 UTC7775.2150° 4 kt1009.1VCTS +RA BR
22:18 UTC75.275.2100° 5 kt1008.8VCTS +RA BR
22:25 UTC7775.2170° 4 kt1008.8TSRA BR
22:28 UTC7775.2170° 5 kt1009.1TSRA BR
22:35 UTC7777170° 7 kt1009.1+TSRA BR
22:39 UTC7777200° 7 kt1009.5+TSRA BR
22:53 UTC7776140° 5 kt1008.8+TSRA BR
23:27 UTC7775.2190° 5 kt1009.1+RA BR
23:36 UTC7775.2200° 7 kt1009.1+RA BR
23:53 UTC7675140° 7 kt1009.1+RA BR
00:04 UTC75.275.2200° 5 kt1009.5+RA BR

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2003 tornado in TexasEvery tornado in Texas since 1950Warnings in force in Texas nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of October 9, 2003

6 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
October 93:00 AM CDTF0Harris, TX3.050$3,000
October 99:20 AM CDTF0Fort Bend, TX1.0100$30,000
October 911:43 AM CDTF0Liberty, TX1.075$1,000
October 95:12 PM CDTF0Wharton, TX1.050$10,000
October 95:45 PM CDTF0Fort Bend, TX1.025
October 95:45 PM CDTF0Brazoria, TX1.050$2,000

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.