Tornadoes · United States · Texas · 2004

F0 tornado, Eagle Pass, Texas, November 23, 2004

This F0 tornado ran 0.5 miles across Maverick County on November 23, 2004, touching down at 5:12 PM CST and reaching 50 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.

  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
November 23, 2004
Touchdown
5:12 PM CST (23:12 UTC)
Path length
0.5 miles (0.8 km)
Path width
50 yards (46 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Maverick County
Touchdown point
28.920, -100.270
Lift-off point
28.930, -100.270
Record number
474

What the Weather Service recorded

Nearly one hour after the first tornado sighting, deputies from the Maverick County Sheriff's Department observed a second small tornado along US57 in open country. The tornado was estimated to be on the ground for about one quarter mile as it tracked toward the east at almost 50 miles and hour. No damage was indicated. The tornado was rated F0 on the Fujita Scale.

About 30 minutes after the first tornado sighting along US57, Skywarn-trained spotters from the Eagle Pass Fire Department reported a second tornado near the same location. This tornado was reported to be on the ground for almost half a mile and was larger than either of the first two. It tracked toward the east over open country at nearly 50 miles an hour. It was also rated F0 on the Fujita Scale.

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

The warnings

4 minutes of warning. NWS EWX issued a tornado warning for this county at 23:08 UTC, 4 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 23:45 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
21:01 UTC22:15 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWX
21:36 UTC22:00 UTCTornado WarningEWX
21:58 UTC23:00 UTCTornado WarningEWX
23:08 UTC23:45 UTCTornado WarningEWX

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. The outlook in force was issued at 19:28 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 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.

Del Rio, TX (KDRT), 12:00Z

11.2 hours before the tornado, 74 km from the path. November 23, 2004.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Del Rio, TX at 12:00Z on 2004-11-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 682 joules per kilogram, CIN -50, lifted condensation level 554 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°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, Del Rio, TX at 12:00Z on 2004-11-23The 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 168 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 56 knots.1939587897Sfc1 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
682 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-50 J/kg
Surface CAPE
388 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
554 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
56 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
22 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
168 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
202 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.7
Supercell composite
3.6
0-3 km lapse rate
5.0 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Del Rio, TX (KDRT), 00:00Z

0.8 hours after it, 74 km from the path. November 24, 2004.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Del Rio, TX at 00:00Z on 2004-11-24Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 0 joules per kilogram, CIN -102779, lifted condensation level 1389 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°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, Del Rio, TX at 00:00Z on 2004-11-24The 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 -253 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 90 knots.1939587897117Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-102779 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1389 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
90 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
26 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-253 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-101 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1
0-3 km lapse rate
5.5 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Uvalde/Garner_field_arpt (UVA), 60 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
21:25 UTC71.662.6210° 5 kt1002.4
21:45 UTC73.462.6190° 3 kt1002
22:05 UTC71.664.4280° 6 kt1002.4
22:25 UTC71.664.40° 0 kt1002-VCTSRA
22:45 UTC71.666.2270° 5 kt1002.4
23:05 UTC69.864.4280° 7 kt1002.7
23:25 UTC69.864.4280° 6 kt1003.4-VCTSRA
23:45 UTC6862.6290° 15 kt221005.4-RA
00:05 UTC5951.8330° 16 kt241006.1-RA
00:25 UTC57.250340° 16 kt261007.1
00:45 UTC57.250340° 14 kt191007.8
01:05 UTC57.246.4340° 12 kt211007.8

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2004 tornado in TexasEvery tornado in Texas since 1950Warnings in force in Texas nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of November 23, 2004

47 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
November 2310:40 AM CSTF0Williamson, TX0.120
November 2310:51 AM CSTF0Williamson, TX0.120
November 2311:05 AM CSTF0Williamson, TX0.330
November 231:10 PM CSTF0Montgomery, TX0.220$40,000
November 231:34 PM CSTF0Fayette, TX0.330
November 231:49 PM CSTF0Polk, TX0.115$10,000
November 231:55 PM CSTF0San Jacinto, TX0.120
November 232:20 PM CSTF0Washington, TX0.120$10,000
November 232:52 PM CSTF0Liberty, TX0.120
November 233:25 PM CSTF0Grimes, TX0.225
November 233:30 PM CSTF0Montgomery, TX0.325$10,000
November 233:35 PM CSTF0Maverick, TX0.120
November 233:50 PM CSTF0Montgomery, TX0.120
November 234:08 PM CSTF1Hardin, TX16.0200$100,000
November 234:10 PM CSTF0Chicot, AR1.050$2,000
November 234:24 PM CSTF0Richland Parish, LA0.525
November 234:27 PM CSTF2Hardin, TX8.06001$600,000
November 234:38 PM CSTF0Zavala, TX0.120
November 234:40 PM CSTF0Maverick, TX0.330
November 234:41 PM CSTF2Jasper, TX8.0300$250,000
November 234:55 PM CSTF2Jasper, TX15.0500$500,000
November 235:12 PM CSTF1Newton, TX3.0300$100,000
November 235:40 PM CSTF1Newton, TX to LA9.0300$50,000
November 236:00 PM CSTF0Natchitoches Parish, LA1.025$30,000
November 236:08 PM CSTF0Burnet, TX0.120
November 236:08 PM CSTF1Vernon Parish, LA1.0100$200,000
November 236:08 PM CSTF0Williamson, TX0.3400
November 236:10 PM CSTF1Newton, TX1.0100$40,000
November 236:30 PM CSTF1Newton, TX10.0300$250,000
November 236:35 PM CSTF2Vernon Parish, LA10.06003$500,000
November 236:49 PM CSTF2Natchitoches Parish, LA20.03001$1.0 million
November 236:50 PM CSTF1Vernon Parish, LA14.0150$100,000
November 237:20 PM CSTF0Grant Parish, LA12.075
November 237:20 PM CSTF1Vernon Parish, LA3.050$50,000
November 237:32 PM CSTF0Bell, TX0.150$10,000
November 237:46 PM CSTF0Karnes, TX0.120
November 238:00 PM CSTF0DeWitt, TX0.120
November 238:05 PM CSTF3LaSalle Parish, LA15.0300120$5.8 million
November 238:13 PM CSTF1DeWitt, TX0.5100
November 238:30 PM CSTF0Grant Parish, LA3.075$50,000
November 238:58 PM CSTF0Lavaca, TX0.120
November 239:20 PM CSTF0Wharton, TX0.435$30,000
November 239:38 PM CSTF1Marion, AL13.9250$400,000
November 2310:00 PM CSTF2Trinity, TX2.0500$100,000
November 2310:05 PM CSTF0Fort Bend, TX0.120
November 2311:31 PM CSTF0Warren, MS1.075$1,000
November 2311:40 PM CSTF3Jefferson, MS18.0600$300,000

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.