Tornadoes · United States · Texas · 2006

F1 tornado, Liberty, Texas, April 29, 2006

This F1 tornado ran 0.7 miles across Liberty County on April 29, 2006, touching down at 10:15 AM CDT and reaching 25 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $60,000 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 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.

The record

Rating
F1
Date
April 29, 2006
Touchdown
10:15 AM CDT (15:15 UTC)
Path length
0.7 miles (1.1 km)
Path width
25 yards (23 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$60,000
County
Liberty County
Touchdown point
30.020, -94.770
Lift-off point
30.020, -94.770
Record number
445

What the Weather Service recorded

Tornado caused extensive damage along CR 143 off of FM 563. Major roof damage to area homes with numerous trees and power lines down.

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

The warnings

32 minutes of warning. NWS HGX issued a tornado warning for this county at 14:43 UTC, 32 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 15:45 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 11:04 UTC and running to 18:00 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
11:04 UTC18:00 UTCTornado WatchHGX
11:29 UTC12:15 UTCTornado WarningHGX
13:10 UTC14:00 UTCTornado WarningHGX
14:43 UTC15:45 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 Slight Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 12:41 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.

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

3.3 hours before the tornado, 151 km from the path. April 29, 2006.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Lake Charles Mun, LA at 12:00Z on 2006-04-29Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 726 joules per kilogram, CIN -55, lifted condensation level 547 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 2006-04-29The 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 308 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 55 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
726 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-55 J/kg
Surface CAPE
438 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
547 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
55 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
29 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
308 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
470 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.7
Supercell composite
8.4
0-3 km lapse rate
4.6 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

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

8.7 hours after it, 151 km from the path. April 30, 2006.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Lake Charles Mun, LA at 00:00Z on 2006-04-30Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 4 joules per kilogram, CIN -315, lifted condensation level 959 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 2006-04-30The 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 -22 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 62 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
4 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-315 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
959 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
62 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
22 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-22 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-2 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
-0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
3.6 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Houston Intercontinental (IAH), 57 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
13:15 UTC66.264.40° 0 kt1007.8+TSRA BR
13:25 UTC66.264.4130° 3 kt1007.1-TSRA BR
13:40 UTC66.264.40° 0 kt1007.5+TSRA BR
13:53 UTC6665300° 3 kt1007.5-TSRA BR
14:06 UTC66.264.4 3 kt1006.8TS
14:09 UTC66.264.4330° 5 kt1006.8
14:53 UTC6765 3 kt1007.5-RA
15:53 UTC6866180° 3 kt1007.5
16:19 UTC69.866.2250° 4 kt1007.8
16:37 UTC71.666.2270° 6 kt1007.8
16:53 UTC7267280° 7 kt1007.5
17:12 UTC71.666.2260° 7 kt1007.8

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

The radar

The Houston radar (KHGX), 68 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 15:13 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.

What was reported nearby

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

Time (UTC)ReportWhereCountyRemark
12:38 UTCHAIL 0.755 Nw ThicketHardin, TXHARDIN COUNTY SHERIFF OFFICE REPORTED PENNY SIZE HAIL IN THE EXTREME NORTHWEST CORNER OF THE COUNTY.
14:30 UTCTORNADOBaytownHarris, TXMINOR HOME DAMAGE,FLIPPED HORSE TRAILER, AND TREES DOWN NEAR CEDAR BAYOU ON HADDEN STREET AND FM 1492.
14:45 UTCTORNADO4 Sse LibertyLiberty, TXEXTENSIVE DAMAGE ALONG COUNTY ROAD 143 OFF OF FM HIGHWAY 563. EXTENSIVE ROOF DAMAGE TO HOMES IN THE AREA. NUMEROUS TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN.
15:45 UTCTORNADO4 Sw KountzeHardin, TXNUMEROUS TREES DOWN WITH ONE TREE ON A HOUSE. POWER LINES DOWN ACROSS FM 326. POSSIBLE TORNADO. TIME APPROXIMATE. REPORTED BY BEAUMONT ENTERPRISE.
15:55 UTCTORNADO4 Ssw KountzeHardin, TXHARDIN COUNTY SHERIFF OFFICE REPORTED POSSIBLE TORNADO KNOCKING DOWN TREES ALONG HIGHWAY 326 AT LANGHAM ROAD.
17:25 UTCTSTM WND DMGWinnieChambers, TXONE BUSINESS DAMAGED WITH NUMEROUS TREES DOWN NEAR HOSPITAL.
17:39 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 E HamshireJefferson, TXRICE FARMER REPORTED HIS WIND GAUGE TOPPED OUT AT 50 MPH. OLD RICE DRYER WAS WRAPPED AROUND UTILITY POLE. SMALL 3 FRAME BUILDING WAS MOVED 2 FEET OFF ITS BLOCKS.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2006 tornado in TexasEvery tornado in Texas since 1950Warnings in force in Texas nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of April 29, 2006

8 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 293:52 AM CDTF0Van Zandt, TX0.550$10,000
April 295:55 AM CDTF0Montgomery, TX0.220$20,000
April 297:00 AM CDTF0Liberty, TX0.220$10,000
April 297:26 AM CDTF0Polk, TX0.220$200,000
April 297:35 AM CDTF2San Jacinto, TX1.0304$100,000
April 299:20 AM CDTF0Harris, TX0.220$30,000
April 2910:55 AM CDTF0Hardin, TX1.010$10,000
April 295:50 PM CDTF0Lafayette Parish, LA0.210$50,000

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.