Tornadoes · United States · Texas · 2007

EF1 tornado, Benbrook to Ft Worth, Texas, April 13, 2007

Name: EF1 tornado, Benbrook to Ft Worth, Texas, April 13, 2007
Start: 2007-04-13T23:09:00.000Z
End: 2007-04-13T23:15:00.000Z
Location: Benbrook to Ft Worth, Texas

From Benbrook to Ft Worth, this EF1 tornado ran 6.0 miles across Tarrant County on April 13, 2007, touching down at 6:09 PM CDT and reaching 125 yards wide. It killed 1 person, and did $2.0 million of property damage.

The rating scale

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

EF065 to 85 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mphthis tornado
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
EF2111 to 135 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.
EF3136 to 165 mph
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
EF4166 to 200 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
EF5over 200 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: EF1
Date: April 13, 2007
Touchdown: 6:09 PM CDT (23:09 UTC)
Lifted: 6:15 PM CDT (23:15 UTC)
On the ground: 6 minutes
Path length: 6.0 miles (9.7 km)
Path width: 125 yards (114 m)
Deaths: 1
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $2.0 million
County: Tarrant County
Touchdown point: 32.770, -97.326
Lift-off point: 32.832, -97.253
Record number: 0704131709-01

What the Weather Service recorded

A strong surface low and dryline interacted with a very unstable atmosphere over North Texas. Large hail, damaging winds, and tornadoes were reported as strong storms developed. A total of 5,500 cars and 3,500 homes and businesses were reportedly damaged by hail.

This tornado was captured on video by storm chasers. It touched down just west of Highway 377 and just south of Loop 820. It then travelled to Meadows West Park before dissipating. The tornado damaged fences, trees, and street signs. The facade of a business was also slightly damaged.

This tornado touched down near Sylvania Park, just southwest of the intersection of Beach and Belknap Streets. Severe damage occurred on Wheeler Street from North Beach to Haltom Road, and along Elliott Reeder Road from Haltom Road east approximately a half mile. A fatality also occurred in this area. Substantial roof damage was done to a grocery store, several homes, and a church. Another church suffered steeple damage. Several commercial buildings along Elliott Reeder Road were damaged and numerous recreational vehicles and tractor-trailers were damaged or destroyed. Trees and power lines were also downed. Near the intersection of Riverbend and Jack Newell Roads, a commercial building suffered partial collapse of an east-facing wall. Intermittent damage to trees, fences, and at least one home occurred in the River Trails subdivision, west of the tornado track. The tornado dissipated just west of Precinct Line Road. Winds speeds were estimated at 100-110 MPH. Haltom City and Fort Worth officials estimated about two million dollars in property losses within the two cities.

The deaths

1 direct deaths are recorded for this tornado, each with what Storm Data knows of it.

Age	Sex	Where	Kind
40	M	Outside/Open Areas	Direct

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

The warnings

6 minutes of warning. NWS FWD issued a tornado warning for this county at 23:03 UTC, 6 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 23:45 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 22:43 UTC and running to 01:41 UTC.

Issued (UTC)	Expired	Product	Office
22:40 UTC	00:00 UTC	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FWD
22:43 UTC	01:41 UTC	Tornado Watch	FWD
23:03 UTC	23:45 UTC	Tornado Warning	FWD

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 High Risk, with a 0.30 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 20:01 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 Fort Worth, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Apr 13, 3:37 PM CDT, 2 hours 32 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 13, 3:37 PM CDT, 2 hours 32 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
337 PM CDT FRI APR 13 2007

.UPDATE...
HAVE SENT AN UPDATED ZONE FORECAST PRODUCT TO INCLUDE THE NEW PDS
/PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION/ TORNADO WATCH WITH INCLUDED THE
AREA EAST OF TORNADO WATCH 133 EAST TO BONHAM...TO CORSICANA...TO
MEXIA...TO TEMPLE. #58

&&

.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 310 PM CDT FRI APR 13 2007/

DISCUSSION...
THE 20Z SURFACE ANALYSIS INDICATES THAT THE WARM FRONT EXTENDED
FROM NORTH OF CISCO...STEPHENVILLE...HEARNE LINE...WHILE THE DRY
LINE EXTENDED EAST OF A SAN ANGELO AND ABILENE...TO JUST WEST OF
VERNON. TEMPERATURES HAVE CLIMBED INTO THE LOWER 80S IN THE
SOUTHWESTERN ZONES IN THE WARM SECTOR. THE POTENTIAL FOR VERY
LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...AND TORNADOES IN ON THE INCREASE
ACROSS NORTH TEXAS FOR THE LATE AFTERNOON THROUGH EVENING PERIOD.
THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS INCREASE MOST OF NORTH TEXAS TO
HIGH RISK OF SEVERE...AND A PDS TORNADO WATCH WILL LIKELY BE
ISSUED DURING THE NEXT HOUR

THE DRY LINE WILL MOVE EAST TO THE I-35 CORRIDOR 03-04Z. THE COLD
FRONT WILL OVERTAKE THE DRY LINE LATE THIS EVENING AND SWEEP
THROUGH THE REST OF NORTH TEXAS OVERNIGHT. THUNDERSTORM CHANCES
WILL END AT THAT POINT...BUT WE MAY SEE SO SHOWERS CONTINUE ACROSS
THE EAST INTO THE SATURDAY MORNING.

DRIER COOLER WEATHER WILL OCCUR SATURDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
SUNDAY...WITH SOME PATCHY FROST POSSIBLE SUNDAY MORNING...MAINLY
ACROSS THE NORTH.

THERE WILL BE ANOTHER CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT AS ANOTHER UPPER LEVEL
SYSTEMS AFFECTS THE AREA. #58

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
DALLAS-FT. WORTH, TX  47  56  40  70  49 /  90  10  10   0   0
WACO, TX              51  59  37  72  48 /  60  10   0   0   0
PARIS, TX             48  53  35  66  46 / 100  20  10   0   0
DENTON, TX            46  56  36  69  46 /  90  10   0   0   0
MCKINNEY, TX          48  55  38  69  43 / 100  10  10   0   0
DALLAS, TX            49  56  40  68  49 / 100  10  10   0   0
TERRELL, TX           54  56  38  68  47 / 100  10  10   0   0
CORSICANA, TX         53  58  39  68  49 /  90  10  10   0   0
TEMPLE, TX            55  61  39  76  48 /  50  10   0   0   0

&&

.FWD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NONE.
&&

84/58

Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 13, 3:10 PM CDT, 2 hours 59 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTH TEXAS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
310 PM CDT FRI APR 13 2007

TXZ091>095-100>107-115>123-129>135-141>148-156>162-174-175-141000-
ANDERSON-BELL-BOSQUE-COLLIN-COMANCHE-COOKE-CORYELL-DALLAS-DELTA-
DENTON-EASTLAND-ELLIS-ERATH-FALLS-FANNIN-FREESTONE-GRAYSON-HAMILTON-
HENDERSON-HILL-HOOD-HOPKINS-HUNT-JACK-JOHNSON-KAUFMAN-LAMAR-LAMPASAS-
LEON-LIMESTONE-MCLENNAN-MILAM-MILLS-MONTAGUE-NAVARRO-PALO PINTO-
PARKER-RAINS-ROBERTSON-ROCKWALL-SOMERVELL-STEPHENS-TARRANT-VAN ZANDT-
WISE-YOUNG-
310 PM CDT FRI APR 13 2007

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH TEXAS.

.DAY ONE...
THERE IS A HIGH RISK FOR SEVERE STORMS THIS EVENING ACROSS ALMOST ALL
OF NORTH TEXAS.

SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON AND
EVENING HOURS ALONG AND AHEAD OF A DRY LINE AND A WARM FRONT THAT
WILL BE MOVING INTO THE AREA.  THE ATMOSPHERE WILL BECOME
INCREASINGLY UNSTABLE SOUTH OF THE WARM FRONT WHICH IS EXPECTED TO
BECOME DRAPED ALONG AND NORTH OF THE I-20 CORRIDOR THIS EVENING.
STRONG WINDS IN THE ATMOSPHERE WILL CHANGE DIRECTION WITH HEIGHT...
WHICH MEANS THUNDERSTORMS WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO ROTATE AND
PRODUCE SIGNIFICANT SEVERE WEATHER. HAIL UP TO THE SIZE OF
BASEBALLS...DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 70 MPH...AND TORNADOES WILL
BE POSSIBLE WITH THE MOST SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS.  THUNDERSTORMS WILL
END FROM WEST TO EAST ACROSS THE AREA LATE THIS EVENING AS THE DRY
LINE AND COLD FRONT MOVE ACROSS THE AREA.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...
WINDY AND MUCH COOLER CONDITIONS WILL ARRIVE BEHIND THE COLD FRONT
SATURDAY...WHICH WILL LIKELY MAKE AREA LAKES VERY CHOPPY AND
EAST-WEST ORIENTED ROADS AND HIGHWAYS HAZARDOUS TO HIGH PROFILE
VEHICLES.

PATCHY FROST IS POSSIBLE SUNDAY MORNING...NORTHWEST OF A
GOLDTHWAITE...MERIDIAN...EMORY LINE.

A CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS WILL RETURN TO THE AREA LATE MONDAY NIGHT
THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING NEXT WEEK...AS ANOTHER STORM SYSTEM AFFECTS
THE AREA.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL LIKELY BE REQUESTED ACROSS MUCH OF
NORTH TEXAS THIS AFTERNOON AND INTO THE EVENING HOURS.

84

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 13, 5:40 PM CDT, 29 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
540 PM CDT FRI APR 13 2007

..TIME..    ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE..    ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0539 PM     HAIL             SPRINGTOWN              32.97N  97.68W
04/13/2007  E1.00 INCH       PARKER             TX   AMATEUR RADIO

Local storm report, Apr 13, 5:45 PM CDT, 24 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
545 PM CDT FRI APR 13 2007

..TIME..    ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE..    ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0544 PM     HAIL             RENO                    32.94N  97.58W
04/13/2007  E1.75 INCH       PARKER             TX   AMATEUR RADIO

Local storm report, Apr 13, 5:50 PM CDT, 19 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
550 PM CDT FRI APR 13 2007

..TIME..    ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE..    ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0550 PM     HAIL             DUBLIN                  32.09N  98.34W
04/13/2007  E1.75 INCH       ERATH              TX   AMATEUR RADIO

Local storm report, Apr 13, 5:53 PM CDT, 16 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
553 PM CDT FRI APR 13 2007

..TIME..    ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE..    ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0552 PM     HAIL             COMANCHE                31.90N  98.60W
04/13/2007  E1.00 INCH       COMANCHE           TX   AMATEUR RADIO

Local storm report, Apr 13, 6:05 PM CDT, 4 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
605 PM CDT FRI APR 13 2007

..TIME..    ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE..    ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0603 PM     HAIL             SAGINAW                 32.87N  97.37W
04/13/2007  M2.50 INCH       TARRANT            TX   NWS EMPLOYEE

            KIRCHERS HOUSE IN SAGINAW.

Local storm report, Apr 13, 6:08 PM CDT, 1 minute before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
608 PM CDT FRI APR 13 2007

..TIME..    ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE..    ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0606 PM     HAIL             FORT WORTH              32.75N  97.34W
04/13/2007  M2.75 INCH       TARRANT            TX   NWS EMPLOYEE

            NWS-WFO

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.

Fort Worth, TX (KFWD), 12:00Z

11.2 hours before the tornado, 3 km from the path. April 13, 2007.

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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -72137 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1166 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 53 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 37 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 453 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 570 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 3.9
0-3 km lapse rate: 3.3 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Fort Worth, TX (KFWD), 00:00Z

0.8 hours after it, 3 km from the path. April 14, 2007.

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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -3138 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1038 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 55 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 19 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -95 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 145 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0
0-3 km lapse rate: 5.3 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Dallas/Ft Worth radar (KFWS), 25 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 23:08 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)	Report	Where	County	Remark
22:26 UTC	HAIL 1.75	9 N Weatherford	Parker, TX
22:27 UTC	HAIL 2	Decatur	Wise, TX
22:33 UTC	TSTM WND GST 66	12 S Decatur	Wise, TX
22:39 UTC	HAIL 1	Springtown	Parker, TX
22:44 UTC	HAIL 1.75	Reno	Parker, TX
22:47 UTC	HAIL 1.5	Azle	Tarrant, TX	DAMAGE TO CARS AND TREES.
22:55 UTC	TORNADO	Benbrook	Tarrant, TX	VIDEO OF TORNADO FROM STORM CHASER. PATH LENGTH 3/4 MILE AND 50 YDS WIDE. DAMAGE TO TREES...FENCES AND SIGNS.
23:00 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	Benbrook	Tarrant, TX	POWER POLE BROKE AND FENCES DESTROYED BETWEEN HWY 377 AND WINSCOTT NEAR I-20...POSSIBLE TORNADO
23:00 UTC	HAIL 2.5	Haltom City	Tarrant, TX	SOME GUTTER DAMAGE...POSSIBLE ROOF SHINGLE DAMAGE. PHOTOS OF HAIL AVAILABLE.
23:03 UTC	HAIL 2.5	Saginaw	Tarrant, TX	KIRCHER'S HOUSE IN SAGINAW.
23:06 UTC	HAIL 2.75	Fort Worth	Tarrant, TX	NWS-WFO
23:10 UTC	HAIL 2.5	Saginaw	Tarrant, TX	HAIL FELL FOR ABOUT 5 MINUTES AND DAMAGED CAR.
23:13 UTC	HAIL 1	North Richland Hills	Tarrant, TX	REPORTED BY NWS METEOROLOGIST.
23:15 UTC	HAIL 1.75	Hurst	Tarrant, TX	AT NORTHEAST MALL IN HURST...MOST CARS HAVE DIMPLES ON TOPS WITH SOME CRACKED AND BROKEN WINDSHIELDS.
23:20 UTC	HAIL 1	1 S Keller	Tarrant, TX
23:29 UTC	TSTM WND GST 70	Arlington	Tarrant, TX	ON GRAND PRAIRIE- ARLINGTON BORDER.
23:30 UTC	HAIL 1.25	Grapevine	Tarrant, TX	CRISSCRAFT DRIVE
23:32 UTC	HAIL 1.5	Dallas	Dallas, TX
23:32 UTC	HAIL 3	Colleyville	Tarrant, TX
23:34 UTC	HAIL 2.5	Dallas	Dallas, TX
23:45 UTC	HAIL 1.75	Dallas	Dallas, TX	GOLFBALL-SIZE HAIL REPORTED NEAR LOVE FIELD.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the track Every 2007 tornado in Texas Every tornado in Texas since 1950 Warnings in force in Texas now The forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of April 13, 2007

6 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
April 13	1:45 PM CDT	EF0	Haskell, TX	0.9	30
April 13	2:38 PM CDT	EF0	Baylor, TX	6.0	880	$500
April 13	5:55 PM CDT	EF0	Tarrant, TX	1.5	30	$150,000
April 13	7:00 PM CDT	EF0	Dallas, TX	1.0	30	$50,000
April 13	7:45 PM CDT	EF0	Rockwall, TX	1.9	30	$35,000
April 13	7:53 PM CDT	EF0	Hunt, TX	0.1	30

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.