Tornadoes · United States · Texas · 2007

EF1 tornado, Wayside, Texas, April 21, 2007

This EF1 tornado ran 3.3 miles across Armstrong County on April 21, 2007, touching down at 8:45 PM CDT and reaching 440 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $4,000 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.

  1. EF065 to 85 mph

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. EF186 to 110 mphthis tornado

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. EF4166 to 200 mph

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. 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.

  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
EF1
Date
April 21, 2007
Touchdown
8:45 PM CDT (01:45 UTC)
Lifted
8:55 PM CDT (01:55 UTC)
On the ground
10 minutes
Path length
3.3 miles (5.4 km)
Path width
440 yards (402 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$4,000
County
Armstrong County
Touchdown point
34.751, -101.550
Lift-off point
34.791, -101.517
Record number
0704211945-01

What the Weather Service recorded

Numerous severe thunderstorms producing large hail...damaging winds...and tornadoes moved north and northeast across the western and central Texas panhandle during the evening hours. The only injuries occurred in Cactus from a tornado...however no fatalities were reported.

This tornado formed about two miles south of Wayside in Armstrong county at 1945 CST. Power poles were reported to be damaged and the public reported seeing the tornado drop into Palo Duro Canyon. No injuries were reported.

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

The warnings

27 minutes of warning. NWS AMA issued a tornado warning for this county at 01:18 UTC, 27 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 02:00 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 20:56 UTC and running to 05:00 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
20:56 UTC05:00 UTCTornado WatchAMA
22:02 UTC03:39 UTCWind AdvisoryLUB
01:18 UTC02:00 UTCTornado WarningAMA
02:55 UTC03:15 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMA

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 Moderate Risk, with a 0.10 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 01:02 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 Amarillo, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Apr 21, 5:30 PM CDT, 3 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 21, 5:30 PM CDT, 3 hours 15 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
530 PM CDT SAT APR 21 2007

.DISCUSSION...
BUSY THIS AFTERNOON WITH WX. STRONG UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM
BARRELING TOWARDS FCST AREA WITH PACIFIC COLD FRONT OVER ERN NM AND
DRYLINE PUNCHING INTO WRN ZNS. TSTMS BLOWING UP AHEAD OF THESE SFC
FEATURES AS PVA SPREADS THE AREA. EXPECT CONTINUED DVLPMT OF TSTMS
WITH SVR POTENTIAL THIS EVENING. SOME DISCRETE SUPERCELLS FOLLOWED
BY SQUALL LINE AS UPPER AND SFC FEATURES PLOW EWD AND NEWD ACROSS
THE FCST AREA. CHC POPS W TO CATEGORICAL EASTERN HALF THRU 06Z...
TAPERING OFF SHARPLY W TO E AFTER 06Z TNGT. TOR WATCH IN EFFECT
ENTIRE FCST AREA TIL 05Z.

DRY WX SUNDAY AND MOST OF MONDAY. HOWEVER...ANOTHER STRONG UPPER
LOW WILL BE WAITING IN THE WINGS OVER THE FOUR CORNERS REGION...WITH
LOW LVL MOISTURE RETURNING AGAIN LATE SUN NIGHT AND MONDAY. RETAINED
SLGT CHC TO CHC POPS MON AFTN AND MON NIGHT. IT NOW SEEMS PLAUSIBLE
THAT PNHDLS WILL LIKELY BE DRY SLOTTED MUCH OF TUE AND TUE NIGHT IF
PROGGED PATH OF UPPER LOW VERIFIES. LOWERED POPS TO SLGT CHC DURG
THOSE TIME PERIODS. RETURN TO DRY WX AGAIN WED AND BEYOND. WILL
COMMENT THAT MEDIUM RANGE MODELS DISAGREE STRONGLY ON HANDLING OF
NEXT PSBL SHORTWAVE TROF AROUND FRIDAY. GFS MOST PROGRESSIVE WHILE
ECMWF AND UKMET ARE SLOWEST...AND WELL W OF FCST AREA. WITH THIS
MUCH DISAGREEMENT AMONG LONGER RANGE MODELS...DECIDED IT WAS BEST
TO LEAVE FCST DRY FROM WED ONWARD FOR NOW. PRETTY MUCH USED MEXMOS
TEMPS AND POPS AFTER PERIOD 5.

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
AMARILLO TX                46  76  46  79  51 /  70   0   0  20  20
BEAVER OK                  49  75  46  77  56 /  80   0   0  30  30
BOISE CITY OK              47  72  42  76  47 /  30   0   0  20  20
BORGER TX                  50  78  52  80  57 /  80   0   0  20  20
BOYS RANCH TX              48  78  44  81  49 /  40   0   0  20  20
CANYON TX                  46  76  45  79  49 /  60   0   0  20  20
CLARENDON TX               49  78  49  79  57 /  80   0   0  30  30
DALHART TX                 45  73  40  77  46 /  30   0   0  20  20
GUYMON OK                  50  76  46  79  54 /  80   0   0  20  20
HEREFORD TX                47  76  47  80  48 /  30   0   0  20  20
LIPSCOMB TX                51  76  49  78  57 /  90   0   0  30  30
PAMPA TX                   50  76  52  77  58 /  80   0   0  30  30
SHAMROCK TX                51  78  52  78  59 /  80   0   0  30  30
WELLINGTON TX              52  79  53  80  60 /  90   0   0  30  30

&&

.AMA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
TX...NONE.
OK...NONE.

&&

ANDRADE
Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 21, 4:50 PM CDT, 3 hours 55 minutes before
TEXAS/OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
450 PM CDT SAT APR 21 2007

OKZ001>003-TXZ001>020-221100-
ARMSTRONG-BEAVER-CARSON-CIMARRON-COLLINGSWORTH-DALLAM-DEAF SMITH-
DONLEY-GRAY-HANSFORD-HARTLEY-HEMPHILL-HUTCHINSON-LIPSCOMB-MOORE-
OCHILTREE-OLDHAM-POTTER-RANDALL-ROBERTS-SHERMAN-TEXAS-WHEELER-
450 PM CDT SAT APR 21 2007

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA
PANHANDLES.

.DAY ONE...

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF THE OKLAHOMA AND TEXAS
PANHANDLES UNTIL MIDNIGHT CDT...

THERE IS A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND
EVENING ACROSS THE EASTERN TWO THIRDS OF THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA
PANHANDLES...GENERALLY EAST OF LINE EXTENDING FROM ELKHART KANSAS TO
BUSHLAND. ACROSS THE WESTERN THIRD OF THE PANHANDLES...A FEW STORMS
COULD BRIEFLY REACH SEVERE LEVELS THIS AFTERNOON. AS AN UPPER LEVEL
LOW APPROACHES THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON...THE DRYLINE IS EXPECTED TO
BECOME ESTABLISHED ACROSS THE WESTERN THIRD OF THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA
PANHANDLES. THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ALONG THE DRYLINE
AND THEN MOVE EASTWARD ACROSS THE CENTRAL AND EASTERN PANHANDLES
THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THE PRIMARY
SEVERE WEATHER THREATS WILL BE LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...AND A
FEW STORMS WILL LIKELY PRODUCE TORNADOES. A FEW STORMS COULD PRODUCE
LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL AND FLASH FLOODING...BUT DUE THE EXPECTED FAST
MOVEMENT OF STORMS...WIDESPREAD FLASH FLOODING IS NOT ANTICIPATED.

IN ADDITION...WINDS WILL BE SUSTAINED AT 20 TO 30 MPH WITH HIGHER
GUSTS. CAUTION IS ADVISED ON AREA LAKES THROUGH THIS EVENING.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

THERE IS ALSO A SLIGHT CHANCE TO CHANCE FOR MORE THUNDERSTORMS
MONDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT. A FEW STORMS MAY BECOME
SEVERE BOTH MONDAY AND TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. LARGE
HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO BE THE PRIMARY THREATS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER GROUPS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS SHOULD REMAIN ALERT
AND PREPARE FOR LIKELY ACTIVATION THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...
ESPECIALLY AREAS EAST OF A LINE EXTENDING FROM DALHART TO HEREFORD.

WYNNE/ANDRADE

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 21, 7:36 PM CDT, 1 hour 9 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
736 PM CDT SAT APR 21 2007

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

0717 PM     HAIL             12 NNE HEREFORD         34.98N 102.32W
04/21/2007  M1.00 INCH       DEAF SMITH         TX   AMATEUR RADIO

&&

CK
Local storm report, Apr 21, 7:45 PM CDT, 1 hour before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
745 PM CDT SAT APR 21 2007

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

0742 PM     HAIL             4 W FOUR WAY            35.69N 102.03W
04/21/2007  E2.50 INCH       MOORE              TX   BROADCAST MEDIA

&&

SMB
Local storm report, Apr 21, 8:19 PM CDT, 26 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
819 PM CDT SAT APR 21 2007

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

0807 PM     TORNADO          6 SE DUMAS              35.80N 101.89W
04/21/2007                   MOORE              TX   TRAINED SPOTTER

            ROPE TORNADO - NEAR FARM TO MARKET ROAD 1284 - SPOTTER
            6 MILES EAST OF DUMAS LOOKING SOUTH SOUTHWEST

&&

KJS
Local storm report, Apr 21, 8:33 PM CDT, 12 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
833 PM CDT SAT APR 21 2007

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

0832 PM     HAIL             5 SW AMARILLO           35.15N 101.88W
04/21/2007  M0.88 INCH       RANDALL            TX   CITY OFFICIAL

&&

SMB
Local storm report, Apr 21, 8:40 PM CDT, 5 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
840 PM CDT SAT APR 21 2007

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

0839 PM     TORNADO          5 NE SUNRAY             36.07N 101.76W
04/21/2007                   SHERMAN            TX   STORM CHASER

&&

SMB
Local storm report, Apr 21, 8:44 PM CDT, 1 minute before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
844 PM CDT SAT APR 21 2007

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

0838 PM     HAIL             5 S WILDORADO           35.14N 102.24W
04/21/2007  M0.88 INCH       DEAF SMITH         TX   AMATEUR RADIO

            ON FARM TO MARKET ROAD 809

&&

KJS

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.

Amarillo Airport, TX (KAMA), 00:00Z

1.8 hours before the tornado, 53 km from the path. April 22, 2007.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Amarillo Airport, TX at 00:00Z on 2007-04-22Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 1794 joules per kilogram, CIN -60, lifted condensation level 946 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, Amarillo Airport, TX at 00:00Z on 2007-04-22The 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 263 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 59 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
1794 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-60 J/kg
Surface CAPE
2759 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
946 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
59 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
263 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
301 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
3.3
Supercell composite
16.9
0-3 km lapse rate
6.9 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Amarillo Airport, TX (KAMA), 12:00Z

10.2 hours after it, 53 km from the path. April 22, 2007.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Amarillo Airport, TX at 12:00Z on 2007-04-22Temperature 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 -102823, lifted condensation level 1835 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Amarillo Airport, TX at 12:00Z on 2007-04-22The 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 -6 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 46 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-102823 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1835 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
46 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
11 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-6 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
14 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
4.4 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Amarillo radar (KAMA), 54 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 01:44 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
00:16 UTCTORNADO7 Nw EdmonsonSwisher, TXDAMAGE TO FARM AND IRRIGATION EQUIPMENT NORTHWEST OF EDMONSON
00:55 UTCTORNADOTuliaSwisher, TXTORNADO REPORTED VICINITY OF TULIA
01:00 UTCHAIL 33 N TuliaSwisher, TXREPORTED BY NSSL METEOROLOGIST
01:22 UTCTORNADO14 E HappySwisher, TXREPORTED BY WDTB METEOROLOGIST...5 MILES SOUTHWEST OF WAYSIDE
01:32 UTCHAIL 0.885 Sw AmarilloRandall, TX
01:42 UTCHAIL 2.52 N TuliaSwisher, TXTENNIS BALL SIZE HAIL
01:45 UTCTSTM WND GST 653 Sw WaysideArmstrong, TX500 GALLON CATTLE FEEDER BLOWN OVER AND PUSHED UPHILL 50 FEET
01:45 UTCHAIL 0.753 Sw WaysideArmstrong, TX
01:55 UTCHAIL 0.88CanyonRandall, TXAT U.S. HIGHWAY 60 AND FARM TO MARKET ROAD 168
02:00 UTCHAIL 0.88ClaudeArmstrong, TX
02:03 UTCHAIL 11.5 W CanyonRandall, TX
02:04 UTCHAIL 0.88ClaudeArmstrong, TX3 INCHES DEEP
02:55 UTCTSTM WND GST 60GoodnightArmstrong, TXNO HAIL BUT HEAVY WINDS AND HEAVY RAIN WITH PEA SIZE HAIL 0.60 INCHES OF RAIN FELL
03:30 UTCTSTM WND GST 60ClarendonDonley, TXNUMEROUS TREE LIMBS DOWN

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2007 tornado in TexasEvery tornado in Texas since 1950Warnings in force in Texas nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of April 21, 2007

27 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 216:20 PM CDTEF0Lamb, TX2.0200
April 215:25 PM MDTEF0Baca, CO2.775
April 215:25 PM MDTEF0Prowers, CO3.0300
April 216:51 PM CDTEF0Oldham, TX3.6880
April 215:54 PM MDTEF0Kit Carson, CO0.510$30,000
April 216:57 PM CDTEF2Lamb, TX28.81,2301$1.2 million
April 216:59 PM CDTEF1Hartley, TX13.6880$12,000
April 217:16 PM CDTEF2Moore, TX19.71,32014$1.3 million
April 217:40 PM CDTEF0Sherman, TX7.01,320
April 217:48 PM CDTEF0Aurora, SD2.8100
April 217:50 PM CDTEF2Moore, TX11.9704$8,000
April 217:57 PM CDTEF2Swisher, TX3.02003$2.0 million
April 218:06 PM CDTEF0Moore, TX1.050
April 218:11 PM CDTEF1Swisher, TX4.0300
April 218:19 PM CDTEF0Moore, TX1.5100
April 218:20 PM CDTEF0Swisher, TX1.0500
April 218:36 PM CDTEF1Moore, TX2.01,320$18,000
April 218:39 PM CDTEF0Sherman, TX7.31,320
April 218:45 PM CDTEF1Moore, TX12.2440$6,000
April 218:56 PM CDTEF0Kingsbury, SD0.250
April 218:58 PM CDTEF0Sherman, TX8.0700
April 218:59 PM CDTEF1Moore, TX2.0704$8,000
April 219:00 PM CDTEF1Randall, TX10.7880$14,000
April 219:35 PM CDTEF0Armstrong, TX0.5440
April 219:37 PM CDTEF2Carson, TX12.4440$72,000
April 219:40 PM CDTEF0Armstrong, TX4.250
April 219:50 PM CDTEF1Gray, TX12.750$52,000

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.