Tornadoes · United States · Texas · 2007
EF1 tornado, Clarendon to Hedley, Texas, March 28, 2007
From Clarendon to Hedley, this EF1 tornado ran 7.3 miles across Donley County on March 28, 2007, touching down at 6:55 PM CDT and reaching 150 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $5,000 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.
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
- March 28, 2007
- Touchdown
- 6:55 PM CDT (23:55 UTC)
- Lifted
- 7:11 PM CDT (00:11 UTC)
- On the ground
- 16 minutes
- Path length
- 7.3 miles (11.7 km)
- Path width
- 150 yards (137 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $5,000
- County
- Donley County
- Touchdown point
- 34.869, -100.975
- Lift-off point
- 34.969, -101.014
- Record number
- 0703281755-01
What the Weather Service recorded
Severe thunderstorms during the evening hours produced numerous tornadoes and large hail across the southern...central and eastern Texas panhandle. Heavy rains caused flash flooding in the eastern Texas panhandle during the late night and early morning hours. One man was killed by a tornado in the northeastern Texas panhandle and another person was injured.
The tornado occurred over open country and the path length and path width were estimated. No damage or injuries were reported.
This tornado crossed Highway 287, damaging a home along the south side of the highway.
This tornado originated in northwestern Hall county southwest of Brice and entered Donley County at 1805 CST. This tornado remained over open country and the path length and path width were estimated. No damage or injuries were reported.
The initial phase of this tornado was fairly weak with minor damage occurring to a tin roof...fences and small tree limbs. The tornado became progressively stronger...resulting in the total removal of deer blinds and considerable loss of metal roofing to a home and the detached garage. The worst damage occurred near the end of the tornado. Numerous large tree limbs were downed and several tree trunks were snapped at the base. A large barn was completely swept away...with portions of the structure found up to five hundred yards away. Several power poles were snapped and carried over twenty yards. A large hitch trailer was carried away from beside the barn and deposited in a nearby tree. A van was also displaced into a grove of trees near ground level. No injuries were reported.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The warnings
14 minutes of warning. NWS AMA issued a tornado warning for this county at 23:41 UTC, 14 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 00:30 UTC.
The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 20:16 UTC and running to 04:29 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20:16 UTC | 04:29 UTC | Tornado Watch | AMA |
| 23:24 UTC | 00:30 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AMA |
| 23:41 UTC | 00:30 UTC | Tornado Warning | AMA |
| 00:24 UTC | 01:15 UTC | Tornado Warning | AMA |
| 01:16 UTC | 01:45 UTC | Tornado Warning | AMA |
| 04:29 UTC | 06:55 UTC | Tornado Watch | AMA |
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 0.15 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 21:01 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.
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), 12:00Z
11.9 hours before the tornado, 73 km from the path. March 28, 2007.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 693 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -221 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 129 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1508 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 40 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 24 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -2 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 60 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- -1.8
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 5.4 K/km
Amarillo Airport, TX (KAMA), 00:00Z
0.1 hours after it, 73 km from the path. March 29, 2007.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1596 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -28 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 2623 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1565 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 66 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 20 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 102 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 126 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.5
- Supercell composite
- 5.7
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 8.8 K/km
The surface observations
Amarillo - Rick Husband Intl (AMA), 73 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22:53 UTC | 74 | 54 | 160° 18 kt | 29 | 1005.1 | |
| 23:53 UTC | 67 | 59 | 120° 18 kt | 1006.4 | ||
| 00:53 UTC | 63 | 54 | 120° 17 kt | 29 | 1006.4 | |
| 01:45 UTC | 64.4 | 55.4 | 130° 21 kt | 33 | 1006.1 | TS |
| 01:53 UTC | 65 | 55 | 150° 10 kt | 1006.4 | TS |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Amarillo radar (KAMA), 74 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 23:55 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22:20 UTC | TORNADO | Silverton | Briscoe, TX | TRAINED SPOTTER REPORTED TORNADO ON THE GROUND 10 MILES SOUTHWEST OF SILVERTON. |
| 22:43 UTC | TORNADO | 1 S Silverton | Briscoe, TX | STORM CHASER REPORTED A TORNADO ON THE GROUND JUST SOUTH OF SILVERTON WITH PENNY SIZED HAIL. |
| 22:50 UTC | HAIL 0.88 | Claude | Armstrong, TX | |
| 22:50 UTC | HAIL 1 | Claude | Armstrong, TX | |
| 22:50 UTC | HAIL 2.75 | 1 Ne Wayside | Armstrong, TX | |
| 22:51 UTC | HAIL 1 | Claude | Armstrong, TX | WEST SIDE OF TOWN |
| 22:57 UTC | TORNADO | 1 S Silverton | Briscoe, TX | TRAINED SPOTTER REPORTED TORNADO ON THE GROUND JUST SOUTH OF SILVERTON. |
| 23:00 UTC | TORNADO | 3 Nnw Silverton | Briscoe, TX | TRAINED SPOTTER REPORTED A TORNADO ON THE GROUND 3 MILES NORTH NORTHWEST OF SILVERTON. |
| 23:03 UTC | TORNADO | 1 Ne Silverton | Briscoe, TX | TORNADO WAS REPORTED BY A STORM CHASER 1 MILE NORTHEAST OF SILVERTON. IT WAS 1/8 IN DIAMETER. |
| 23:26 UTC | HAIL 2.75 | 5 Sw Panhandle | Carson, TX | 2E ST. FRANCIS ROAD |
| 23:35 UTC | TORNADO | 10 N Quitaque | Briscoe, TX | TORNADO REPORTED ON THE GROUND NEAR OR AT CAPROCK CANYON PARK AT 635 PM CDT. |
| 23:37 UTC | HAIL 2 | 4 Sw Panhandle | Carson, TX | 3 MILES EAST OF ST FRANCIS. |
| 23:43 UTC | TORNADO | 12 Sw Brice | Briscoe, TX | STORM CHASER REPORTED A TORNADO ON THE GROUND 12 MILES SOUTHWEST OF BRICE AT 643 PM CDT. |
| 23:54 UTC | TORNADO | 15 N Turkey | Hall, TX | STORM CHASER REPORTED A TORNADO ON THE GROUND 15 MILES NORTH OF TURKEY. |
| 00:00 UTC | HAIL 1 | Claude | Armstrong, TX | |
| 00:00 UTC | HAIL 1.75 | Claude | Armstrong, TX | |
| 00:05 UTC | TORNADO | 12 Ssw Clarendon | Donley, TX | LONG TRACK TORNADO MOVED INTO DONLEY COUNTY |
| 00:15 UTC | HAIL 1 | 10 W Clarendon | Donley, TX | |
| 00:22 UTC | TSTM WND GST 60 | 5 W Clarendon | Donley, TX | TRACTOR TRAILER TRUCK OVERTURNED |
| 00:39 UTC | HAIL 1 | 14 Ne Clarendon | Donley, TX | |
| 00:39 UTC | TORNADO | 3 Sw Jericho | Donley, TX | 18 WHEELERS FLIPPED BY TORNADO AT REST STOP ON INTERSTATE 40. |
| 00:45 UTC | HAIL 1 | Claude | Armstrong, TX | |
| 00:46 UTC | TORNADO | 6 Nw Hedley | Donley, TX | TORNADO UPROOTED MESQUITE TREES AT BASE.....OUTBUILDING AND POWER POLES DAMAGED |
| 00:50 UTC | TORNADO | 6 Sw Clarendon | Donley, TX | |
| 00:54 UTC | TORNADO | 2 Nw Jericho | Gray, TX | END POINT OF TORNADO THAT BEGAN AT 0739 PM |
| 00:55 UTC | TORNADO | 1 E Jericho | Gray, TX | 18 WHEELERS FLIPPED BY TORNADO AT REST STOP ON INTERSTATE 40. |
| 01:05 UTC | HAIL 0.88 | 7 Sse Pampa | Gray, TX | AT INTERSECTION OF FM 749 AND FM 2375 |
| 01:07 UTC | HAIL 2.75 | 7 S Mclean | Donley, TX | HIGHWAY 273 |
| 01:10 UTC | HAIL 2.75 | 2 S Mclean | Gray, TX | |
| 01:13 UTC | TORNADO | 7 Sw Mclean | Donley, TX | |
| 01:23 UTC | TORNADO | 2 Se Mclean | Gray, TX | |
| 01:24 UTC | TORNADO | 2 S Mclean | Gray, TX | END POINT OF TORNADO THAT BEGAN AT 0813 PM |
| 01:24 UTC | TORNADO | 2 S Mclean | Gray, TX | |
| 01:30 UTC | HAIL 2.75 | 1 S Mclean | Gray, TX | |
| 01:30 UTC | TORNADO | 1 Se Lefors | Gray, TX | |
| 01:34 UTC | HAIL 2.75 | Mclean | Gray, TX | LOCAL TELEVISION SPOTTER REPORTED BASEBALL SIZE HAIL AT STATE HIGHWAY 273 AND INTERSTATE 40. |
| 01:35 UTC | TSTM WND GST 127 | 1 E Mclean | Gray, TX | WIND POSSIBLY ASSOCIATED WITH TORNADO PENDING RESULTS OF TEAM DAMAGE SURVEY |
| 01:35 UTC | HAIL 1 | 3 Sw Lake Mcclellan | Gray, TX | US 70 AND INTERSTATE 40 |
| 01:36 UTC | TORNADO | 1 Ne Lefors | Gray, TX | |
| 01:37 UTC | TSTM WND GST 87 | Panhandle | Carson, TX | REPORTED BY KVII SCHOOLNET SITE |
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 March 28, 2007
65 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 28 | 3:05 PM CDT | EF0 | Logan, IL | 0.1 | 10 | |||
| March 28 | 3:19 PM CDT | EF0 | McLean, IL | 0.1 | 10 | |||
| March 28 | 5:20 PM CDT | EF0 | Swisher, TX | 2.5 | 75 | |||
| March 28 | 5:28 PM CDT | EF0 | Briscoe, TX | 2.0 | 75 | |||
| March 28 | 5:43 PM CDT | EF1 | Briscoe, TX | 6.8 | 100 | $35,000 | ||
| March 28 | 6:03 PM CDT | EF0 | Floyd, TX | 0.5 | 50 | $10,000 | ||
| March 28 | 6:03 PM CDT | EF0 | Briscoe, TX | 4.8 | 220 | |||
| March 28 | 6:10 PM CDT | EF0 | Briscoe, TX | 1.8 | 100 | |||
| March 28 | 6:35 PM CDT | EF2 | Briscoe, TX | 16.5 | 300 | $175,000 | ||
| March 28 | 6:40 PM CDT | EF0 | Donley, TX | 1.0 | 100 | |||
| March 28 | 5:49 PM MDT | EF0 | Wallace, KS | 0.5 | 10 | |||
| March 28 | 5:52 PM MDT | EF0 | Wallace, KS | 6.0 | 75 | |||
| March 28 | 7:05 PM CDT | EF0 | Donley, TX | 1.0 | 200 | |||
| March 28 | 7:05 PM CDT | EF0 | Decatur, KS | 8.0 | 25 | $40,000 | ||
| March 28 | 6:12 PM MDT | EF0 | Cherry, NE | 3.0 | 150 | $250 | ||
| March 28 | 7:16 PM CDT | EF0 | Lipscomb, TX | 6.0 | 150 | |||
| March 28 | 7:28 PM CDT | EF0 | Meade, KS | 1.4 | 50 | |||
| March 28 | 7:28 PM CDT | EF2 | Beaver, OK | 16.0 | 150 | 2 | $102,000 | |
| March 28 | 7:32 PM CDT | EF0 | Meade, KS | 1.3 | 50 | |||
| March 28 | 6:33 PM MDT | EF0 | Hamilton, KS | 10.6 | 100 | |||
| March 28 | 6:37 PM MDT | EF0 | Sherman, KS | 0.5 | 10 | |||
| March 28 | 7:39 PM CDT | EF3 | Donley, TX | 3.4 | 600 | 2 | $180,000 | |
| March 28 | 7:42 PM CDT | EF1 | Meade, KS | 13.5 | 125 | $78,000 | ||
| March 28 | 7:46 PM CDT | EF2 | Donley, TX | 4.2 | 528 | $63,000 | ||
| March 28 | 7:48 PM CDT | EF3 | Gray, TX | 3.0 | 600 | 2 | $100,000 | |
| March 28 | 6:48 PM MDT | EF0 | Greeley, KS | 11.0 | 100 | |||
| March 28 | 6:49 PM MDT | EF0 | Sherman, KS | 0.5 | 10 | |||
| March 28 | 7:58 PM CDT | EF0 | Ford, KS | 7.8 | 50 | |||
| March 28 | 8:02 PM CDT | EF0 | Donley, TX | 0.3 | 50 | |||
| March 28 | 8:04 PM CDT | EF2 | Beaver, OK | 6.0 | 100 | $58,000 | ||
| March 28 | 7:05 PM MDT | EF0 | Chase, NE | 0.1 | 20 | |||
| March 28 | 7:05 PM MDT | EF1 | Arthur, NE | 20.6 | 100 | |||
| March 28 | 7:06 PM MDT | EF0 | Sherman, KS | 3.0 | 25 | |||
| March 28 | 7:09 PM MDT | EF0 | Greeley, KS | 15.0 | 100 | $25,000 | ||
| March 28 | 7:11 PM MDT | EF1 | Chase, NE | 2.5 | 20 | $15,000 | ||
| March 28 | 7:12 PM MDT | EF0 | Perkins, NE | 0.2 | 20 | |||
| March 28 | 8:13 PM CDT | EF2 | Donley, TX | 4.5 | 200 | $170,000 | ||
| March 28 | 8:14 PM CDT | EF1 | Gray, KS | 10.4 | 200 | $160,000 | ||
| March 28 | 8:15 PM CDT | EF0 | Donley, TX | 1.0 | 50 | |||
| March 28 | 7:15 PM MDT | EF2 | Sherman, KS | 7.0 | 350 | $100,000 | ||
| March 28 | 7:20 PM MDT | EF1 | Perkins, NE | 2.3 | 30 | $15,000 | ||
| March 28 | 7:20 PM MDT | EF2 | Perkins, NE | 15.9 | 900 | $1.2 million | ||
| March 28 | 8:23 PM CDT | EF2 | Gray, TX | 3.6 | 200 | $74,000 | ||
| March 28 | 8:29 PM CDT | EF2 | Cheyenne, KS | 27.0 | 700 | $2.0 million | ||
| March 28 | 8:30 PM CDT | EF0 | Gray, TX | 0.3 | 50 | $3,000 | ||
| March 28 | 8:32 PM CDT | EF1 | Hodgeman, KS | 10.7 | 200 | $3,000 | ||
| March 28 | 8:36 PM CDT | EF1 | Gray, TX | 0.3 | 50 | $39,000 | ||
| March 28 | 8:39 PM CDT | EF0 | Meade, KS | 8.7 | 100 | |||
| March 28 | 7:41 PM MDT | EF1 | Wallace, KS | 8.0 | 100 | $250,000 | ||
| March 28 | 8:45 PM CDT | EF3 | Gray, TX | 8.0 | 1,760 | $27,000 | ||
| March 28 | 7:46 PM MDT | EF1 | Grant, NE | 2.0 | 100 | $500 | ||
| March 28 | 8:49 PM CDT | EF1 | Cheyenne, KS | 4.0 | 100 | $6,000 | ||
| March 28 | 7:54 PM MDT | EF3 | Prowers, CO | 28.0 | 900 | 2 | 9 | $4.0 million |
| March 28 | 8:00 PM MDT | EF0 | Keith, NE | 0.1 | 20 | |||
| March 28 | 9:01 PM CDT | EF3 | Hodgeman, KS | 29.1 | 1,320 | $535,000 | ||
| March 28 | 9:09 PM CDT | EF1 | Cheyenne, KS | 3.0 | 200 | $25,000 | ||
| March 28 | 8:11 PM MDT | EF1 | Keith, NE | 0.7 | 20 | $100,000 | ||
| March 28 | 8:17 PM MDT | EF1 | Dundy, NE | 12.0 | 440 | $460,000 | ||
| March 28 | 8:20 PM MDT | EF0 | Keith, NE | 0.1 | 20 | $5,000 | ||
| March 28 | 8:29 PM MDT | EF0 | Sherman, KS | 2.5 | 25 | $3,000 |
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.