Tornadoes · United States · Texas · 2007

EF0 tornado, Perryton Mcclain Arp to Huntoon, Texas, May 23, 2007

From Perryton Mcclain Arp to Huntoon, this EF0 tornado ran 2.0 miles across Ochiltree County on May 23, 2007, touching down at 6:40 PM CDT and reaching 50 yards wide. It killed nobody.

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 mphthis tornado

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

  2. EF186 to 110 mph

    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
EF0
Date
May 23, 2007
Touchdown
6:40 PM CDT (23:40 UTC)
Lifted
6:50 PM CDT (23:50 UTC)
On the ground
10 minutes
Path length
2.0 miles (3.2 km)
Path width
50 yards (46 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Ochiltree County
Touchdown point
36.120, -100.370
Lift-off point
36.140, -100.360
Record number
0705231740-02

What the Weather Service recorded

Severe thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening hours produced numerous tornadoes...large hail...prolonged flooding and flash flooding...and damaging winds across the central and northeastern Texas Panhandle. No injuries were reported.

This tornado developed over open country about five miles east southeast of Wolf Creek Park or just east of County Road 29 at 1714 CST and traveled north northeast for about two miles. The tornado dissipated at 1715 CST just northeast of the intersection of County Road U and County Road 25. No damage or injuries were reported.

This tornado developed at 1740 CST about two miles southeast of Wolf Creek Park and remained over open country as the tornado traveled north northeast for about two miles. The tornado dissipated just north of County Road U about two miles east northeast of Wolf Creek Park at 1750 CST. No damage or injuries were reported.

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

The warnings

46 minutes of warning. NWS AMA issued a tornado warning for this county at 22:54 UTC, 46 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 23:45 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 20:35 UTC and running to 03:50 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
20:35 UTC03:50 UTCTornado WatchAMA
21:25 UTC22:30 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMA
21:36 UTC22:00 UTCTornado WarningAMA
22:46 UTC23:45 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMA
22:54 UTC23:45 UTCTornado WarningAMA
00:12 UTC01:15 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMA
00:20 UTC01:15 UTCTornado WarningAMA
01:17 UTC02:15 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMA
03:02 UTC04:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMA
03:18 UTC07:15 UTCFlash Flood WarningAMA
03:38 UTC04:30 UTCTornado WarningAMA
03:50 UTC06:36 UTCTornado WatchAMA
04:00 UTC05:00 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 20:06 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

11.7 hours before the tornado, 157 km from the path. May 23, 2007.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Amarillo Airport, TX at 12:00Z on 2007-05-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 16 joules per kilogram, CIN -50, lifted condensation level 726 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, Amarillo Airport, TX at 12:00Z on 2007-05-23The 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 60 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 38 knots.19395878Sfc1 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
16 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-50 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
726 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
38 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
20 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
60 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
107 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.4
0-3 km lapse rate
4.0 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

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

0.3 hours after it, 157 km from the path. May 24, 2007.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Amarillo Airport, TX at 00:00Z on 2007-05-24Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 1239 joules per kilogram, CIN -37, lifted condensation level 1675 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, Amarillo Airport, TX at 00:00Z on 2007-05-24The 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 96 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 49 knots.193958Sfc1 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
1239 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-37 J/kg
Surface CAPE
2959 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1675 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
49 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
16 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
96 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
251 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.4
Supercell composite
11.4
0-3 km lapse rate
8.6 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Amarillo radar (KAMA), 157 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 23:38 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
21:18 UTCHAIL 0.7515 Nw MiamiRoberts, TX
21:27 UTCHAIL 120 Nw MiamiRoberts, TX
21:31 UTCTORNADO21 Nw MiamiRoberts, TX
21:40 UTCHAIL 119 S PerrytonOchiltree, TX
21:43 UTCHAIL 1.2520 Nw MiamiRoberts, TX
21:48 UTCHAIL 0.88DarrouzettLipscomb, TX
22:04 UTCHAIL 219 Nw MiamiRoberts, TX
22:05 UTCTSTM WND GST 6026 S PerrytonRoberts, TX60 MPH WIND AT CANADIAN RIVER BRIDGE ON HWY70.
22:15 UTCHAIL 0.756 Wnw BookerBeaver, OKTIME APPROXIMATE
22:16 UTCHAIL 121 S PerrytonOchiltree, TX
22:18 UTCHAIL 1.7523 Nw MiamiRoberts, TXHALF DOLLAR TO GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL
22:25 UTCHAIL 221 S PerrytonOchiltree, TX
22:25 UTCTORNADO4 Sw Wolf Creek ParkOchiltree, TXSW OF RT. 281 AND COUNTY ROAD 23
22:35 UTCTSTM WND GST 6021 S PerrytonOchiltree, TX
22:39 UTCTORNADO21 Sse PerrytonOchiltree, TX
22:42 UTCTSTM WND GST 616 Ssw Wolf Creek ParkOchiltree, TX
22:42 UTCHAIL 1.756 Ssw Wolf Creek ParkOchiltree, TX
22:44 UTCTSTM WND GST 6021 S PerrytonOchiltree, TX
22:44 UTCHAIL 0.8821 S PerrytonOchiltree, TX
22:50 UTCHAIL 1.7523 Ssw PerrytonOchiltree, TX
23:21 UTCHAIL 0.7512 S PerrytonOchiltree, TX
23:40 UTCTORNADO13 Wsw LipscombLipscomb, TX
23:55 UTCTSTM WND DMGWolf Creek ParkOchiltree, TXTREE FELL OVER AND DAMAGED A CAR.
23:55 UTCTSTM WND GST 60Wolf Creek ParkOchiltree, TXTREE LIMBS BREAKING OFF.
23:55 UTCHAIL 1.5Wolf Creek ParkOchiltree, TX
00:00 UTCTORNADO4 Se Wolf Creek ParkOchiltree, TX
00:09 UTCHAIL 1.7510 S BookerLipscomb, TX
00:39 UTCTORNADO6 Sw DarrouzettLipscomb, TX
01:14 UTCHAIL 1DarrouzettLipscomb, TX
01:15 UTCHAIL 14 N PerrytonOchiltree, TXREPORTED ALONG HIGHWAY 83
01:20 UTCHAIL 1DarrouzettLipscomb, TX
01:38 UTCHAIL 16 Sw DarrouzettLipscomb, TX
02:03 UTCHAIL 0.7523 Nw MiamiRoberts, TXPENNY SIZE HAIL
02:05 UTCHAIL 1.7520 S PerrytonOchiltree, TXAT INTERSECTION OF HWY 70 AND 281
02:06 UTCHAIL 0.8820 Nw MiamiRoberts, TXNICKLE SIZE HAIL
02:10 UTCHAIL 1.7522 S PerrytonOchiltree, TXREPORTED ALONG HIGHWAY 70 ON OCHILTREE AND ROBERTS COUNTY LINE
02:10 UTCHAIL 1.7523 S PerrytonRoberts, TXREPORTED ALONG HIGHWAY 70 ON OCHILTREE AND ROBERTS COUNTY LINE
02:11 UTCHAIL 222 S PerrytonOchiltree, TX
02:11 UTCHAIL 223 S PerrytonRoberts, TX
02:12 UTCHAIL 120 Se SpearmanRoberts, TXQUARTER SIZE HAIL AT RIVER RD WEST AND LIPPS RD

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 May 23, 2007

16 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 234:10 PM CDTEF0Goodhue, MN2.050
May 234:28 PM CDTEF0Roberts, TX0.225
May 235:25 PM CDTEF0Ochiltree, TX1.050
May 235:39 PM CDTEF0Ochiltree, TX1.050
May 235:56 PM CDTEF0Lipscomb, TX1.050$6,000
May 236:14 PM CDTEF0Ochiltree, TX2.050
May 236:40 PM CDTEF0Edwards, KS0.630
May 236:42 PM CDTEF0Edwards, KS1.350
May 237:39 PM CDTEF0Lipscomb, TX2.050
May 238:15 PM CDTEF0Hutchinson, TX0.125
May 238:17 PM CDTEF0Hutchinson, TX0.150
May 239:28 PM CDTEF0Roberts, TX2.0100
May 239:43 PM CDTEF1Ochiltree, TX3.0880$9,000
May 2310:40 PM CDTEF2Lipscomb, TX7.0440$23,000
May 2310:55 PM CDTEF1Lipscomb, TX4.0150$13,000
May 2311:11 PM CDTEF2Lipscomb, TX8.0528$36,000

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.