Tornadoes · United States · Texas · 2007

EF0 tornado, Tulia, Texas, September 7, 2007

This EF0 tornado ran 1.3 miles across Swisher County on September 7, 2007, touching down at 4:50 PM CDT and reaching 75 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
September 7, 2007
Touchdown
4:50 PM CDT (21:50 UTC)
Lifted
4:56 PM CDT (21:56 UTC)
On the ground
6 minutes
Path length
1.3 miles (2.0 km)
Path width
75 yards (69 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Swisher County
Touchdown point
34.473, -101.840
Lift-off point
34.461, -101.805
Record number
0709071550-01

What the Weather Service recorded

Scattered convection developed over the west Texas South Plains region during the afternoon and evening hours of the 6th. An initial severe storm over northern Lynn County produced large hail that destroyed 2,500 acres of cotton northwest of Tahoka. A few storms evolved into supercells, and produced large hail, damaging thunderstorm winds, and even a pair of tornadoes. The most significant storm damage was in northeastern Castro County, where thunderstorm winds damaged grain bins. In addition, a weak tornado destroyed two barns east-northeast of Nazareth. The parent supercell thunderstorm that resulted in this damage went on to produce a second tornado in rural Swisher County. Large hail additionally destroyed 2,500 acres of cotton in Lynn County.

Multiple employees at a cattle feed yard in rural southwestern Swisher County observed a tornado that developed over open country southwest of Tulia. No damage was reported. The tornado was spawned by the same storm that resulted in tornadic damage near Nazareth (Castro County) during the previous hour.

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

The warnings

24 minutes of warning. NWS LUB issued a tornado warning for this county at 21:26 UTC, 24 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 22:15 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
20:41 UTC21:30 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningLUB
21:26 UTC22:15 UTCTornado WarningLUB
22:13 UTC23:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningLUB
22:55 UTC23:30 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningLUB

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. The outlook in force was issued at 19:37 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

9.8 hours before the tornado, 86 km from the path. September 7, 2007.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Amarillo Airport, TX at 12:00Z on 2007-09-07Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 1075 joules per kilogram, CIN -112, lifted condensation level 929 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 12:00Z on 2007-09-07The 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 44 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 16 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
1075 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-112 J/kg
Surface CAPE
529 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
929 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
16 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
11 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
44 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
135 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
5.1 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

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

2.2 hours after it, 86 km from the path. September 8, 2007.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Amarillo Airport, TX at 00:00Z on 2007-09-08Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 81 joules per kilogram, CIN -76, lifted condensation level 796 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 2007-09-08The 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 32 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 23 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
81 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-76 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1550 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
796 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
23 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
6 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
32 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
115 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
5.7 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Plainview (PVW), 35 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
20:05 UTC80.666.2130° 8 kt1016.3
20:25 UTC78.869.8110° 13 kt1015.6
20:45 UTC80.669.8100° 14 kt1016.3VCTS
21:05 UTC78.869.880° 14 kt1016.3
21:25 UTC7768100° 12 kt1015.9VCTS
21:45 UTC7769.8100° 11 kt1015.6
22:05 UTC7769.890° 10 kt1015.9
22:25 UTC73.469.8100° 10 kt1015.2-RA
22:45 UTC6866.2130° 10 kt131015.9-VCTSRA
23:05 UTC6866.20° 0 kt1015.9-TSRA
23:25 UTC6866.2330° 9 kt1017.3-VCTSRA
23:45 UTC6866.2360° 9 kt1017.6-VCTSRA

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

The radar

The Amarillo radar (KAMA), 86 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 21:51 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
19:28 UTCFLASH FLOODCanyonRandall, TXEXTENSIVE FLOODING IN AND AROUND CANYON WITH WATER FLOWING INTO SOME HOMES.
19:58 UTCFLASH FLOOD1 S CanyonRandall, TXSPOTTER JUST SOUTH OF CANYON ON HWY 87 INDICATED WATER WAS CURB TO CURB. ALSO ESTIMATED THAT WATER DEPTH WAS NEAR 12 INCHES IN SOME SPOTS AND WAS FILLING UP THE MEDIANS.
20:30 UTCTSTM WND GST 703 Nnw NazarethCastro, TXTWO GRAIN BINS WERE DESTROYED
20:43 UTCTSTM WND GST 704 Ene NazarethCastro, TXTWO BARNS WERE DESTROYED BY THUNDERSTORM WIND. INVESTIGATING LOCAL ACCOUNTS OF A POSSIBLE TORNADO.
20:51 UTCFLASH FLOODCanyonRandall, TXU.S. HIGHWAY 87 IN CANYON WAS FLOODED
21:19 UTCFLASH FLOODCanyonRandall, TXU.S. HIGHWAY 87...INTERSTATE 27 REMAINED FLOODED...TX DOT WARNED SOUTHBOUND TRAFFIC FROM AMARILLO TO CANYON
21:30 UTCFLASH FLOOD1 Wsw CanyonRandall, TX9TH AVENUE WAS FLOWING LIKE A STREAM...DUMPSTERS AND LARGE TIMBER WAS FLOATING DOWN THE STREET...WATER WAS ENTERING JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL AND INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL
21:30 UTCFLASH FLOODCanyonRandall, TXVEHICLES AND OTHER STORAGE ITEMS WERE WASHED OUT OF GARAGES AT PALO DURO RETIREMENT VILLAGE
21:34 UTCFLASH FLOODCanyonRandall, TXINTERSTATE 27 CLOSED AT EXIT 106...U.S. HIGHWAY 87 FLOODED...SOUTHBOUND TRAFFIC FROM AMARILLO TO CANYON CONTINUED TO BE ALERTED
21:40 UTCTORNADO6 Sw TuliaSwisher, TXSEVERAL EMPLOYEES AT A FEEDYARD OBSERVED A TORNADO SOUTHWEST OF TULIA.
21:45 UTCFLASH FLOODCanyonRandall, TXRUNOFF FROM BRIDGE WASHED 300 YARDS OF CALICHE AWAY FROM CONSTRUCTION SITE NEAR HIGHWAY 87 AND HIGHWAY 60 INTERSECTION

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 September 7, 2007

1 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
September 73:43 PM CDTEF1Castro, TX1.575$75,000

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.