Tornadoes · United States · Texas · 2009

EF0 tornado, DeWitt County, Texas, April 27, 2009

This EF0 tornado ran 0.1 miles across DeWitt County on April 27, 2009, touching down at 3:36 PM CDT and reaching 10 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $50,000 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 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
April 27, 2009
Touchdown
3:36 PM CDT (20:36 UTC)
Lifted
3:41 PM CDT (20:41 UTC)
On the ground
5 minutes
Path length
0.1 miles (0.1 km)
Path width
10 yards (9 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$50,000
County
DeWitt County
Touchdown point
29.018, -97.531
Lift-off point
29.017, -97.530
Record number
0904271436-01

The warnings

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down. One was issued for the county at another hour that day.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
17:30 UTC19:30 UTCFlood AdvisoryEWX
19:44 UTC21:45 UTCFlood AdvisoryEWX
20:16 UTC22:59 UTCFlash Flood WarningEWX
20:28 UTC21:30 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWX
20:40 UTC21:30 UTCTornado WarningEWX
21:00 UTC23:13 UTCTornado WatchEWX
21:00 UTC23:14 UTCFlash Flood WatchEWX
21:04 UTC21:30 UTCTornado WarningEWX
21:06 UTC21:45 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWX
21:23 UTC22:15 UTCTornado WarningEWX

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, with a 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 19:59 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.

Corpus Christi, TX (KCRP), 12:00Z

8.6 hours before the tornado, 144 km from the path. April 27, 2009.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Corpus Christi, TX at 12:00Z on 2009-04-27Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 1236 joules per kilogram, CIN -230, lifted condensation level 508 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, Corpus Christi, TX at 12:00Z on 2009-04-27The 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 119 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 35 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
1236 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-230 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1761 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
508 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
119 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
258 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.6
0-3 km lapse rate
3.6 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Corpus Christi, TX (KCRP), 00:00Z

3.4 hours after it, 144 km from the path. April 28, 2009.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Corpus Christi, TX at 00:00Z on 2009-04-28Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 3092 joules per kilogram, CIN -20, lifted condensation level 651 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, Corpus Christi, TX at 00:00Z on 2009-04-28The 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 81 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 36 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
3092 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-20 J/kg
Surface CAPE
4038 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
651 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
36 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
10 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
81 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
91 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.5
Supercell composite
7.7
0-3 km lapse rate
6.2 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Austin/San Antonio radar (KEWX), 90 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 20:37 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
20:10 UTCHAIL 0.25SmileyGonzales, TXPUBLIC REPORTED MINOR STREET FLOODING...TREES DOWN AND PEA SIZE HAIL IN SMILEY.
20:27 UTCTSTM WND DMGNixonGonzales, TXNUMEROUS POWER LINES AND TREES DOWN NEAR NIXON. POSSIBLE HAIL.
20:41 UTCTORNADO3 Nnw YorktownDewitt, TXA NWS STORM SURVEY TEAM DETERMINED THE DAMAGE TO A MOBILE HOME ON VFW RD WAS CAUSED BY A TORNADO WITH DAMAGE RATED AT EF0 WITH WINDS ESTIMATED AT 70 TO 80 MPH. THE DAMAGE TO A COMMUNICATIONS TOWER TO THE EAST WAS CAUSED
20:41 UTCTORNADOYorktownDewitt, TXTORNADO SPOTTED ON HIGHWAY 119 IN YORKTOWN...ONE HOUSE DESTROYED.
20:42 UTCHAIL 0.7SmileyGonzales, TXDIME TO NICKEL SIZE HAIL AT THE INTERSECTION OF US 87 AND FM 108 IN SMILEY.
20:42 UTCHAIL 0.88SmileyGonzales, TXDIME AND NICKLE SIZE HAIL AT THE INTERSECTION OF US 87 AND FM 108 IN SMILEY.
21:07 UTCHAIL 1WesthoffDewitt, TXPUBLIC REPORTED QUARTER TO DIME SIZE HAIL IN WESTHOFF RELAYED BY FAMILY MEMBER IN CUERO.
21:30 UTCHAIL 0.253 N CueroDewitt, TXTEXAS GENERAL LAND OFFICE OFFICAL REPORTED PEA SIZE HAIL NORTH OF CUERO ALONG US 183. NWS BROWNSVILLE RELAYED REPORT.
21:56 UTCHEAVY RAIN 2.35SmileyGonzales, TXCOCORAHS OBSERVER REPORTED 2.35 INCHES OF RAIN NORTH NORTHEAST OF SMILEY.
22:34 UTCTSTM WND GST 58VictoriaVictoria, TXMEASURED BY VCT ASOS.
22:34 UTCTSTM WND GST 58VictoriaVictoria, TXMEASURED BY VCT ASOS. SMALL TREE BRANCHES BROKEN AND A FEW POWER LINES DOWNED...BUT POLES REMAIN STANDING.
22:35 UTCHAIL 0.25CueroDewitt, TXPUBLIC REPORTED 2 INCHES OF RAIN N 15 MINS...PEA SIZE HAIL...AND RELAYED A REPORT OF DIME TO QUARTER SIZE HAIL IN WESTHOFF FROM A FAMILY MEMBER.
22:35 UTCHEAVY RAIN 2CueroDewitt, TXPUBLIC REPORTED 2 INCHES OF RAIN N 15 MINS...PEA SIZE HAIL...AND RELAYED A REPORT OF DIME TO QUARTER SIZE HAIL IN WESTHOFF FROM A FAMILY MEMBER.
22:35 UTCHEAVY RAIN 3.25CueroDewitt, TXPUBLIC REPORTED RAINFALL TOTAL OF 3.25 INCHES IN CUERO.
23:15 UTCLIGHTNINGVictoriaVictoria, TXLIGHTNING STRUCK THE VICTORIA 911 CENTER. BACKUP SYSTEM WAS USED UNTIL MAIN SYSTEM CAME BACK ONLINE AT 4 AM.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2009 tornado in TexasEvery tornado in Texas since 1950Warnings in force in Texas nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of April 27, 2009

6 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 274:10 AM CDTEF1Williamson, TX2.150$1.0 million
April 278:30 AM CDTEF1Navarro, TX0.6671$100,000
April 279:28 AM CDTEF0Van Zandt, TX0.820
April 276:11 PM CDTEF1Johnson, AR3.1180$50,000
April 279:25 PM CDTEF0Newton, TX0.010$1,000
April 279:29 PM CDTEF0Jasper, TX0.010

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.