Tornadoes · United States · Texas · 2011

EF0 tornado, Excelsior, Texas, May 25, 2011

This EF0 tornado ran 0.5 miles across Liberty County on May 25, 2011, touching down at 11:49 PM CDT and reaching 20 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 25, 2011
Touchdown
11:49 PM CDT (04:49 UTC)
Path length
0.5 miles (0.8 km)
Path width
20 yards (18 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Liberty County
Touchdown point
30.300, -95.090
Lift-off point
30.300, -95.090
Record number
1105252249-01

What the Weather Service recorded

The trailing cold front from a strong storm system across the north central states triggered evening and overnight severe thunderstorms with very large hail and strong wind gusts across portions of southeast Texas.

Tornado that was observed by the general public caused little or no damage.

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

The warnings

26 minutes of warning. NWS HGX issued a tornado warning for this county at 04:23 UTC, 26 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 05:15 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
03:57 UTC04:45 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGX
04:23 UTC05:15 UTCTornado WarningHGX
04:58 UTC05:30 UTCTornado WarningHGX
05:27 UTC06:30 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGX

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 00:57 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.

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), 00:00Z

4.8 hours before the tornado, 183 km from the path. May 26, 2011.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Lake Charles Mun, LA at 00:00Z on 2011-05-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 2598 joules per kilogram, CIN -50, lifted condensation level 656 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, Lake Charles Mun, LA at 00:00Z on 2011-05-26The 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 58 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 33 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
2598 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-50 J/kg
Surface CAPE
4407 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
656 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
33 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
10 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
58 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
130 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.6
Supercell composite
4.6
0-3 km lapse rate
5.1 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), 12:00Z

7.2 hours after it, 183 km from the path. May 26, 2011.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Lake Charles Mun, LA at 12:00Z on 2011-05-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 3541 joules per kilogram, CIN 0, lifted condensation level 445 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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, Lake Charles Mun, LA at 12:00Z on 2011-05-26The 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 38 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
3541 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
0 J/kg
Surface CAPE
4379 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
445 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
38 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
16 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
81 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
141 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
3.1
Supercell composite
13.3
0-3 km lapse rate
5.6 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Cleveland (6R3), 10 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
02:55 UTC80.671.6190° 7 kt1009.8
03:15 UTC78.871.6180° 7 kt1009.8
03:55 UTC78.871.6160° 4 kt1009.8
04:15 UTC78.871.6310° 3 kt1011.5TS
04:35 UTC7771.6 1010.8+TSRA
04:55 UTC75.271.6230° 13 kt201010.8TSRA
05:15 UTC71.668200° 6 kt91010.8
05:35 UTC71.668 1011.2
05:55 UTC69.868190° 5 kt1011.2
06:15 UTC69.868 1010.5BR
06:35 UTC69.866.2 1010.8BR

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

The radar

The Houston radar (KHGX), 92 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 04:49 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
03:54 UTCHAIL 0.884 S HuntsvilleWalker, TX
03:54 UTCHAIL 1.756 Ne New WaverlyWalker, TX
04:00 UTCHAIL 318 Sw ShepherdMontgomery, TXTENNIS BALL TO TEA CUP SIZE HAIL IN SOUTHERN SAN JACINTO COUNTY
04:30 UTCHAIL 1.752 N ClevelandLiberty, TX
04:32 UTCHAIL 1.752 N ClevelandLiberty, TXGOLFBALL SIZED HAIL AT INTERSECTION OF FM HIGHWAY 1725 AND TONY TAP ROAD
04:32 UTCHAIL 32 N ClevelandLiberty, TXGOLFBALL TO TEA CUP SIZED HAIL AT INTERSECTION OF FM HIGHWAY 1725 AND TONY TAP ROAD.
04:38 UTCHAIL 0.756 W ClevelandMontgomery, TX
04:40 UTCHAIL 1.75ClevelandLiberty, TXGOLFBALL SIZED HAIL ALL AROUND CLEVELAND
04:40 UTCHAIL 4ClevelandLiberty, TXBASEBALL TO GRAPEFRUIT SIZED HAIL ALL AROUND CLEVELAND
04:45 UTCHAIL 0.75SplendoraMontgomery, TX
04:49 UTCTORNADO7 N Plum GroveLiberty, TX
05:15 UTCTORNADOKenefickLiberty, TXTREES DOWN ON FM 1008. SOME BLOCKING STREETS.
05:24 UTCTSTM WND DMG6 Sse DaytonLiberty, TXTREES BLOWN DOWN IN WESTLAKE.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2011 tornado in TexasEvery tornado in Texas since 1950Warnings in force in Texas nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of May 25, 2011

93 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 251:30 AM CDTEF1Webster, MO9.3100$20,000
May 257:35 AM CDTEF1Macon, IL1.075$165,000
May 257:39 AM CDTEF1Macon, IL1.575$100,000
May 259:04 AM CDTEF1Kankakee, IL5.850$250,000
May 259:13 AM CDTEF0Newton, IN0.120$25,000
May 259:19 AM CDTEF2Newton, IN1.9300$50,000
May 259:24 AM CDTEF1Jasper, IN2.9100$500
May 259:26 AM CDTEF1Jasper, IN1.9100$50,000
May 2510:45 AM EDTEF0Pulaski, IN0.850
May 2510:45 AM CDTEF0Miami, KS0.140$5,000
May 2511:10 AM CDTEF0Johnson, KS0.760$10,000
May 2511:22 AM CDTEF0Johnson, KS0.140
May 2511:35 AM CDTEF0Cass, MO0.140
May 2511:38 AM CDTEF0Johnson, KS0.140
May 2512:22 PM CDTEF2Pettis, MO2.150020$4.0 million
May 2512:33 PM CDTEF0Clay, MO0.140
May 2512:45 PM CDTEF0Clay, MO0.140
May 2512:52 PM CDTEF0Pettis, MO0.140
May 251:04 PM CDTEF0Cooper, MO0.140
May 251:07 PM CDTEF0Lafayette, MO0.140
May 252:15 PM CDTEF1Montgomery, MO7.1100
May 253:26 PM EDTEF0Van Wert, OH0.140
May 252:56 PM CDTEF1Oregon, MO2.5100$20,000
May 253:49 PM CDTEF3Carter, MO47.41,2002$800,000
May 254:13 PM CDTEF1Jackson, AR5.5500$40,000
May 255:15 PM EDTEF1Decatur, IN0.8600$500,000
May 255:20 PM EDTEF1Decatur, IN0.1400$250,000
May 254:35 PM CDTEF1Madison, MO5.540
May 254:37 PM CDTEF1Wayne, MO17.8150$70,000
May 254:44 PM CDTEF0Carter, MO0.550$2,000
May 254:45 PM CDTEF1Des Moines, IA4.8100$250,000
May 254:46 PM CDTEF1Madison, MO5.3440
May 254:47 PM CDTEF1Madison, MO4.3580
May 254:51 PM CDTEF0Perry, MO0.360$3,000
May 254:58 PM CDTEF0Ripley, MO0.750
May 256:00 PM EDTEF1Huron, OH8.050$250,000
May 255:00 PM CDTEF1Des Moines, IA3.650$50,000
May 255:14 PM CDTEF0Butler, MO0.740
May 256:14 PM EDTEF0Hardin, OH0.225
May 255:26 PM CDTEF1Bollinger, MO13.0250$30,000
May 256:06 PM CDTEF0McLean, IL0.925$8,000
May 256:09 PM CDTEF1McLean, IL10.375$10,000
May 257:10 PM EDTEF0Montgomery, OH0.125$5,000
May 256:18 PM CDTEF1Cape Girardeau, MO2.1250$20,000
May 256:18 PM CDTEF0St. Francis, AR1.1100
May 256:28 PM CDTEF2Jefferson, IL13.5250$4.0 million
May 256:30 PM CDTEF0Scott, MO0.450$1,000
May 257:30 PM EDTEF0Summit, OH4.250$200,000
May 256:39 PM CDTEF1Union, IL2.0125$150,000
May 256:40 PM CDTEF1Pulaski, IL5.5250$50,000
May 256:45 PM CDTEF1Pulaski, IL10.0120$40,000
May 256:48 PM CDTEF1Crittenden, AR2.5100$500,000
May 256:55 PM CDTEF2Pulaski, IL19.9325$255,000
May 256:58 PM CDTEF0Champaign, IL0.215$5,000
May 257:58 PM EDTEF3Lawrence, IN6.8300$150,000
May 255:08 PM PDTEF1Glenn, CA21.6120$200,000
May 255:12 PM PDTEF1Glenn, CA26.4120$150,000
May 257:18 PM CDTEF1Clay, IL1.075$510,000
May 257:35 PM CDTEF0Richland, IL0.210
May 257:57 PM CDTEF2Crawford, IL5.5200$920,000

All 94 of them

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.