Tornadoes · United States · Texas · 2012
EF0 tornado, Cottonwood, Texas, January 25, 2012
This EF0 tornado ran 0.5 miles across Madison County on January 25, 2012, touching down at 8:00 AM CST and reaching 50 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $10,000 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 mphthis tornado
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mph
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
- EF0
- Date
- January 25, 2012
- Touchdown
- 8:00 AM CST (14:00 UTC)
- Lifted
- 8:05 AM CST (14:05 UTC)
- On the ground
- 5 minutes
- Path length
- 0.5 miles (0.7 km)
- Path width
- 50 yards (46 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $10,000
- Crop damage
- $5,000
- County
- Madison County
- Touchdown point
- 30.967, -95.970
- Lift-off point
- 30.973, -95.966
- Record number
- 1201250800-01
What the Weather Service recorded
Severe thunderstorms produced tornado and wind damage along with some flash flooding.
This EF-0 tornado uprooted and snapped trees along its narrow and short path. A barn was also destroyed with tin from the roof fanned out in different directions and thrown in some cases about 200 yards. There was also minor roof damage to a home, and some straight line wind damage was also found in the area.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The warnings
32 minutes of warning. NWS HGX issued a tornado warning for this county at 13:28 UTC, 32 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 14:15 UTC.
The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 09:27 UTC and running to 16:27 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09:27 UTC | 16:27 UTC | Tornado Watch | HGX |
| 11:49 UTC | 18:00 UTC | Wind Advisory | HGX |
| 13:16 UTC | 14:00 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX |
| 13:28 UTC | 14:15 UTC | Tornado Warning | HGX |
| 13:55 UTC | 14:45 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX |
| 14:04 UTC | 14:45 UTC | Tornado Warning | HGX |
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 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 12:54 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.
Fort Worth, TX (KFWD), 00:00Z
10.0 hours after it, 242 km from the path. January 26, 2012.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- 0 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 8 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 561 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 44 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 9 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -6 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 124 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 2.9 K/km
The radar
The Ft Hood radar (KGRK), 138 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 14:01 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13:15 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Bryan | Brazos, TX | DAMAGE TO GARAGE DOOR AND AND ROOF DAMAGE TO HOUSE AT INTERSECTION OF HWY 30 AND FM 158. |
| 13:24 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | College Station | Brazos, TX | BUILDING WALL VENEER FELL DOWN AT TEXAS AVENUE AND UNIVERSITY. |
| 13:24 UTC | NON-TSTM WND DMG | College Station | Brazos, TX | BUILDING WALL VENEER FELL DOWN AT TEXAS AVENUE AND UNIVERSITY. |
| 14:00 UTC | FLOOD | Jewett | Leon, TX | CITY STREETS UNDER WATER. |
| 14:00 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Bedias | Grimes, TX | HAY BARN DESTROYED, SILO KNOCKED OVER AND TREES DOWN ON FM 6096, 2.5 MILES WEST OF BEDIAS. |
| 14:00 UTC | TORNADO 0 | 7 Ssw Madisonville | Madison, TX | TREES SNAPPED OR UPROOTED ALONG A NARROW PATH. BARN DESTROYED WITH TIN FROM ROOF FANNED OUT IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS AND THROWN IN SOME CASES ABOUT 200 YARDS. MINOR ROOF DAMAGE TO HOME. TORNADO RATED EF0. PATH LENGTH ONE |
| 14:00 UTC | TORNADO | 7 Ssw Madisonville | Madison, TX | TREES SNAPPED OR UPROOTED ALONG A NARROW PATH. BARN DESTROYED WITH TIN FROM ROOF FANNED OUT IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS AND THROWN IN SOME CASES ABOUT 200 YARDS. MINOR ROOF DAMAGE TO HOME. TORNADO RATED EFO. PATH LENGTH ONE |
| 14:08 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 5 W Madisonville | Madison, TX | BARN DAMAGE, TIN SHED KNOCKED FLAT, TWISTED METAL AND WOOD ON ROAD, TANKS THROWN AROUND...INTERSECTION AREA OF FM 1452 AND FM 2289. |
| 14:08 UTC | NON-TSTM WND DMG | 5 W Madisonville | Madison, TX | BARN DAMAGE, TIN SHED KNOCKED FLAT, TWISTED METAL AND WOOD ON ROAD, TANKS THROWN AROUND...INTERSECTION AREA OF FM 1452 AND FM 2289 |
| 14:12 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 E Madisonville | Madison, TX | 18 WHEELER TRUCK BLOWN OVER ON INTERSTATE 45 AT THE 145 MILE MARKER. |
| 14:12 UTC | NON-TSTM WND DMG | 3 E Madisonville | Madison, TX | 18 WHEELER TRUCK BLOWN OVER ON INTERSTATE 45 AT THE 145 MILE MARKER. |
| 14:30 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Huntsville | Walker, TX | WIDESPREAD DAMAGE IN AND AROUND HUNTSVILLE FROM 830 TO 930 TIME FRANE. |
| 15:05 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Huntsville | Walker, TX | *** 1 INJ *** WIDESPREAD DAMAGE IN AND AROUND HUNTSVILLE FROM 900 TO 915 TIME FRAME. NUMEROUS TREES DOWN THROUGHOUT THE CITY. LIGHT POLE BLOWN DOWN ON NEW TRUCK. ROOF DAMAGE TO BANK IN MIDDLE OF HUNTSVILLE. STUDENT AT SA |
| 15:06 UTC | TORNADO 0 | N Huntsville | Walker, TX | TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN IN HOME DEPOT PARKING LOT ON I-45 THEN CROSSED FREEWAY INTO DODGE DEALERSHIP AND THEN LIFTED BACK INTO CLOUDS NEAR MOTEL. DAMAGE TO A PORTABLE BUILDING IN THE HOME DEPOT LOT THEN ACROSS I-45 INTO DOD |
| 15:06 UTC | TORNADO | N Huntsville | Walker, TX | EF0 TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN AT CAR DEALER SHIP LIFTING METAL AWNING IN THE AIR AND MOVING IT 100 YARDS AWAY ON TOP OF TWO CARS. MINOR DAMAGE TO THE 2 CARS. |
| 15:10 UTC | TORNADO 0 | Huntsville | Walker, TX | A EF0 TORNADO BRIEFLY TOUCHED DOWN IN A RESIDENTIAL SECTION OF HUNTSVILLE ON ROUNDABOUT RD. CAUSING SIGINIFICANT TREE DAMAGE. ONE OF THE TREES DID FALL ON NEARBY HOUSE CAUSING SOME ROOF DAMAGE. TREES IN THE AREA WERE BLO |
| 15:10 UTC | TORNADO | Huntsville | Walker, TX | A EF0 TORNADO BRIEFLY TOUCHED DOWN IN A RESIDENTIAL SECTION OF HUNTSVILLE CAUSING SIGINIFICANT TREE DAMAGE. ONE OF THE TREES DID FALL ON NEARBY HOUSE CAUSING SOME ROOF DAMAGE. TREES IN THE AREA WERE BLOWN DOWN IN DIFFERE |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2012 tornado in TexasEvery tornado in Texas since 1950Warnings in force in Texas nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of January 25, 2012
24 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 25 | 2:58 AM CST | EF1 | Travis, TX | 1.1 | 50 | |||
| January 25 | 4:15 AM CST | EF0 | Bexar, TX | 0.3 | 30 | |||
| January 25 | 5:30 AM CST | EF0 | Bastrop, TX | 2.9 | 30 | $5,000 | ||
| January 25 | 6:43 AM CST | EF1 | Burleson, TX | 2.3 | 50 | $200,000 | ||
| January 25 | 7:17 AM CST | EF0 | Washington, TX | 2.1 | 50 | $30,000 | ||
| January 25 | 9:06 AM CST | EF0 | Walker, TX | 0.4 | 50 | $50,000 | ||
| January 25 | 9:09 AM CST | EF0 | Walker, TX | 0.2 | 25 | $30,000 | ||
| January 25 | 10:32 AM CST | EF1 | Rusk, TX | 1.5 | 175 | 1 | $100,000 | |
| January 25 | 10:47 AM CST | EF0 | Rusk, TX | 6.5 | 100 | |||
| January 25 | 12:05 PM CST | EF0 | Brazoria, TX | 0.2 | 75 | $15,000 | ||
| January 25 | 12:10 PM CST | EF0 | Hardin, TX | 2.5 | 25 | $10,000 | ||
| January 25 | 12:28 PM CST | EF0 | Tyler, TX | 0.4 | 10 | $20,000 | ||
| January 25 | 12:45 PM CST | EF0 | Jasper, TX | 1.0 | 20 | $5,000 | ||
| January 25 | 12:57 PM CST | EF1 | Jasper, TX | 1.6 | 25 | $50,000 | ||
| January 25 | 1:33 PM CST | EF0 | Vernon Parish, LA | 3.1 | 25 | $20,000 | ||
| January 25 | 2:01 PM CST | EF0 | Sabine Parish, LA | 2.3 | 150 | $50,000 | ||
| January 25 | 2:14 PM CST | EF0 | Vernon Parish, LA | 1.6 | 40 | $20,000 | ||
| January 25 | 3:02 PM CST | EF0 | Rapides Parish, LA | 1.8 | 20 | $50,000 | ||
| January 25 | 3:15 PM CST | EF0 | Rapides Parish, LA | 0.9 | 20 | $40,000 | ||
| January 25 | 3:52 PM CST | EF0 | Rapides Parish, LA | 1.4 | 25 | $100,000 | ||
| January 25 | 4:27 PM CST | EF1 | Calcasieu Parish, LA | 5.8 | 25 | $100,000 | ||
| January 25 | 6:21 PM CST | EF0 | Cameron Parish, LA | 0.1 | 10 | $10,000 | ||
| January 25 | 6:49 PM CST | EF1 | Copiah, MS | 3.1 | 350 | $10,000 | ||
| January 25 | 7:58 PM CST | EF0 | Lafayette Parish, LA | 0.1 | 10 | $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.