Tornadoes · United States · Texas · 2012

EF0 tornado, Fred, Texas, January 25, 2012

This EF0 tornado ran 0.4 miles across Tyler County on January 25, 2012, touching down at 12:28 PM CST and reaching 10 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $20,000 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
January 25, 2012
Touchdown
12:28 PM CST (18:28 UTC)
Lifted
12:30 PM CST (18:30 UTC)
On the ground
2 minutes
Path length
0.4 miles (0.6 km)
Path width
10 yards (9 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$20,000
County
Tyler County
Touchdown point
30.539, -94.190
Lift-off point
30.539, -94.184
Record number
1201251228-01

What the Weather Service recorded

As a low pressure area and cold front moved through the region, several tornadoes touched down in east Texas.

Several trees were blown, a carport lost some of its awning, and a shed lost some tin from its roof.

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

The warnings

23 minutes of warning. NWS LCH issued a tornado warning for this county at 18:05 UTC, 23 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 18:30 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 14:47 UTC and running to 20:13 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
14:47 UTC20:13 UTCTornado WatchLCH
16:33 UTC17:30 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCH
17:31 UTC18:30 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCH
18:05 UTC18:30 UTCTornado WarningLCH
18:29 UTC19:00 UTCTornado WarningLCH

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 16:27 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), 12:00Z

6.5 hours before the tornado, 106 km from the path. January 25, 2012.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Lake Charles Mun, LA at 12:00Z on 2012-01-25Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 28 joules per kilogram, CIN -201, lifted condensation level 576 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 12:00Z on 2012-01-25The 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 241 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 43 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
28 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-201 J/kg
Surface CAPE
398 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
576 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
43 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
22 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
241 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
341 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
2.6
0-3 km lapse rate
4.3 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Lake Charles radar (KLCH), 104 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 18:26 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
18:05 UTCTORNADO 04 S WildwoodHardin, TXSEVERAL TREES WERE BLOWN DOWN OR SNAPPED ALONG SECTIONS OF POST OAK ROAD...EXTENDING OVER HIGHWAY 69. THE PATH LENGTH WAS 3 MILES AND ITS WIDTH WAS 20 YARDS.
18:30 UTCTORNADO 03 Nnw Caney HeadTyler, TXA COUPLE MILES SOUTH OF FRED...SEVERAL TREES WERE BLOWN DOWN...A CARPORT WAS DAMAGED...AND A SHED LOST SOME TIN FROM ITS ROOF. THE TORNADO PATH WAS 0.4 MILES AND ITS WIDTH WAS 10 YARDS.
18:30 UTCTORNADOFredTyler, TXHAM RADIO OPERATOR RELAYED A REPORT VIA FACEBOOK OF A TORNADO ON THE GROUND NEAR FRED.
18:35 UTCHAIL 1JasperJasper, TXHAM RADIO OPERATOR RELAYED A REPORT VIA FACEBOOK OF QUARTER SIZE HAIL NEAR JASPER.
19:00 UTCTORNADO 14 Nw CallJasper, TXA TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN NEAR THE KIRBYVILLE AIRPORT WHERE IT TORE PART OF A METAL ROOF OFF A HOME...AND WENT INTO WESTERN SECTIONS OF KIRBYVILLE...BLOWING TREES DOWN AND DAMAGING A SHED. THE TORNADO WAS ON THE GROUND FOR
19:00 UTCTORNADOKirbyvilleJasper, TXKBMT RELAYED A PUBLIC REPORT OF A TORNADO TOUCHDOWN NEAR KIRBYVILLE. REPORTED DAMAGE INCLUDES A TRAILER AND MULTIPLE MAILBOXES.
19:02 UTCTORNADO 01 Nne Magnolia SpringsJasper, TXA TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN ALONG FM 1005...BLOWNING SOME TREES DOWN. IT WAS ON THE GROUND FOR 0.8 MILES AND ITS WIDTH WAS 10 YARDS.
19:02 UTCTORNADOMagnolia SpringsJasper, TXHAM RADIO OPERATOR RELAYED A REPORT VIA FACEBOOK OF A TORNADO SPOTTED NEAR MAGNOLIA SPRINGS.
21:00 UTCFLASH FLOODVidorOrange, TXKFDM REPORTS FLOODING ALONG MOST SIDE STREETS IN VIDOR MAKING ROADS IMPASSABLE. LOCAL SCHOOL IN VIDOR REPORTS 2.6 INCHES OF RAINFALL IN THE LAST HOUR AND 3.6 SO FAR TODAY.
21:20 UTCFLASH FLOODBeaumontJefferson, TXBEAUMONT ENTERPRISE REPORTS WATER ACCUMULATION ON EASTEX FREEWAY AT E. LUCAS MAKING THE ROAD IMPASSABLE. UNDERPASSES ARE ALSO BECOMING IMPASSABLE ALONG PARK STREET AT VIRGINIA AS WELL AS MLK PKWY AT VIRGINIA, LAVACA AND

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.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
January 252:58 AM CSTEF1Travis, TX1.150
January 254:15 AM CSTEF0Bexar, TX0.330
January 255:30 AM CSTEF0Bastrop, TX2.930$5,000
January 256:43 AM CSTEF1Burleson, TX2.350$200,000
January 257:17 AM CSTEF0Washington, TX2.150$30,000
January 258:00 AM CSTEF0Madison, TX0.550$10,000
January 259:06 AM CSTEF0Walker, TX0.450$50,000
January 259:09 AM CSTEF0Walker, TX0.225$30,000
January 2510:32 AM CSTEF1Rusk, TX1.51751$100,000
January 2510:47 AM CSTEF0Rusk, TX6.5100
January 2512:05 PM CSTEF0Brazoria, TX0.275$15,000
January 2512:10 PM CSTEF0Hardin, TX2.525$10,000
January 2512:45 PM CSTEF0Jasper, TX1.020$5,000
January 2512:57 PM CSTEF1Jasper, TX1.625$50,000
January 251:33 PM CSTEF0Vernon Parish, LA3.125$20,000
January 252:01 PM CSTEF0Sabine Parish, LA2.3150$50,000
January 252:14 PM CSTEF0Vernon Parish, LA1.640$20,000
January 253:02 PM CSTEF0Rapides Parish, LA1.820$50,000
January 253:15 PM CSTEF0Rapides Parish, LA0.920$40,000
January 253:52 PM CSTEF0Rapides Parish, LA1.425$100,000
January 254:27 PM CSTEF1Calcasieu Parish, LA5.825$100,000
January 256:21 PM CSTEF0Cameron Parish, LA0.110$10,000
January 256:49 PM CSTEF1Copiah, MS3.1350$10,000
January 257:58 PM CSTEF0Lafayette Parish, LA0.110$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.