Tornadoes · United States · Texas · 2015

EF0 tornado, Blum, Texas, April 26, 2015

Name: EF0 tornado, Blum, Texas, April 26, 2015
Start: 2015-04-27T04:24:00.000Z
End: 2015-04-27T04:25:00.000Z
Location: Blum, Texas

This EF0 tornado ran 0.7 miles across Hill County on April 26, 2015, touching down at 11:24 PM CDT and reaching 30 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.

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: April 26, 2015
Touchdown: 11:24 PM CDT (04:24 UTC)
Lifted: 11:25 PM CDT (04:25 UTC)
On the ground: 1 minutes
Path length: 0.7 miles (1.1 km)
Path width: 30 yards (27 m)
Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
County: Hill County
Touchdown point: 32.122, -97.338
Lift-off point: 32.130, -97.332
Record number: 1504262224-01

The damage survey

54 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS FWD, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 93 mph.

lots of tree damage along this county road.
trees uprooted in the same general area. winds appeared to be elevated, not surface based

Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.

What the Weather Service recorded

Several discrete supercells developed across the region producing hail up to the size of softballs, severe winds, flash flooding and tornadoes. The storms eventually merged into a squall line that moved across the region south of Interstate 20. A total of 16 tornadoes occurred on this day and most of the tornadoes were produced by one supercell. This supercell stalled in southern Johnson County for up to 3 hours and produced 8 tornadoes near the Rio Vista area also with significant flash flooding. At least one of the tornadoes rotated cyclonically. One tornado in Johnson County was rated an EF1 but the other 15 tornadoes were rated EF0s.

Amateur radio operators observed a brief tornado to the southeast of the city of Blum. Damage to several trees in an open field was the extent of the damage.

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

The warnings

40 minutes of warning. NWS FWD issued a tornado warning for this county at 03:44 UTC, 40 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 04:30 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 03:45 UTC and running to 08:59 UTC.

Issued (UTC)	Expired	Product	Office
21:54 UTC	03:45 UTC	Tornado Watch	FWD
02:40 UTC	03:15 UTC	Tornado Warning	FWD
02:43 UTC	03:45 UTC	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FWD
03:11 UTC	03:45 UTC	Tornado Warning	FWD
03:44 UTC	04:30 UTC	Tornado Warning	FWD
03:45 UTC	08:59 UTC	Tornado Watch	FWD
03:47 UTC	04:45 UTC	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FWD
04:15 UTC	05:15 UTC	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FWD
04:24 UTC	05:00 UTC	Tornado Warning	FWD
04:28 UTC	05:00 UTC	Tornado Warning	FWD
04:45 UTC	07:45 UTC	Flash Flood Warning	FWD
04:57 UTC	06:00 UTC	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FWD
04:58 UTC	05:30 UTC	Tornado Warning	FWD
05:27 UTC	05:58 UTC	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FWD
05:28 UTC	08:30 UTC	Flood Advisory	FWD
15:57 UTC	17:18 UTC	Flood Warning	FWD

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 Enhanced Risk, with a 0.10 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 01:00 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.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the tornado touched down, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Fort Worth, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Apr 26, 6:55 PM CDT, 4 hours 29 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 26, 6:55 PM CDT, 4 hours 29 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
655 PM CDT SUN APR 26 2015

.AVIATION...
THUNDERSTORMS ABOUT 60-70 MILES SOUTHWEST OF KDFW CONTINUE TO TRY
TO TREK EAST TOWARD THE I-35 CORRIDOR. SOME ANVIL LIGHTNING IS
ALSO POSSIBLE OUT AHEAD OF THE STORMS. FOR NOW HAVE JUST PLACED
VCTS IN THE METROPLEX TAF SITES THROUGH 05Z. THUNDERSTORMS OVER
SOUTHWEST OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST TEXAS ARE EXPECTED TO APPROACH
THE METROPLEX OVERNIGHT...SO HAVE GONE WITH 4SM -TSRA FOR THE
05-10Z PERIOD...BUT NOT INCLUDED THE STRONG WINDS AND WIND SHIFT
THAT WILL LIKELY OCCUR FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS IF THE COMPLEX SWEEPS
THROUGH THE AREA AIRPORTS. EXPECT MVFR TO IFR CONDITIONS OVERNIGHT
THROUGH THE DAY MONDAY WITH PERIODS OF LIGHT RAIN ALONG WITH SOME
LATE MORNING INTO THE AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS. GENERALLY SOUTHEAST
WINDS AROUND 10 KNOTS ARE FORECAST TO BECOME EASTERLY BY DAYBREAK
AND NORTHEAST DURING THE AFTERNOON.

58

&&

.UPDATE...
A QUICK UPDATE HAS BEEN DONE TO ADD THE NEW TORNADO WATCH 121.
HAVE ALSO LOWERED POPS ACROSS THE AREA EAST OF THE I-35 CORRIDOR
FOR THE EARLY EVENING HOURS.

58

&&

.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 232 PM CDT SUN APR 26 2015/

WITH THE FOCUS OF THE FORECAST ON OUR SHORT TERM SEVERE WEATHER
EVOLUTION...WILL KEEP THE DISCUSSION WITH REGARDS TO THE REMAINDER
OF THE FORECAST BRIEF. THE DISCUSSION REGARDING THE EVOLUTION OF
SEVERE STORMS TODAY AND TONIGHT REMAINS MOSTLY VALID STILL AT 2
PM...SO LEFT THE EARLY AFTERNOON UPDATE APPENDED BELOW.

CHANGES FROM THE PREVIOUS UPDATE FOR TODAY...THE 18Z SUBJECTIVE
SURFACE ANALYSIS INDICATED SURFACE CYCLOGENESIS WAS OCCURRING
FARTHER NORTH THAN WHAT MODELS WERE INDICATING THIS MORNING. IF
THE SURFACE LOW DOES NOT DEVELOP FARTHER SOUTH THIS
AFTERNOON...THE PRIMARY INGREDIENTS FOR DISCRETE SUPERCELL
THUNDERSTORMS MAY MOVE NORTH TOWARDS THE DFW METROPLEX THIS
EVENING. THE SURFACE LOW IS EXPECTED TO DEEPEN THROUGH 00Z AND THE
STRONGEST FORCING AND COMBINATION OF INGREDIENTS FOR SUPERCELLS
WILL EXIST AT THAT TIME AS A RESULT. THE BEST WINDOW FOR DISCRETE
SUPERCELL DEVELOPMENT WITHIN THE CWA...EAST OF THE SURFACE LOW
STILL APPEARS TO BE ON TRACK FOR THE 5 PM TO 10 PM TIME FRAME.
WILL CONTINUE TO WATCH THE EVOLUTION OF THE SURFACE LOW CLOSELY
THIS AFTERNOON BECAUSE IF IT SETS UP FARTHER NORTH...THE BIGGEST
THREAT FOR DISCRETE SUPERCELLS MAY MOVE AWAY FROM CENTRAL TEXAS
AND TOWARDS THE DFW AREA. WILL HAVE TO JUST SEE WHAT HAPPENS AT
THIS POINT. ANOTHER TORNADO WATCH IS LIKELY TO BE ISSUED LATE THIS
AFTERNOON FOR MUCH OF NORTH AND CENTRAL TEXAS. WHILE THERE MAY NOT
BE MANY STORMS...THE STORMS THAT DO DEVELOP ARE EXPECTED TO POSE A
VERY HIGH THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER. CONDITIONS STILL LOOK
FAVORABLE FOR VERY LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS AND TORNADOES
WHEREVER SUPERCELLS DEVELOP.

A SQUALL LINE STILL LOOKS LIKELY TO DEVELOP ACROSS FAR SOUTHWEST
OKLAHOMA OR ACROSS NORTHWEST TEXAS THIS EVENING. THIS SQUALL LINE
STILL LOOKS LIKE IT WILL BE VERY ORGANIZED AND POSE A WIDESPREAD
THREAT FOR DAMAGING WINDS AS IT MOVES SOUTHEAST ACROSS NORTH TEXAS
LATE THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT.

THE THREAT FOR FLOODING APPEARS TO BE UNCHANGED AT THIS TIME. WILL
CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE THREAT FOR TRAINING STORMS THROUGH
TONIGHT...HOWEVER CONFIDENCE IS NOT HIGH ENOUGH TO ISSUE A FLASH
FLOOD WATCH AT THIS TIME.

MONDAY...THUNDERSTORMS ARE VERY LIKELY ACROSS NORTH AND CENTRAL
TEXAS MONDAY AFTERNOON...HOWEVER THE MODE AND OVERALL THREAT FOR
SEVERE WEATHER IS VERY UNCERTAIN AT THIS TIME. IF A LARGE SQUALL
LINE/DERECHO MOVES SOUTHEAST ACROSS NORTH TEXAS OVERNIGHT...IT MAY
LEAVE A STRONG OUTFLOW BOUNDARY THAT WILL SIGNIFICANTLY ALTER THE
THERMODYNAMIC ENVIRONMENT FOR MONDAY. UNTIL WE KNOW WHAT HAPPENS
WITH STORMS THROUGH TONIGHT...IT WILL BE DIFFICULT TO IDENTIFY THE
EXACT THREAT FOR SEVERE STORMS ON MONDAY. THERE WILL BE STRONG
LIFT AS THE UPPER TROUGH PULLS EAST OVER THE SOUTHERN PLAINS...AND
THERE WILL BE MOISTURE...SO OVERALL POPS ARE QUITE HIGH IN THE 50
TO 70 PERCENT CHANCE RANGE. THERE WILL PROBABLY BE A SUFFICIENT
AMOUNT OF WIND SHEAR TO SUPPORT ORGANIZED STORMS TOMORROW
AFTERNOON...HOWEVER CONDITIONS NEAR THE SURFACE MAY BE COOL AND
CLOUD COVER MAY INHIBIT SURFACE BASED INSTABILITY FOR MUCH OF THE
DAY TOMORROW. AT THIS TIME...THINK THAT THE LOCATIONS WITH THE
BEST CHANCE FOR SEVERE STORMS TOMORROW AFTERNOON WILL TEND TO BE
SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 20 AS THE OVERNIGHT SQUALL LINE IS MOST LIKELY
ALONG AND NORTH OF I-20. WE WILL OBVIOUSLY HAVE TO REEVALUATE THE
THERMODYNAMIC ENVIRONMENT TOMORROW MORNING AFTER THE SQUALL LINE
HAS MOVED EAST OF THE CWA.

TUESDAY...THE UPPER TROUGH/LOW IS EXPECTED TO BE OVER NORTH
TEXAS...CENTERED OVER THE RED RIVER. THERE IS A CHANCE OF SEEING
SOME STORMS RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE UPPER LOW AS THE COLD AIR
ALOFT WILL HELP DESTABILIZE THE ENVIRONMENT...HOWEVER SKIES WILL
LIKELY BE OVERCAST...SO SURFACE BASED STORMS APPEAR TO BE VERY
UNLIKELY AT THIS TIME. SCATTERED ELEVATED SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS ARE LIKELY NEAR THE CENTER OF THE UPPER LOW...SO
HAVE THE HIGHEST POPS NEAR THE RED RIVER...AND LOWEST POPS ACROSS
CENTRAL TEXAS ON TUESDAY.

WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY...UPPER LEVEL RIDGING IS EXPECTED TO
RESULT IN A WARMING TREND UNDER MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES FOR THE
REMAINDER OF THE WEEK.

CAVANAUGH

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
DALLAS-FT. WORTH, TX  63  69  53  63  48 /  70  60  60  20   5
WACO, TX              64  76  54  65  46 /  60  60  40  10   0
PARIS, TX             56  66  52  63  45 /  70  70  70  30   5
DENTON, TX            62  66  52  63  45 /  70  60  60  20   5
MCKINNEY, TX          60  66  52  63  46 /  70  70  70  20   5
DALLAS, TX            63  69  53  63  50 /  70  60  60  20   5
TERRELL, TX           61  70  54  63  48 /  60  70  70  20   5
CORSICANA, TX         64  73  54  64  48 /  60  60  60  20   0
TEMPLE, TX            64  81  55  66  48 /  60  30  40  10   0
MINERAL WELLS, TX     61  71  53  63  46 /  70  60  40  10   0

&&

.FWD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NONE.

&&

58/58

Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 26, 3:19 PM CDT, 8 hours 5 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
319 PM CDT SUN APR 26 2015

TXZ091>095-100>107-115>123-129>135-141>148-156>162-174-175-271245-
MONTAGUE-COOKE-GRAYSON-FANNIN-LAMAR-YOUNG-JACK-WISE-DENTON-COLLIN-
HUNT-DELTA-HOPKINS-STEPHENS-PALO PINTO-PARKER-TARRANT-DALLAS-
ROCKWALL-KAUFMAN-VAN ZANDT-RAINS-EASTLAND-ERATH-HOOD-SOMERVELL-
JOHNSON-ELLIS-HENDERSON-COMANCHE-MILLS-HAMILTON-BOSQUE-HILL-NAVARRO-
FREESTONE-ANDERSON-LAMPASAS-CORYELL-BELL-MCLENNAN-FALLS-LIMESTONE-
LEON-MILAM-ROBERTSON-
319 PM CDT SUN APR 26 2015

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.
SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH MID
EVENING ACROSS ALL OF NORTH AND CENTRAL TEXAS. THE HIGHEST
CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE ALONG AND WEST OF THE I-35
CORRIDOR. THESE THUNDERSTORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE WITH VERY LARGE
HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...AND POSSIBLY TORNADOES. THE TORNADO THREAT
IS GREATEST SOUTHWEST OF A DECATUR TO HILLSBORO TO TEMPLE LINE
BETWEEN 5 PM AND 9 PM.

THE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE INTO THE NIGHTTIME
HOURS AS A LINE OF STORMS DEVELOPS OUT WEST AND MARCHES EAST
ACROSS MUCH OF NORTH AND CENTRAL TEXAS. DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE
WINDS AND LARGE HAIL WILL BE THE PRIMARY SEVERE WEATHER THREATS
TONIGHT...BUT A TORNADO CAN NOT BE RULED OUT.

ALL THUNDERSTORMS WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE DANGEROUS
LIGHTNING AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL THAT MAY LEAD TO FLASH
FLOODING.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY.
THE IS A GOOD CHANCE OF RAIN AND THUNDERSTORM ON MONDAY ACROSS
ALL OF NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS. SOME THUNDERSTORMS MAY BE SEVERE WITH
LARGE HAIL AND STRONG WINDS...BUT THE RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER
SHOULD BE LOWER THAN SUNDAYS THREAT. HOWEVER...THE HEAVY RAINFALL
AND FLOODING THREAT WILL INCREASE MONDAY WITH LOCATIONS NORTH OF A
BOWIE TO DFW TO PALESTINE LINE HAVING THE HIGHER RAINFALL AMOUNTS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS LIKELY THIS AFTERNOON ALONG AND WEST OF
I-35. SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE LIKELY TONIGHT ACROSS ALL OF
NORTH AND CENTRAL TEXAS.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 26, 10:35 PM CDT, 49 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
1035 PM CDT SUN APR 26 2015

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1032 PM     HAIL             CLEBURNE                32.35N  97.40W
04/26/2015  E1.75 INCH       JOHNSON            TX   PUBLIC

Local storm report, Apr 26, 10:38 PM CDT, 46 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
1038 PM CDT SUN APR 26 2015

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1037 PM     HAIL             GLEN ROSE               32.23N  97.75W
04/26/2015  E1.75 INCH       SOMERVELL          TX   TRAINED SPOTTER

Local storm report, Apr 26, 10:49 PM CDT, 35 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
1049 PM CDT SUN APR 26 2015

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1048 PM     TORNADO          3 N COVINGTON           32.22N  97.27W
04/26/2015                   HILL               TX   TRAINED SPOTTER

Local storm report, Apr 26, 10:52 PM CDT, 32 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
1052 PM CDT SUN APR 26 2015

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1050 PM     TORNADO          1 NNW RIO VISTA         32.24N  97.39W
04/26/2015                   JOHNSON            TX   TRAINED SPOTTER

Local storm report, Apr 26, 10:54 PM CDT, 30 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
1054 PM CDT SUN APR 26 2015

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1053 PM     TSTM WND GST     RIO VISTA               32.23N  97.38W
04/26/2015  E60 MPH          JOHNSON            TX   TRAINED SPOTTER

Local storm report, Apr 26, 11:00 PM CDT, 24 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
1100 PM CDT SUN APR 26 2015

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1057 PM     FLASH FLOOD      3 SW CLEBURNE           32.32N  97.44W
04/26/2015                   JOHNSON            TX   PUBLIC

            3 FEET OF WATER ON HIGHWAY 67

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

4.4 hours before the tornado, 79 km from the path. April 27, 2015.

Skew-T log-p

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.

Hodograph

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: 1199 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -82 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 2579 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1646 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 59 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 11 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 68 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 248 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.1
Supercell composite: 3.3
0-3 km lapse rate: 8.4 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Fort Worth, TX (KFWD), 12:00Z

7.6 hours after it, 79 km from the path. April 27, 2015.

Skew-T log-p

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.

Hodograph

Mixed-layer CAPE: 2 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -454 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 34 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 931 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 73 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 18 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 221 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 158 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0
0-3 km lapse rate: 4.5 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Dallas/Ft Worth radar (KFWS), 50 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 04:22 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
02:09 UTC	TORNADO	Glen Rose	Somervell, TX	TORNADO ON 144 3 MILES SOUTH OF GLEN ROSE
02:27 UTC	TORNADO	11 Ene Walnut Springs	Bosque, TX	LARGE TORNADO ON THE GROUND BETWEEN BRAZOS POINT AND EULOGY
02:29 UTC	HAIL 2.5	6 Ene Glen Rose	Somervell, TX	$$
02:29 UTC	HAIL 2.5	6 Ene Glen Rose	Somervell, TX
02:33 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	11 Ne Walnut Springs	Bosque, TX	LARGE TREES DOWN NEAR BRAZOS POINT
03:08 UTC	HAIL 1	Paluxy	Hood, TX	$$
03:08 UTC	HAIL 1	Paluxy	Hood, TX
03:13 UTC	TORNADO	3 W Glen Rose	Somervell, TX	$$
03:13 UTC	TORNADO	3 W Glen Rose	Somervell, TX
03:13 UTC	TORNADO	Rio Vista	Johnson, TX	$$
03:13 UTC	TORNADO	Rio Vista	Johnson, TX
03:20 UTC	TORNADO	6 S Maypearl	Ellis, TX	100 TREES KNOCKED DOWN, SOME AS BIG AS 3-4 FEET IN DIAMETER, TORE ROOF OFF OF SHED
03:24 UTC	TORNADO	6 W Rio Vista	Johnson, TX	$$
03:24 UTC	TORNADO	6 W Rio Vista	Johnson, TX
03:30 UTC	HAIL 1	6 Ese Cleburne	Johnson, TX	$$
03:30 UTC	HAIL 1	6 Ese Cleburne	Johnson, TX
03:32 UTC	HAIL 1.75	Cleburne	Johnson, TX	$$
03:32 UTC	HAIL 1.75	Cleburne	Johnson, TX
03:37 UTC	HAIL 1.75	Glen Rose	Somervell, TX	$$
03:37 UTC	HAIL 1.75	Glen Rose	Somervell, TX
03:48 UTC	TORNADO	3 N Covington	Hill, TX	$$
03:48 UTC	TORNADO	3 N Covington	Hill, TX
03:50 UTC	TORNADO	1 Nnw Rio Vista	Johnson, TX	$$
03:50 UTC	TORNADO	1 Nnw Rio Vista	Johnson, TX
03:53 UTC	TSTM WND GST 60	Rio Vista	Johnson, TX	$$
03:53 UTC	TSTM WND GST 60	Rio Vista	Johnson, TX
03:57 UTC	FLASH FLOOD	3 Sw Cleburne	Johnson, TX	3 FEET OF WATER ON HIGHWAY 67
04:24 UTC	TORNADO	4 S Blum	Hill, TX	$$
04:24 UTC	TORNADO	4 S Blum	Hill, TX
04:49 UTC	HAIL 1	Midlothian	Ellis, TX	$$
04:49 UTC	HAIL 1	Midlothian	Ellis, TX
05:04 UTC	FLASH FLOOD	Cleburne	Johnson, TX	10 INCHES OF WATER OVER HWY 174 AT CR112 IN CLEBURNE
05:40 UTC	HAIL 1	Hubbard	Hill, TX	$$
05:40 UTC	HAIL 1	Hubbard	Hill, TX
06:05 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	7 Ne Hillsboro	Hill, TX	OVERTURNED TRACTOR TRAILER I-35E NORTHBOUND BETWEEN MILE MARKERS 7 & 8. DPS ON LOCATION. TIME ESTIMATED BY SPOTTER.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the track Every 2015 tornado in Texas Every tornado in Texas since 1950 Warnings in force in Texas now The forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of April 26, 2015

18 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
April 26	2:42 PM CDT	EF0	Coleman, TX	0.1	50
April 26	3:10 PM CDT	EF0	Brown, TX	3.3	50
April 26	3:28 PM CDT	EF0	Comanche, TX	0.9	25
April 26	3:45 PM CDT	EF0	Comanche, TX	1.3	50
April 26	4:05 PM CDT	EF0	Comanche, TX	0.8	50
April 26	4:15 PM CDT	EF0	Comanche, TX	0.5	80
April 26	4:30 PM CDT	EF0	Erath, TX	1.3	70
April 26	6:58 PM CDT	EF0	Erath, TX	0.8	50
April 26	9:09 PM CDT	EF0	Somervell, TX	0.2	25
April 26	10:00 PM CDT	EF1	Brown, TX	1.0	175
April 26	10:03 PM CDT	EF0	Johnson, TX	2.0	200	$100,000
April 26	10:24 PM CDT	EF0	Johnson, TX	1.1	80
April 26	10:33 PM CDT	EF0	Johnson, TX	2.1	200	$50,000
April 26	10:45 PM CDT	EF0	Johnson, TX	0.9	25
April 26	11:01 PM CDT	EF0	Johnson, TX	5.4	220	$600,000
April 26	11:16 PM CDT	EF1	Johnson, TX	1.0	100	$60,000
April 26	11:16 PM CDT	EF0	Johnson, TX	1.6	80
April 26	11:25 PM CDT	EF0	Johnson, TX	5.5	100	$200,000

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.