Tornadoes · United States · Texas · 2015

EF2 tornado, Ellington Field to Strang, Texas, October 31, 2015

Name: EF2 tornado, Ellington Field to Strang, Texas, October 31, 2015
Start: 2015-10-31T10:47:00.000Z
End: 2015-10-31T10:55:00.000Z
Location: Ellington Field to Strang, Texas

From Ellington Field to Strang, this EF2 tornado ran 4.8 miles across Harris County on October 31, 2015, touching down at 5:47 AM CDT and reaching 150 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $12 million 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 mph
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 mphthis tornado
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: EF2
Date: October 31, 2015
Touchdown: 5:47 AM CDT (10:47 UTC)
Lifted: 5:55 AM CDT (10:55 UTC)
On the ground: 8 minutes
Path length: 4.8 miles (7.7 km)
Path width: 150 yards (137 m)
Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $12 million
County: Harris County
Touchdown point: 29.638, -95.113
Lift-off point: 29.692, -95.063
Record number: 1510310447-01

The damage survey

54 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS HGX, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF2. The highest wind the damage implies is 130 mph.

Mobile home rolled over. Elderly couple sustained minor injuries. Evidence was tied down. Witness got warning, saw tornado come through.
Tree and minor structural damage.
roof completely off. boarder line low end ef2 or high end ef1
camper trailer rolled and torn.

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

Tornadoes formed along a near coastal county warm frontal boundary that was downstream of a central Texas cold front.

An EF-2 tornado began near the Genoa Red Bluff and Red Bluff intersection in Pasadena and ended near the Spencer Highway and Myrtle Creek Drive intersection |in La Porte. The tornado caused extensive tree, fence and power line damage. Low end EF-2 damage was observed where the tornado demolished an industrial building and caused significant roof loss to several homes in La Porte. One of these homes lost a portion of an exterior brick wall. The estimated peak wind was 125 mph.

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

The warnings

18 minutes of warning. NWS HGX issued a tornado warning for this county at 10:29 UTC, 18 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 11:15 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 07:57 UTC and running to 14:46 UTC.

Issued (UTC)	Expired	Product	Office
21:55 UTC	00:00 UTC	Wind Advisory	HGX
03:00 UTC	21:00 UTC	Flash Flood Watch	HGX
06:06 UTC	08:00 UTC	Flood Advisory	HGX
07:27 UTC	09:30 UTC	Flood Advisory	HGX
07:51 UTC	10:45 UTC	Flash Flood Warning	HGX
07:57 UTC	14:46 UTC	Tornado Watch	HGX
08:01 UTC	08:45 UTC	Tornado Warning	HGX
08:59 UTC	12:00 UTC	Flash Flood Warning	HGX
09:38 UTC	23:40 UTC	Flood Warning	HGX
09:59 UTC	23:40 UTC	Flood Warning	HGX
10:07 UTC	10:30 UTC	Tornado Warning	HGX
10:18 UTC	10:45 UTC	Tornado Warning	HGX
10:29 UTC	11:15 UTC	Tornado Warning	HGX
10:35 UTC	11:00 UTC	Tornado Warning	HGX
11:07 UTC	12:00 UTC	Flash Flood Warning	HGX
11:15 UTC	11:28 UTC	Tornado Warning	HGX
11:55 UTC	12:30 UTC	Tornado Warning	HGX
12:03 UTC	15:00 UTC	Flash Flood Warning	HGX
13:14 UTC	13:22 UTC	Flood Warning	HGX
13:16 UTC	13:38 UTC	Tornado Warning	HGX
14:35 UTC	23:40 UTC	Flood Warning	HGX
14:55 UTC	16:45 UTC	Flash Flood Warning	HGX
14:56 UTC	04:00 UTC	Flood Warning	HGX
16:27 UTC	23:40 UTC	Flood Warning	HGX
16:51 UTC	18:45 UTC	Flash Flood Warning	HGX
16:52 UTC	23:40 UTC	Flood Warning	HGX
17:04 UTC	12:22 UTC	Flood Warning	HGX
17:13 UTC	23:40 UTC	Flood Warning	HGX
17:36 UTC	23:40 UTC	Flood Warning	HGX
17:58 UTC	23:40 UTC	Flood Warning	HGX
17:58 UTC	04:00 UTC	Flood Warning	HGX
17:58 UTC	00:36 UTC	Flood Warning	HGX
17:58 UTC	13:22 UTC	Flood Warning	HGX
18:53 UTC	20:45 UTC	Flood Warning	HGX
21:20 UTC	17:44 UTC	Flood 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 05:32 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

10.8 hours before the tornado, 189 km from the path. October 31, 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: 3 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -93 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 138 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 899 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 43 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 31 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 326 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 483 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.5
0-3 km lapse rate: 5.1 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

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

1.2 hours after it, 189 km from the path. October 31, 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: 1182 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -2 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 634 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 503 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 62 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 441 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 556 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 4.0
Supercell composite: 15.9
0-3 km lapse rate: 5.0 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Houston/Ellington (EFD), 9 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)	Temp (°F)	Dew point (°F)	Wind	Gust (kt)	Pressure (mb)	Weather
08:50 UTC	75.2	73.4	150° 16 kt	26	1004.1	-TSRA
09:50 UTC	75.2	73.4	160° 14 kt	28	1004.1	TSRA

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

The radar

The Houston radar (KHGX), 22 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 10:48 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
07:55 UTC	FLASH FLOOD	1 Ne Brookside Village	Harris, TX	FLOODING REPORTED IN AND AROUND THE HOUSTON AREA...ESPECIALLY NEAR THE INTERSTATE 610 SOUTH LOOP.
08:00 UTC	FLASH FLOOD	2 Ese Houston	Harris, TX	4 TO 5 FEET OF WATER FROM AN OUT OF BANKS BRAYS BAYOU THAT HAS INUNDATED NORTH MACGREGOR WAY BETWEEN MERRY LANE AND WILDWOOD WAY.
08:15 UTC	FLASH FLOOD	Houston	Harris, TX	HOUSTON FIRE DEPT CONDUCTING HIGH WATER RESCUES IN SOUTHEAST HOUSTON. REPORTS OF 3-4 INCHES OF WATER ENTERING FIRE STATION 26 NEAR TELEPHONE AND BELLFORT.
08:15 UTC	FLASH FLOOD	Houston	Harris, TX	HOUSTON FIRE DEPT CONDUCTING HIGH WATER RESCUES IN SOUTHEAST HOUSTON. REPORTS OF 6 INCHES OF WATER ENTERING FIRE STATION 26 NEAR TELEPHONE AND BELLFORT.
08:55 UTC	FLASH FLOOD	1 Ne Brookside Village	Harris, TX	FLOODING REPORTED IN AND AROUND THE HOUSTON AREA...ESPECIALLY NEAR THE INTERSTATE 610 SOUTH LOOP.
09:27 UTC	TORNADO	Danbury	Brazoria, TX	OVERTURNED TRAILERS AND POSSIBLE INJURIES IN THE WEST SIDE OF DANBURY.
09:58 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	1 Sse Alvin	Brazoria, TX	TREE LIMBS DOWN AND 50 TO 60 MPH WINDS ON THE SOUTHEAST SIDE OF ALVIN. POSSIBLE TORNADO.
09:58 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	3 Nnw Alvin	Brazoria, TX	APPROXIMATELY 25 TRAILER HOMES DAMAGED. ONE TRAILER HOME WAS OVERTURNED WHERE TWO PEOPLE WERE INJURED. POSSIBLE TORNADO.
09:58 UTC	TORNADO	3 Nnw Alvin	Brazoria, TX	APPROXIMATELY 25 TRAILER HOMES DAMAGED. ONE TRAILER HOME WAS OVERTURNED WHERE TWO PEOPLE WERE INJURED. PRELIMINARY SURVEY BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CONFIRMS IT WAS AN EF0 TORNADO TOUCHDOWN.
10:19 UTC	TORNADO	1 S Liverpool	Brazoria, TX	AN EF-0 TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN IN A FIELD SOUTH OF TOWN AND DAMAGED A CATTLE HANDLING AREA... AND THEN TRACKED INTO TOWN AND DID MINOR DAMAGE TO TREES AND STRUCTURES. THE TORNADO APPARENTLY LIFTED NORTH OF TOWN.
10:23 UTC	TORNADO	3 Sw Danbury	Brazoria, TX	A EF1 TORNADO WITH A PATH LENGTH OF 3.7 MILES AND A PATH WIDTH OF 50 YARDS BEGAN 3 MILES SOUTHWEST OF DANBURY AND ENDED 2 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF DANBURY. THE TORNADO SEVERELY DAMAGED A FARM HOUSE AND A BARN THEN FLIPPED
10:27 UTC	TORNADO	Danbury	Brazoria, T	AN EF1 TORNADO WITH A PATH LENGTH OF 3.7 MILES AND A PATH WIDTH OF 50 YARDS BEGAN 3 MILES SOUTHWEST OF DANBURY AND ENDED 2 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF DANBURY. THE TORNADO SEVERELY DAMAGED A FARM HOUSE AND A BARN THEN FLIPPE
10:27 UTC	TORNADO	Danbury	Brazoria, TX	A EF1 TORNADO WITH A PATH LENGTH OF 3.7 MILES AND A PATH WIDTH OF 50 YARDS BEGAN 3 MILES SOUTHWEST OF DANBURY AND ENDED 2 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF DANBURY. THE TORNADO SEVERELY DAMAGED A FARM HOUSE AND A BARN THEN FLIPPED
10:28 UTC	TORNADO	3 Ssw Friendswood	Galveston, TX	POWER LINES DOWN ON LUNDY LANE.
10:30 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	2 Nnw Friendswood	Galveston, TX	FENCES DOWN AND 12 INCH TREES SNAPPED IN DUNBAR ESTATES AREA OF FRIENDSWOOD. POSSIBLE TORNADO.
10:30 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	Friendswood	Galveston, TX	REPORT OF TREES DOWN AND SOME BROKEN WINDOWS IN THE FRIENDSWOOD AREA. POSSIBLE TORNADO.
10:30 UTC	TORNADO	2 Nw Friendswood	Galveston, TX	ONE HOME EXPERIENCED A COLLAPSED ROOF WITH 30 HOMES RECEIVING MINOR DAMAGE IN FRIENDSWOOD BETWEEN FM 2351 AND DIXIE FARM ROAD. NUMEROUS DOWNED TREES AND FENCES.
10:30 UTC	TORNADO	Friendswood	Galveston, TX	ABOUT A DOZEN OF DAMAGED HOMES IN FRIENDSWOOD BETWEEN FM 2351 AND DIXIE FARM ROAD.
10:48 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	3 Se Pasadena	Harris, TX	HEAVY DAMAGE TO A BUILDING AND POWER LINES DOWN. POSSIBLE TORNADO.
10:53 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	La Porte	Harris, TX	POWER LINES DOWNED AND SOME HOMES DAMAGED IN THE WEST SIDE OF LA PORTE. POSSIBLE TORNADO.
11:19 UTC	TORNADO	4 Sse Pasadena	Harris, TX	BRIEF TORNADO CAUSING EF-1 DAMAGE TO HOMES NEAR CLEAR LAKE CITY BLVD AND EL DORADO BLVD FROM SECOND SUPERCELL PRIOR TO FRIENDSWOOD LA PORTE TORNADO.
11:20 UTC	TORNADO	2 E Pearland	Brazoria, TX	AN EF2 TORNADO WITH A PATH LENGTH OF 3 MILES AND A PATH WIDTH OF 50 YARDS BEGAN AT WEST CLOVER LANE AND ENDED NORTH NORTHWEST OF MELODY LANE. THERE WAS EXTENSIVE TREE DAMAGE ALONG THE ENTIRE TRACK. THERE WERE APPROXIMATE
11:20 UTC	TORNADO	2 Nw Friendswood	Galveston, TX	AN EF2 TORNADO WITH A PATH LENGTH OF 3 MILES AND A PATH WIDTH OF 50 YARDS BEGAN AT WEST CLOVER LANE AND ENDED NORTH NORTHWEST OF MELODY LANE. THERE WAS EXTENSIVE TREE DAMAGE ALONG THE ENTIRE TRACK. THERE WERE APPROXIMATE
11:20 UTC	TORNADO	3 Ese Manvel	Brazoria, TX	* 3 INJ * EF-1 TORNADO TRACKED ALONG WINK ROAD BETWEEN ALVIN AND MANVEL AND DESTROYED A MOBILE HOME AND DAMAGED SEVERAL OTHERS. DAMAGE TRACK MAY EXTEND FURTHER SOUTHWEST.
11:21 UTC	TORNADO	3 Nnw Alvin	Brazoria, T	AN EF0 TORNADO WITH A PATH LENGTH OF JUST UNDER 1 MILE AND A PATH WIDTH OF 30 YARDS BEGAN 2 MILES NORTHWEST OF ALVIN AND ENDED 2 MILES NORTH NORTHWEST OF ALVIN. THE TORNADO TRACKED ACROSS A TRAILER PARK AND DAMAGED 15 TO
11:21 UTC	TORNADO	3 Nnw Alvin	Brazoria, TX	* 2 INJ * AN EF0 TORNADO WITH A PATH LENGTH OF JUST UNDER 1 MILE AND A PATH WIDTH OF 30 YARDS BEGAN 2 MILES NORTHWEST OF ALVIN AND ENDED 2 MILES NORTH NORTHWEST OF ALVIN. THE TORNADO TRACKED ACROSS A TRAILER PARK AND
11:21 UTC	TORNADO	3 Nnw Alvin	Brazoria, TX	* 2 INJ * AN EF-1 TORNADO WITH A PATH LENGTH OF JUST UNDER 1 MILE AND A PATH WIDTH OF 30 YARDS BEGAN 2 MILES NORTHWEST OF ALVIN AND ENDED 2 MILES NORTH NORTHWEST OF ALVIN. THE TORNADO TRACKED ACROSS A TRAILER PARK AN
11:25 UTC	TORNADO	2 Nw Friendswood	Galveston, T	AN EF2 TORNADO WITH A PATH LENGTH OF 3 MILES AND A PATH WIDTH OF 50 YARDS BEGAN AT WEST CLOVER LANE AND ENDED NORTH NORTHWEST OF MELODY LANE. THERE WAS EXTENSIVE TREE DAMAGE ALONG THE ENTIRE TRACK. THERE WERE APPROXIMATE
11:29 UTC	TORNADO	4 W Mont Belvieu	Harris, TX	HARRIS COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL SURVEY REPORTED AN EF-0 TORNADO CAUSED MINOR ROOF DAMAGE TO A HOUSE...SNAPPED SEVERAL TREE TRUNKS HALF WAY UP THE TREES...AND ROLLED SEVERAL CAMPERS.
11:40 UTC	TORNADO	3 Ese Pasadena	Harris, TX	AN EF2 TORNADO WITH A PATH LENGTH OF 2.25 MILES AND A PATH WIDTH OF 150 YARDS BEGAN NEAR THE GENOA RED BLUFF AND RED BLUFF INTERSECTION IN PASADENA AND ENDED NEAR THE SPENCER HIGHWAY AND MYRTLE CREEK DRIVE INTERSECTION I
11:40 UTC	TORNADO	3 Se Pasadena	Harris, TX	AN EF2 TORNADO WITH A PATH LENGTH OF 2.25 MILES AND A PATH WIDTH OF 150 YARDS BEGAN NEAR THE GENOA RED BLUFF AND RED BLUFF INTERSECTION IN PASADENA AND ENDED NEAR THE SPENCER HIGHWAY AND MYRTLE CREEK DRIVE INTERSECTION I
11:45 UTC	TORNADO	4 Sse Pasadena	Harris, TX	EF-0 RATED TORNADO BRIEFLY TOUCHED DOWN NEAR ELLINGTON FIELD.
11:45 UTC	TORNADO	4 Sse Pasadena	Harris, TX	EF-0 RATED TORNADO BRIEFLY TOUCHED DOWN NEAR ELLINGTON FIELD AND TRACKED NEAR INTERSECTION OF CLEAR LAKE CITY BLVD AND EL DORADO.
11:50 UTC	FLASH FLOOD	4 Ssw South Houston	Harris, TX	NUMEROUS ROADS IN AND AROUND THE SOUTH HOUSTON AREA ARE FLOODED AND IMPASSABLE.
11:50 UTC	TORNADO	3 Se Pasadena	Harris, T	AN EF2 TORNADO WITH A PATH LENGTH OF 2.25 MILES AND A PATH WIDTH OF 150 YARDS BEGAN NEAR THE GENOA RED BLUFF AND RED BLUFF INTERSECTION IN PASADENA AND ENDED NEAR THE SPENCER HIGHWAY AND MYRTLE CREEK DRIVE INTERSECTION I
12:03 UTC	TORNADO	2 Nw Highlands	Harris, TX	HOME DAMAGE REPORTED TO 10 TO 30 HOMES IN THE RIO VILLA SUBDIVISION.
12:03 UTC	TORNADO	2 Nw Highlands	Harris, TX	HOME DAMAGE REPORTED TO 10 TO 30 HOMES N THE RIO VILLA SUBDIVISION.
12:05 UTC	TORNADO	Barrett	Harris, TX	POSSIBLE TORNADO DAMAGE.
12:50 UTC	FLASH FLOOD	Dayton	Liberty, TX	FLOODING IN THE DAYTON AREA.
12:50 UTC	FLASH FLOOD	Liberty	Liberty, TX	FLOODING IN LIBERTY.

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 October 31, 2015

18 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
October 31	3:32 AM CDT	EF1	Brazoria, TX	1.2	40		$50,000
October 31	4:04 AM CDT	EF0	Brazoria, TX	1.0	40		$50,000
October 31	4:19 AM CDT	EF0	Brazoria, TX	0.9	40		$50,000
October 31	4:23 AM CDT	EF0	Brazoria, TX	3.7	50		$200,000
October 31	5:21 AM CDT	EF1	Brazoria, TX	0.2	40	3	$50,000
October 31	5:21 AM CDT	EF1	Brazoria, TX	0.9	30	2	$200,000
October 31	5:22 AM CDT	EF0	Harris, TX	0.8	30		$75,000
October 31	5:28 AM CDT	EF2	Brazoria, TX	4.2	50		$3.0 million
October 31	5:30 AM CDT	EF0	Harris, TX	0.2	50		$20,000
October 31	6:41 AM CDT	EF1	Vernon Parish, LA	2.1	140		$7,000
October 31	6:59 AM CDT	EF0	Harris, TX	3.3	50		$200,000
October 31	10:24 AM CDT	EF1	Rapides Parish, LA	7.0	550		$50,000
October 31	1:22 PM CDT	EF1	Livingston Parish, LA	2.4	75
October 31	3:27 PM CDT	EF1	Marion, MS	1.6	200		$75,000
October 31	3:46 PM CDT	EF0	Marion, MS	1.1	50		$5,000
October 31	4:06 PM CDT	EF0	Tangipahoa Parish, LA	4.8	50
October 31	4:24 PM CDT	EF0	Forrest, MS	4.5	100		$24,000
October 31	4:42 PM CDT	EF1	Pearl River, MS	0.5	75

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.