Tornadoes · United States · Texas · 2017

EF0 tornado, Danbury to Chenango, Texas, August 25, 2017

From Danbury to Chenango, this EF0 tornado ran 4.8 miles across Brazoria County on August 25, 2017, touching down at 10:44 PM CDT and reaching 50 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $100,000 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
August 25, 2017
Touchdown
10:44 PM CDT (03:44 UTC)
Lifted
10:52 PM CDT (03:52 UTC)
On the ground
8 minutes
Path length
4.8 miles (7.7 km)
Path width
50 yards (46 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$100,000
County
Brazoria County
Touchdown point
29.222, -95.350
Lift-off point
29.250, -95.422
Record number
1708252144-01

What the Weather Service recorded

Harvey made landfall as a category 4 hurricane near Rockport, Texas during the evening of August 25th. The storm then weakened to a tropical storm and slowed, looping back and tracking over SE Texas then back over the Gulf of Mexico making a second landfall along the Louisiana coast during the early morning hours of August 30th. Over that 5 day period over Southeast Texas TS Harvey produced catastrophic flooding with a large area of 30 to 60 inches of rain, 23 tornadoes, tropical storm force winds and a moderate storm surge near Matagorda Bay. In some of the heavier bands rain fell at a rate of over 5 inches per hour. This copious record amount of rain over a led to catastrophic flooding. Thousands of homes, businesses, and roads were flooded due to flash flooding and sheet flow from long duration intense rain. Main stem rivers and adjoining tributaries, creeks and bayous reached full capacity and came out of their banks and this also contributed to the massive flooding across southeastern Texas.

The tornado began in Danbury and damaged a barn along with several trees off of County Road 207. The tornado then crossed Hwy 35 and moved over an open field. The tornado then snapped and/or downed several trees along County Rd 45 before lifting at the Crocodile Encounter on County Rd 48.

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

The warnings

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down. One was issued for the county at another hour that day.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 19:02 UTC and running to 06:49 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
19:02 UTC06:49 UTCTornado WatchHGX
19:08 UTC19:24 UTCTornado WarningHGX
20:03 UTC20:30 UTCTornado WarningHGX
20:09 UTC20:45 UTCTornado WarningHGX
20:48 UTC21:15 UTCTornado WarningHGX
21:07 UTC21:30 UTCTornado WarningHGX
21:37 UTC23:30 UTCFlood AdvisoryHGX
22:19 UTC22:45 UTCTornado WarningHGX
22:31 UTC22:45 UTCTornado WarningHGX
22:42 UTC23:15 UTCTornado WarningHGX
22:45 UTC23:15 UTCTornado WarningHGX
23:08 UTC23:34 UTCTornado WarningHGX
23:13 UTC23:45 UTCTornado WarningHGX
23:35 UTC00:00 UTCTornado WarningHGX
23:39 UTC00:15 UTCTornado WarningHGX
23:53 UTC00:15 UTCTornado WarningHGX
00:08 UTC00:45 UTCTornado WarningHGX
00:42 UTC02:45 UTCFlood AdvisoryHGX
00:45 UTC01:15 UTCTornado WarningHGX
01:18 UTC01:45 UTCTornado WarningHGX
01:33 UTC02:00 UTCTornado WarningHGX
02:05 UTC02:30 UTCTornado WarningHGX
02:21 UTC02:30 UTCTornado WarningHGX
02:38 UTC03:15 UTCTornado WarningHGX
02:40 UTC03:00 UTCTornado WarningHGX
02:42 UTC03:00 UTCTornado WarningHGX
03:00 UTC03:30 UTCTornado WarningHGX
04:33 UTC09:30 UTCFlood AdvisoryHGX
04:50 UTC05:15 UTCTornado WarningHGX
05:26 UTC05:45 UTCTornado WarningHGX
05:33 UTC08:30 UTCFlash Flood WarningHGX
05:39 UTC06:00 UTCTornado WarningHGX
05:46 UTC06:15 UTCTornado WarningHGX
05:49 UTC06:15 UTCTornado WarningHGX
06:16 UTC06:30 UTCTornado WarningHGX
06:16 UTC09:15 UTCFlood AdvisoryHGX
06:36 UTC08:30 UTCFlash Flood WarningHGX
06:49 UTC17:56 UTCTornado WatchHGX
07:22 UTC08:45 UTCFlash Flood WarningHGX
07:54 UTC08:30 UTCTornado WarningHGX
08:29 UTC11:30 UTCFlash Flood WarningHGX
08:33 UTC09:00 UTCTornado WarningHGX
09:55 UTC12:00 UTCFlood AdvisoryHGX
10:43 UTC13:45 UTCFlash Flood WarningHGX
11:26 UTC13:30 UTCFlash Flood WarningHGX
12:52 UTC15:45 UTCFlash Flood WarningHGX
13:27 UTC16:30 UTCFlash Flood WarningHGX
15:48 UTC19:15 UTCFlash Flood WarningHGX
16:27 UTC19:30 UTCFlash Flood WarningHGX
16:29 UTC13:43 UTCFlood WarningHGX
17:56 UTC06:50 UTCTornado WatchHGX
19:12 UTC14:35 UTCFlood 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 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 00:58 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

3.7 hours before the tornado, 233 km from the path. August 26, 2017.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Lake Charles Mun, LA at 00:00Z on 2017-08-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 275 joules per kilogram, CIN -69, lifted condensation level 739 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°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 2017-08-26The 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 119 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 31 knots.193958Sfc1 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
275 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-69 J/kg
Surface CAPE
810 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
739 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
31 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
26 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
119 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
253 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
1.3
0-3 km lapse rate
4.5 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

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

8.3 hours after it, 233 km from the path. August 26, 2017.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Lake Charles Mun, LA at 12:00Z on 2017-08-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 2221 joules per kilogram, CIN -10, lifted condensation level 512 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°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 2017-08-26The 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 241 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 30 knots.1939Sfc1 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
2221 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-10 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1241 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
512 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
30 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
29 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
241 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
305 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.9
Supercell composite
13.5
0-3 km lapse rate
5.0 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Houston radar (KHGX), 40 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 03:46 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
01:25 UTCTORNADO3 W Bailey'S PrairieBrazoria, TXA HIGH-END EF-0 TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN JUST EAST OF WEST COLUMBIA DAMAGING NUMEROUS TREES... ROOFS... AND OUTBUILDINGS IN A NEIGHBORHOOD OFF OF HIGHWAY 35 AND RIVER ROAD. A BARN AND SEVERAL OUTBUILDINGS WERE ALSO DESTROYED
02:00 UTCFLOOD4 N BonneyBrazoria, TXFLOODED ROADWAYS FM 655 AND FM 521 IN ROSHARON... TIME OF EVENT ESTIMATED.
02:00 UTCFLOOD7 Nne Oyster CreekBrazoria, TXDEMIJOHN CR 227 REPORTED IMPASSIBLE.
02:44 UTCTORNADO 01 Ssw DanburyBrazoria, TXTHE TORNADO BEGAN IN DANBURY AND DAMAGED A BARN ALONG WITH SEVERAL TREES OFF OF COUNTY ROAD 207. THE TORNADO THEN CROSSED HIGHWAY 35 AND MOVED OVER AN OPEN FIELD. THE TORNADO THEN SNAPPED AND/OR DOWNED SEVERAL TREES ALON
02:44 UTCTORNADO1 Ssw DanburyBrazoria, TXTHE TORNADO BEGAN IN DANBURY AND DAMAGED A BARN ALONG WITH SEVERAL TREES OFF OF COUNTY ROAD 207. THE TORNADO THEN CROSSED HIGHWAY 35 AND MOVED OVER AN OPEN FIELD. THE TORNADO THEN SNAPPED AND/OR DOWNED SEVERAL TREES ALON
02:47 UTCTORNADO3 Wnw DanburyBrazoria, TXRADAR CONFIRMED TORNADO NEAR DANBURY WITH TDS SIGNATURE.
02:53 UTCFUNNEL CLOUDOyster CreekBrazoria, TXBRAZORIA COUNTY LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTED FUNNEL CLOUD.
04:17 UTCTORNADO2 E AngletonBrazoria, TXBRAZORIA COUNTY LAW ENFORCEMENT POSSIBLE TORNADO DAMAGE... HOUSE OFF FOUNDATION COUNTY RD. 210 AND FM 523. TIME GIVEN WAS 1117 PM BUT STILL NEED TO VERIFY WITH RADAR. TIME DID NOT MATCH.
04:28 UTCTORNADO 02 W LiverpoolBrazoria, TXAN EF-0 TORNADO TOOK DOWN 4 POWER POLES ON HIGHWAY 35 ALONG WITH SEVERAL TREES NEAR THE GULF COAST SPEEDWAY. THE TORNADO THEN TRAVELED ACROSS GENERALLY OPEN FIELD BEFORE DAMAGING SOME BARNS AND OUTBUILDINGS AS WELL AS TR
04:28 UTCTORNADO2 W LiverpoolBrazoria, TXAN EF-0 TORNADO TOOK DOWN 4 POWER POLES ON HIGHWAY 35 ALONG WITH SEVERAL TREES NEAR THE GULF COAST SPEEDWAY. THE TORNADO THEN TRAVELED ACROSS GENERALLY OPEN FIELD BEFORE DAMAGING SOME BARNS AND OUTBUILDINGS AS WELL AS TR
05:30 UTCTORNADO5 Wnw LiverpoolBrazoria, TXRADAR CONFIRMED TORNADO NEAR LIVERPOOL WITH TDS SIGNATURE.
05:50 UTCTORNADO2 W Iowa ColonyBrazoria, TXA STRONG EF-0 TORNADO STRUCK A FAIRLY NEW SUBDIVISION ALONG COUNTY ROAD 56 AND HIGHWAY 288. DAMAGE WAS MOSTLY CONFINED TO ROOFS... FENCES... AND SEVERAL TREES SNAPPED AND/OR DOWNED.
05:50 UTCTORNADO4 W ArcolaFort Bend, TXHOMES DAMAGE ON VIEUX CARRE MINOR INJURIES AND RESPONDING DEPUTY BLOWN OFF THE ROAD.
05:50 UTCTORNADOMissouri CityFort Bend, TXHOMES DAMAGE ON VIEUX CARRE MINOR INJURIES AND RESPONDING DEPUTY BLOWN OFF THE ROAD.
05:52 UTCTORNADO 02 W Iowa ColonyBrazoria, TXA STRONG EF-0 TORNADO STRUCK A FAIRLY NEW SUBDIVISION ALONG COUNTY ROAD 56 AND HIGHWAY 288. DAMAGE WAS MOSTLY CONFINED TO ROOFS... FENCES... AND SEVERAL TREES SNAPPED AND/OR DOWNED.
05:52 UTCTORNADO 02 W Iowa ColonyBrazoria, TXA STRONG EF-0 TORNADO STRUCK A FAIRLY NEW SUBDIVISION ALONG COUNTY ROAD 56 AND HIGHWAY 288. DAMAGE WAS MOSTLY CONFINED TO ROOFS... FENCES...AND SEVERAL TREES SNAPPED AND/OR DOWNED.
05:52 UTCTORNADO4 Ssw ArcolaFort Bend, TXRADAR CONFIRMED TORNADO NEAR JULIFF WITH TDS SIGNATURE.
06:00 UTCTORNADO -15 Sw FresnoFort Bend, TXHOMES DAMAGE ON VIEUX CARRE. DAMAGED HOMES ALSO IN SIENNA PLANTATION. MINOR INJURIES. RESPONDING DEPUTY BLOWN OFF THE ROAD.
06:00 UTCTORNADO 15 Sw FresnoFort Bend, TXHOMES DAMAGE ON VIEUX CARRE. DAMAGED HOMES ALSO IN SIENNA PLANTATION. MINOR INJURIES. RESPONDING DEPUTY BLOWN OFF THE ROAD.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2017 tornado in TexasEvery tornado in Texas since 1950Warnings in force in Texas nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of August 25, 2017

8 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 252:18 PM CDTEF0Galveston, TX0.120$500
August 253:30 PM CDTEF0Brazoria, TX0.230$30,000
August 254:08 PM CDTEF1Matagorda, TX2.250$500,000
August 254:14 PM CDTEF0Calhoun, TX0.220$10,000
August 256:11 PM CDTEF0Brazoria, TX4.050$100,000
August 2512:28 AM CDTEF0Brazoria, TX4.350$50,000
August 2512:50 AM CDTEF1Brazoria, TX1.650$1.0 million
August 2512:56 AM CDTEF1Fort Bend, TX1.5100$500,000

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.