EF1 tornado, Nobility to Gober, Texas, December 13, 2022

1. EF065 to 85 mph

   Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

2. EF186 to 110 mphthis tornado

   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.

Rating

EF1

Date

December 13, 2022

Touchdown

10:12 AM CST (16:12 UTC)

Lifted

10:22 AM CST (16:22 UTC)

On the ground

10 minutes

Path length

6.6 miles (10.6 km)

Path width

50 yards (46 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Counties

Hunt and Fannin counties

Touchdown point

33.357, -96.133

Lift-off point

33.422, -96.053

Record number

2212131012-01

23 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS FWD, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF2. The highest wind the damage implies is 127 mph.

• Significant damage to manufactured homes. Walls and roof collapsed and unit rolled spreading debris across the area.
• Significant damage to modular office unit at construction site with twisted undercarriage. All walls and roof collapsed/removed.
• High pitched roof completely removed with damage to walls but still standing
• Several homes in cul de sac missing >20% of shingles.

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

A tornado outbreak occurred in the morning hours of December 13th resulting in 16 tornadoes across the northern half of the CWA; generally all along and north of Interstate 20. A total of 4 tornadoes were rated EF-2, and 9 people were injured, but none sustained life saving injuries. The most injuries occurred in the Grapevine tornado in Tarrant County. In addition to the tornadoes, one storm produced hail up to the size tennis balls in Rockwall County.

This is a continuation of the tornado that began in Collin County near Blue Ridge. An EF-2 tornado affected Collin and Fannin Counties from west of Blue Ridge to northwest of Bailey with damage noted around the northwestern side of Leonard. The tornado touched down on the west side of Blue Ridge along FM 545 where tree damage and structure damage was noted. Moving northeast the tornado impacted the athletic fields near the junior high and high school with several free standing light poles bent near the ground, the complete collapse of the brick dug outs near the baseball field, and damage to trees, fences, and other equipment around the property. The tornado appeared to strengthen as it struck 3 manufactured homes just east of the schools where two of the single wide trailers rolled, and the walls and roof of the homes became separated from the undercarriage. The next notable damage occurred in northeast Collin County where a double wide manufactured home rolled and collapsed leading to 1 injury from occupant entrapment. The narrow path of tree and structural damage continued across the county line into Fannin County to the west and north of Leonard. The tornado continued to do damage to several structures including a water plant and several single family homes until it lifted near State Highway 11 west of Bailey. Maximum estimated winds were 125 mph.

An EF-1 tornado affected Hunt and Fannin Counties near Wolfe City. The tornado touched down near FM 816 near Loring Creek in Hunt County where tree and structural damage was noted. Moving northeast the tornado crossed the county line into Fannin County where additional tree and structural damage was noted near State Highway 11. The tornado continued northeast through southern Fannin County where it moved through a solar farm destroying a path of panels. By this time, the tornado had weakened with the last notable damage found near Speaker Jimmy Turman Road where it continued to do minor damage before lifting. Maximum estimated winds were 90 mph.

This is a continuation of the tornado that started in northern Hunt County. An EF-1 tornado affected Hunt and Fannin Counties near Wolfe City. The tornado touched down near FM 816 near Loring Creek in Hunt County where tree and structural damage was noted. Moving northeast the tornado crossed the county line into Fannin County where additional tree and structural damage was noted near State Highway 11. The tornado continued northeast through southern Fannin County where it moved through a solar farm destroying a path of panels. By this time, the tornado had weakened with the last notable damage found near Speaker Jimmy Turman Road where it continued to do minor damage before lifting. Maximum estimated winds were 90 mph.

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

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 10:00 UTC and running to 17:00 UTC.

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 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 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.

Bonham (F00), 26 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

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

The Dallas/Ft Worth radar (KFWS), 145 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 16:10 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.

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

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

The live radar over the trackEvery 2022 tornado in TexasEvery tornado in Texas since 1950Warnings in force in Texas nowThe forecast where you are

30 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

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.

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.