Tornadoes · United States · Texas · 2022

EF0 tornado, Benbrook Lake to Lake Worth, Texas, March 21, 2022

From Benbrook Lake to Lake Worth, this EF0 tornado ran 1.3 miles across Tarrant County on March 21, 2022, touching down at 5:37 PM CDT and reaching 50 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.

  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
March 21, 2022
Touchdown
5:37 PM CDT (22:37 UTC)
Lifted
5:41 PM CDT (22:41 UTC)
On the ground
4 minutes
Path length
1.3 miles (2.1 km)
Path width
50 yards (46 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Tarrant County
Touchdown point
32.787, -97.403
Lift-off point
32.792, -97.381
Record number
2203211637-01

The damage survey

15 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 100 mph.

  • Large tree in front yard uprooted. A lot of large branches and small trunks snapped.

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

A strong shortwave trough aided in the development of scattered to numerous thunderstorms during the late morning, afternoon, and evening hours of March 21. Thunderstorms initially fired along a dryline, many of which became severe, and some of which produced strong tornadoes. A total of 17 tornadoes were confirmed by storm survey teams, the strongest of which was the EF-3 Jacksboro tornado. One death occurred in a tornado in Grayson County near the Red River.

Damage survey, surveillance video, and CASA radar data confirm that a brief EF0 tornado passed across the Dutch Branch arm of Lake Benbrook at approximately 5:31 p.m. CDT on March 21, 2022. The tornado appeared to develop within the eastward surging outflow of an approaching line of thunderstorms. The tornado moved across a marina where a floating marina cover was lifted and thrown about 50 yards, being destroyed in the process. Several boats at the marina were also damaged. One tree on the shoreline was also damaged. Maximum estimated winds were 85 mph.

The tornado began along Inspiration Lane in River Oaks. It then moved northeast and produced widespread tree damage through a neighborhood just southwest of Jacksboro Highway. Some EF1 tornado damage was found on Hillside Drive and Circle Ridge Drive where multiple tree trunks were snapped and/or uprooted. As the tornado crossed Jacksboro Highway, additional EF0 damage was found between 18th Street and 22nd Street between Menefee Avenue and Long Avenue. Maximum estimated winds were 100 mph.

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 20:15 UTC and running to 02:04 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
17:00 UTC00:00 UTCWind AdvisoryFWD
20:15 UTC02:04 UTCTornado WatchFWD
22:28 UTC23:30 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWD
22:43 UTC23:00 UTCTornado WarningFWD
22:48 UTC23:30 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWD
23:15 UTC23:28 UTCTornado WarningFWD
23:16 UTC23:25 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWD

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. The outlook in force was issued at 19:59 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.

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

10.6 hours before the tornado, 11 km from the path. March 21, 2022.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Fort Worth, TX at 12:00Z on 2022-03-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 0 joules per kilogram, CIN -77651, lifted condensation level 758 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Fort Worth, TX at 12:00Z on 2022-03-21The 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 389 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-77651 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
758 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
43 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
45 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
389 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
466 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.3
0-3 km lapse rate
4.1 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Dallas/Ft Worth radar (KFWS), 26 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 22:37 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
21:46 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 N MillsapParker, TXMILLSAP FIRE REPORT DAMAGE TO ONE STRUCTURE JUST NORTH OF TOWN.
21:47 UTCTORNADO5 S DecaturWise, TXTHE TORNADO FORMED SOUTHEAST OF PARADISE, NEAR WISE COUNTY ROAD 4287, WHERE IT PRODUCED STRUCTURAL DAMAGE TO MULTIPLE HOMES. THE TORNADO TRACKED NORTHEAST APPROXIMATELY 5 MILES, PRODUCING DAMAGE TO SEVERAL HOMES AND OUTB
22:18 UTCHAIL 0.757 Wsw Annetta SouthParker, TXREPORT FROM MPING: DIME (0.75 IN.).
22:31 UTCTORNADO2 Ssw BenbrookTarrant, TXNWS DAMAGE SURVEY, SURVEILLANCE VIDEO, AND CASA RADAR DATA CONFIRMED A BRIEF TORNADO THAT CAUSED DAMAGE TO A MARINA ON THE NORTHWEST SHORE OF LAKE BENBROOK.
22:34 UTCTSTM WND DMGParadiseWise, TXCONFIRMED STRUCTURE DAMAGE AT 170 CR-4287 NEAR PARADISE.
22:37 UTCHAIL 1White SettlementTarrant, TXWHITE SETTLEMENT REPORTING QUARTER SIZED HAIL AT THIS TIME.
22:37 UTCTORNADO1 Nne River OaksTarrant, TXTHE TORNADO BEGAN ALONG INSPIRATION LANE IN RIVER OAKS. IT THEN MOVED NORTHEAST AND PRODUCED WIDESPREAD TREE DAMAGE THROUGH A NEIGHBORHOOD JUST SOUTHWEST OF JACKSBORO HIGHWAY. SOME EF1 TORNADO DAMAGE WAS FOUND ON HILLSID
22:45 UTCTSTM WND GST 581 Nw WestworthTarrant, TXDELAYED REPORT: NAS JOINT RESERVE BASE ASOS MEASURED 58 MPH AT 5:45 PM.
23:02 UTCHAIL 12 Wsw WestlakeTarrant, TXDELAYED REPORT: 1 INCH HAIL REPORTED APPROXIMATE 0.5 TO 1 MILE SOUTH OF ROANOKE RD.
23:04 UTCHAIL 0.753 Sw RoanokeTarrant, TXREPORT FROM MPING: DIME (0.75 IN.).
23:07 UTCHAIL 0.751 Sse Marshall CreekDenton, TXREPORT FROM MPING: DIME (0.75 IN.).
23:09 UTCHAIL 1Trophy ClubDenton, TXREPORT FROM MPING: QUARTER (1.00 IN.).
23:11 UTCHAIL 0.753 Nw WataugaTarrant, TXREPORT FROM MPING: DIME (0.75 IN.).
23:12 UTCTORNADO 851 W EulessTarrant, TXDAMAGE SURVEY AND DOPPLER RADAR DATA CONFIRM THAT AN EF0 TORNADO WITH PEAK WINDS OF 85 MPH STRUCK THE CITY OF EULESS AROUND 6:10 P.M. CDT ON MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2022. THE DAMAGE PATH WAS SOMEWHAT SPORADIC, BUT IN A CORRIDO
23:12 UTCTORNADO1 W EulessTarrant, TXCORRECTS PREVIOUS TORNADO REPORT FROM 1 W EULESS. DAMAGE SURVEY AND DOPPLER RADAR DATA CONFIRM THAT AN EF0 TORNADO WITH PEAK WINDS OF 85 MPH STRUCK THE CITY OF EULESS AROUND 6:10 P.M. CDT ON MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2022. THE D
23:20 UTCHAIL 0.75BartonvilleDenton, TX3/4 INCH HAIL REPORTED IN BARTONVILLE.
23:30 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Ssw CarrolltonDallas, TXMINOR DAMAGE OCCURRED TO THE WOODY BUILDING IN CARROLLTON NEAR I-35E AND BELT LINE. DAMAGE ALSO OCCURRED TO RAILROAD CROSSING GATES NEARBY. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR.
23:31 UTCHAIL 11 Sw CorinthDenton, TXREPORT FROM MPING: QUARTER (1.00 IN.).
23:31 UTCTORNADO1 Nnw CarrolltonDenton, TXA BRIEF EF-0 TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN IN NORTHERN CARROLLTON AROUND 6:31PM. THE TORNADO INITIALLY CAUSED DAMAGE TO A BUILDING AT THE HILLSIDE COMMUNITY APARTMENTS JUST EAST OF OLD DENTON ROAD AND SOUTH OF ROSEMEADE PARKWAY.
23:39 UTCHAIL 11 S HackberryDenton, TXREPORT FROM MPING: QUARTER (1.00 IN.).
00:26 UTCHAIL 0.75Oak LeafEllis, TXREPORT FROM MPING: DIME (0.75 IN.).

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

This ground now

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

The other tornadoes of March 21, 2022

35 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
March 213:12 PM CDTEF1Palo Pinto, TX9.7400$75,000
March 213:35 PM CDTEF3Jacksboro tornado, TX34.58809
March 214:31 PM CDTEF1Montague, TX2.1150
March 214:34 PM CDTEF1Montague, TX5.24403
March 214:47 PM CDTEF0Wise, TX6.1150
March 214:54 PM CDTEF1Montague, TX18.7500
March 215:17 PM CDTEF0Love, OK6.850$20,000
March 215:17 PM CDTEF1Cooke, TX18.3150
March 215:31 PM CDTEF0Tarrant, TX0.550
March 215:48 PM CDTEF2Guadalupe, TX7.9600
March 215:51 PM CDTEF1Williamson, TX9.3300
March 215:54 PM CDTEF2Travis, TX34.6600$2,000
March 216:11 PM CDTEF2Marshall, TX to OK5.1200111$500,000
March 216:12 PM CDTEF0Tarrant, TX0.6100$20,000
March 216:29 PM CDTEF1Marshall, OK10.1200$500,000
March 216:30 PM CDTEF2Bastrop, TX12.0500
March 216:31 PM CDTEF0Denton, TX1.950$20,000
March 216:32 PM CDTEF0Marshall, OK2.620
March 216:43 PM CDTEF1Johnston, OK7.1200$100,000
March 216:54 PM CDTEF0Bastrop, TX5.550
March 217:14 PM CDTEF1Milam, TX3.8200$30,000
March 217:25 PM CDTEF0Falls, TX0.430$1,000
March 217:28 PM CDTEF1Lee, TX2.550
March 218:08 PM CDTEF0Limestone, TX11.8100$200,000
March 218:35 PM CDTEF0Burleson, TX1.050$100,000
March 218:40 PM CDTEF0Burleson, TX0.3175
March 219:05 PM CDTEF1Brazos, TX0.4175$100,000
March 219:35 PM CDTEF1Madison, TX2.4200$1.0 million
March 2110:10 PM CDTEF2Houston, TX19.1200110$5.0 million
March 2110:20 PM CDTEF2Upshur, TX40.07008$2.6 million
March 2111:16 PM CDTEF2Cherokee, TX37.11,4001$1.8 million
March 2111:21 PM CDTEF1Cass, TX1.8150
March 2111:29 PM CDTEF1Cass, TX2.0200$100,000
March 2112:08 AM CDTEF2Rusk, TX11.95001$550,000
March 2112:49 AM CDTEF1Harrison, TX6.6200

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.