Unrated tornado, Kosse to Old Union, Texas, April 2, 2023

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 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. Unratedthis tornado

   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

Unrated

Date

April 2, 2023

Touchdown

5:43 PM CDT (22:43 UTC)

Lifted

5:45 PM CDT (22:45 UTC)

On the ground

2 minutes

Path length

1.2 miles (1.9 km)

Path width

33 yards (30 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

County

Limestone County

Touchdown point

31.373, -96.491

Lift-off point

31.376, -96.471

Record number

2304021643-01

Widespread thunderstorms developed during the afternoon of Sunday April 2 in the vicinity of a dryline and a warm front, both of which were draped across the area. Many of these storms became severe, and a few storms in Central Texas produced large hail up to 3 inches. Another storm moving through Falls and Limestone County produced 4 brief tornadoes. Additional storms developed the afternoon of Monday April 3 along the dryline, which had surged east to near the I-35 corridor. Fewer storms occurred on Monday, but some still became severe.

A rope tornado was reported in this approximate location. Tree damage was reported on State Highway 14 north of Kosse. The exact location is unknown but is close to the plotted track. This tornado was the second of 4 brief tornadoes a parent supercell produced as it moved across Falls and Limestone counties.

A brief tornado was reported crossing FM 1246 between Thornton and Oletha. The exact location is unknown but is close to the plotted track. This tornado was the third of 4 brief tornadoes a parent supercell produced as it moved across Falls and Limestone counties.

A brief tornado was verified through storm spotters and via public video. Some tree limbs were broken. The exact location is unknown but is close to the plotted track. This tornado was the fourth of 4 brief tornadoes a parent supercell produced as it moved across Falls and Limestone counties.

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

41 minutes of warning. NWS FWD issued a tornado warning for this county at 22:02 UTC, 41 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 22:45 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 19:45 UTC and running to 02:32 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 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 20:00 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.

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.

Mexia Limestone (LXY), 30 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

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

The Ft Hood radar (KGRK), 112 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 22:44 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.

The live radar over the trackEvery 2023 tornado in TexasEvery tornado in Texas since 1950Warnings in force in Texas nowThe forecast where you are

3 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.