Tornadoes · United States · Texas · 2023

Unrated tornado, China Spg to Erath, Texas, April 26, 2023

From China Spg to Erath, this Unrated tornado ran 0.0 miles across McLennan County on April 26, 2023, touching down at 5:26 PM CDT and reaching 25 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 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.

The record

Rating
Unrated
Date
April 26, 2023
Touchdown
5:26 PM CDT (22:26 UTC)
Path length
0.0 miles (0.0 km)
Path width
25 yards (23 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
McLennan County
Touchdown point
31.610, -97.300
Lift-off point
31.610, -97.300
Record number
2304261626-01

What the Weather Service recorded

An upper level trough, surface low pressure center, stationary front, and a Pacific cold front all aided in the development of thunderstorms on Wednesday April 26 across much of the region. Several storms became severe with mainly large hail. Up to softball sized hail occurred in McLennan County. A few storms also produced wind damage, and two very brief tornadoes were caught on camera. Unfortunately two children were injured from anvil lighting strikes in the DFW area.

Video evidence of a small, brief tornado in this area. No damage was reported.

Twitter video evidence of a small, brief tornado in this area. No damage was reported.

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

The warnings

12 minutes of warning. NWS FWD issued a tornado warning for this county at 22:14 UTC, 12 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 23:00 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 19:51 UTC and running to 01:58 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
19:51 UTC01:58 UTCTornado WatchFWD
21:31 UTC22:15 UTCTornado WarningFWD
22:14 UTC23:00 UTCTornado WarningFWD
22:43 UTC23:30 UTCTornado WarningFWD
23:27 UTC00:03 UTCTornado WarningFWD
23:55 UTC01:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWD
00:20 UTC03:15 UTCFlood AdvisoryFWD
01:02 UTC04:00 UTCFlash Flood 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, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 19:41 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

10.4 hours before the tornado, 136 km from the path. April 26, 2023.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Fort Worth, TX at 12:00Z on 2023-04-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 31 joules per kilogram, CIN -393, lifted condensation level 671 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°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 2023-04-26The 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 276 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 53 knots.19395878Sfc1 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
31 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-393 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
671 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
53 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
22 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
276 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
254 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.5
0-3 km lapse rate
3.8 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

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

1.6 hours after it, 136 km from the path. April 27, 2023.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Fort Worth, TX at 00:00Z on 2023-04-27Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 35 joules per kilogram, CIN -205, lifted condensation level 534 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°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 00:00Z on 2023-04-27The 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 149 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 43 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
35 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-205 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
534 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
43 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
14 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
149 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
160 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.9
0-3 km lapse rate
4.8 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Ft Hood radar (KGRK), 99 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 22:24 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
21:50 UTCHAIL 1.753 Wnw Valley MillsBosque, TXGOLF BALL SIZED HAIL REPORTED ON HIGHWAY 6 AND FM 854 WEST OF VALLEY MILLS.
21:58 UTCTORNADO6 Ese Valley MillsMclennan, TXVIDEO EVIDENCE OF A BRIEF, SMALL TORNADO IN THIS AREA. NO DAMAGE FOUND OR REPORTED.
22:05 UTCHAIL 41 Ese Valley MillsMclennan, TXDELAYED REPORT - COCORAHS SPOTTER REPORTED A LARGE AMOUNT OF HAIL THAT LASTED FOR ROUGHLY 20 MINUTES 0.9 MILES ESE OF VALLEY MILLS THAT LED TO SHREDDED LEAVES, CAR DENTS, DAMAGED ROOF SHINGLES, AND BROKEN HOUSE WINDOWS.
22:06 UTCHAIL 16 Sw GholsonMclennan, TXAMATEUR RADIO SPOTTER REPORTED QUARTER-SIZED HAIL IN CHINA SPRINGS.
22:13 UTCHAIL 2.751 Ese Valley MillsMclennan, TXLARGE AMOUNTS OF BASEBALL SIZED HAIL, POSSIBLY LARGER, REPORTED JUST EAST-SOUTHEAST OF VALLEY MILLS BY TRAINED SPOTTER.
22:26 UTCTORNADO7 Wnw WacoMclennan, TXTWITTER VIDEO EVIDENCE OF A BRIEF, SMALL TORNADO IN THIS AREA. NO DAMAGE FOUND OR REPORTED.
22:29 UTCHAIL 12 S WhitneyHill, TXAMATEUR RADIO SPOTTER REPORTED QUARTER SIZED HAIL 2 MILES SOUTH OF WHITNEY.
22:34 UTCHAIL 14 N WacoMclennan, TXHAM RADIO REPORT OF QUARTER-SIZED HAIL NEAR BOSQUEVILLE ON THE NORTH SIDE OF WACO.
22:39 UTCTSTM WND GST 633 Nw WacoMclennan, TXWACO, TX (ACT) ASOS REPORTED A WIND GUST OF 55.0 KTS (63 MPH).
22:44 UTCHAIL 1.56 Ene WhitneyHill, TXPING PONG BALL SIZED HAIL BETWEEN WHITNEY AND HILLSBORO.
22:47 UTCHAIL 44 Nnw WacoMclennan, TXSOFTBALL SIZED HAIL BOSQUEVILLE TO NEAR WACO REGIONAL AIRPORT.
22:56 UTCHAIL 1.51 Nne WacoMclennan, TXPING PONG SIZED HAIL REPORTED AT MCCLENNAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE MAIN CAMPUS.
23:06 UTCHAIL 1.753 Ne Beverly HillsMclennan, TXHAM RADIO REPORT OF GOLF BALL-SIZED HAIL AT THE BAYLOR CAMPUS.
23:17 UTCHAIL 4.52 S BellmeadMclennan, TX4.5 INCH DIAMETER HAIL 2 MILES EAST OF WACO.
23:22 UTCHAIL 2.751 Sw HallsburgMclennan, TXTRAINED SPOTTER REPORTS BASEBALL-SIZED HAIL IN HALLSBURG.
23:44 UTCHAIL 1.5MartMclennan, TXHAM RADIO REPORT OF PING PONG BALL-SIZED HAIL IN MART.
00:34 UTCTSTM WND GST 633 Nw WacoMclennan, TXKACT.

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

This ground now

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

The other tornadoes of April 26, 2023

1 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 264:58 PM CDTUnratedMcLennan, TX0.025

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.