Tornadoes · United States · Texas · 2023

EF0 tornado, Sattler, Texas, October 26, 2023

This EF0 tornado ran 0.3 miles across Comal County on October 26, 2023, touching down at 9:12 AM CDT and reaching 30 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
October 26, 2023
Touchdown
9:12 AM CDT (14:12 UTC)
Lifted
9:13 AM CDT (14:13 UTC)
On the ground
1 minutes
Path length
0.3 miles (0.5 km)
Path width
30 yards (27 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Crop damage
$2,000
County
Comal County
Touchdown point
29.845, -98.119
Lift-off point
29.846, -98.115
Record number
2310260812-01

What the Weather Service recorded

Thunderstorms developed along an outflow boundary in a very moist airmass. Storms were fed by strong low level winds. In addition to aiding buoyancy, these winds also contributed to significant low level wind shear. Some storms produced weak tornadoes and locally heavy rain that led to flash flooding.

A National Weather Service damage survey concluded that a small EF0 tornado formed and dissipated quickly the morning of October 26, near the intersection of FM 306 and Purgatory Rd. in Comal County. A few residences along FM 306 near that intersection sustained minor damage mainly to fences and trees. No other damage was observed in the area. Maximum winds were estimated at 70 mph with a path length just over one quarter mile.

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

The warnings

1 minute of warning. NWS EWX issued a tornado warning for this county at 14:11 UTC, 1 minute before the tornado touched down, in force until 14:26 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
01:50 UTC23:14 UTCFlood WatchEWX
14:11 UTC14:26 UTCTornado WarningEWX
15:07 UTC18:15 UTCFlood AdvisoryEWX
17:47 UTC00:45 UTCFlood AdvisoryEWX

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 General Thunderstorms Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 12:38 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.

Corpus Christi, TX (KCRP), 12:00Z

2.2 hours before the tornado, 247 km from the path. October 26, 2023.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Corpus Christi, TX at 12:00Z on 2023-10-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 950 joules per kilogram, CIN -9, lifted condensation level 708 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, Corpus Christi, TX at 12:00Z on 2023-10-26The 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 102 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 15 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
950 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-9 J/kg
Surface CAPE
3753 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
708 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
15 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
17 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
102 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
130 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.3
Supercell composite
5.1
0-3 km lapse rate
5.6 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Corpus Christi, TX (KCRP), 00:00Z

9.8 hours after it, 247 km from the path. October 27, 2023.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Corpus Christi, TX at 00:00Z on 2023-10-27Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 598 joules per kilogram, CIN -39, lifted condensation level 959 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, Corpus Christi, TX at 00:00Z on 2023-10-27The 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 44 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 19 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
598 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-39 J/kg
Surface CAPE
2365 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
959 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
19 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
9 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
44 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
57 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
5.8 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Austin/San Antonio radar (KEWX), 18 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 14:11 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
13:01 UTCTORNADO4 Nnw LockhartCaldwell, TXVery preliminary report. NWS Survey Team will be out Friday morning to establish the full tornado path length, width, and damage rating.
13:09 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 Nne Terrell HillsBexar, TXApartment complex damage.
13:15 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 N Terrell HillsBexar, TXDamage near Southwest Preparatory School.
13:15 UTCTORNADO1 Se Terrell HillsBexar, TXVery preliminary report. NWS Survey Team will be out Friday morning to establish the full tornado path length, width, and damage rating.
13:15 UTCTORNADO2 Ssw Terrell HillsBexar, TXDamage to buildings at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston. Very preliminary report. NWS Survey Team will be out Friday morning to establish the full tornado path length, width, and damage rating.
13:15 UTCTORNADOTerrell HillsBexar, TXVery preliminary report. NWS Survey Team will be out Friday morning to establish the full tornado path length, width, and damage rating.
13:39 UTCTORNADO2 Nnw CiboloGuadalupe, TX...Delayed Report...a National Weather Service Storm survey, along with resident video and pictures, has concluded that a weak EF0 tornado touched down in Cibolo Texas the morning of October 26. There was some tree and f
14:12 UTCTORNADO9 Ese Canyon LakeComal, TX...Delayed Report....A National Weather Service storm survey concluded a small EF0 tornado briefly occurred on FM306 near Purgatory Road. Maximum winds are estimated at 70 mph. There was some tree damage and minor damage
14:13 UTCTSTM WND DMG9 Ese Canyon LakeComal, TXVery preliminary report. NWS Survey Team will be out Friday to establish if damage was caused by a tornado or straight line winds.
17:12 UTCFLASH FLOOD1 S KyleHays, TXSeveral low water crossings reported closed via ATX floods just south of Kyle including Roland Ln and Bunton Ln.

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 October 26, 2023

4 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
October 266:35 AM CDTEF0Wilson, TX6.050
October 268:01 AM CDTEF0Bexar, TX5.2150
October 268:05 AM CDTEF0Caldwell, TX0.510
October 268:39 AM CDTEF0Guadalupe, TX2.0100

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.