Tornadoes · United States · Texas · 2024
EF2 tornado, Concho to Millersview, Texas, May 2, 2024
From Concho to Millersview, this EF2 tornado ran 6.1 miles across Concho County on May 2, 2024, touching down at 6:39 PM CDT and reaching 395 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.
EF065 to 85 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
EF2111 to 135 mphthis tornado
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.
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.
EF4166 to 200 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
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.
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
- EF2
- Date
- May 2, 2024
- Touchdown
- 6:39 PM CDT (23:39 UTC)
- Lifted
- 7:04 PM CDT (00:04 UTC)
- On the ground
- 25 minutes
- Path length
- 6.1 miles (9.8 km)
- Path width
- 395 yards (361 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- County
- Concho County
- Touchdown point
- 31.483, -99.668
- Lift-off point
- 31.419, -99.599
- Record number
- 2405021739-01
The damage survey
2 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS SJT, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF2. The highest wind the damage implies is 130 mph.
- Tornado damage to 12 structures with one structure down.
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 favorable weather pattern for widespread severe weather was in place across west central Texas during early May. There was an upper level southwest flow and a sharp dryline in the area. Also, extreme instability was present along with strong vertical wind shear during the late afternoon and evening hours. Supercell thunderstorms developed and produced strong tornadoes in Jones, Runnels and Sterling counties which resulted in damage to homes and other structures. Also, severe thunderstorms produced giant size hail and damaging winds.
The tornado damaged electrical transmission lines on several|metal truss towers. One of the metal truss towers collapsed due|to the tornado increasing in intensity to an EF2. The path length |and width of the tornado was based on radar and photos of the|damage. The estimated peak wind of the tornado was 130 mph.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The warnings
17 minutes of warning. NWS SJT issued a tornado warning for this county at 23:22 UTC, 17 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 00:00 UTC.
The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 20:05 UTC and running to 03:18 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20:05 UTC | 03:18 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SJT |
| 23:03 UTC | 23:45 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SJT |
| 23:22 UTC | 00:00 UTC | Tornado Warning | SJT |
| 23:24 UTC | 00:30 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SJT |
| 23:42 UTC | 00:30 UTC | Tornado Warning | SJT |
| 00:13 UTC | 00:53 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SJT |
| 00:33 UTC | 01:15 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SJT |
| 01:21 UTC | 02:15 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SJT |
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 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 20:05 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.
Midland Regional, TX (KMAF), 12:00Z
11.7 hours before the tornado, 249 km from the path. May 2, 2024.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1788 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -41 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 4943 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 761 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 29 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 19 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 78 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 94 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.5
- Supercell composite
- 5.6
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 6.9 K/km
Midland Regional, TX (KMAF), 00:00Z
0.3 hours after it, 249 km from the path. May 3, 2024.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -8769 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 5010 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 30 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 13 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 30 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 14 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 10.3 K/km
The surface observations
Brady (BBD), 42 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21:55 UTC | 82.4 | 71.6 | 140° 10 kt | 15 | 1006.4 | |
| 22:15 UTC | 82.4 | 71.6 | 140° 11 kt | 1006.4 | ||
| 22:35 UTC | 80.6 | 71.6 | 140° 15 kt | 1006.4 | VCTS | |
| 22:55 UTC | 77 | 71.6 | 130° 15 kt | 21 | 1006.1 | VCTS |
| 23:15 UTC | 75.2 | 71.6 | 140° 15 kt | 22 | 1006.1 | VCTS BR |
| 23:35 UTC | 73.4 | 69.8 | 130° 12 kt | 22 | 1006.4 | VCTS BR |
| 23:55 UTC | 71.6 | 69.8 | 130° 15 kt | 22 | 1006.4 | VCTS |
| 00:15 UTC | 71.6 | 69.8 | 130° 15 kt | 22 | 1006.1 | |
| 00:35 UTC | 71.6 | 69.8 | 140° 13 kt | 22 | 1006.1 | VCTS |
| 00:55 UTC | 71.6 | 69.8 | 150° 13 kt | 20 | 1005.8 | |
| 01:15 UTC | 71.6 | 69.8 | 150° 10 kt | 24 | 1007.8 | VCTS |
| 01:35 UTC | 68 | 64.4 | 330° 15 kt | 27 | 1008.8 | VCTS |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The San Angelo radar (KSJT), 82 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 23:39 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) | Report | Where | County | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22:28 UTC | HAIL 1.25 | 5 E Norton | Runnels, TX | Report from mPING: Half Dollar (1.25 in.). |
| 22:29 UTC | HAIL 2 | 5 W Hatchel | Runnels, TX | Report from mPING: Hen Egg (2.00 in.). |
| 22:31 UTC | HAIL 2.25 | 5 W Hatchel | Runnels, TX | Report from mPING: Hen Egg+ (2.25 in.). |
| 22:32 UTC | HAIL 2.5 | 5 Sw Hatchel | Runnels, TX | Report from mPING: Tennis Ball (2.50 in.). |
| 22:43 UTC | HAIL 2.5 | 5 N Ballinger | Runnels, TX | on highway 83 Tennis Ball size. |
| 22:59 UTC | TORNADO | 2 E Ballinger | Runnels, TX | The public reported a tornado on the ground 2.3 miles east of Ballinger, moving east. |
| 23:02 UTC | TORNADO | 2 Ese Ballinger | Runnels, TX | Spotter reported a tornado on the ground 2 miles southeast of Ballinger. |
| 23:15 UTC | HAIL 2.75 | 2 Wsw Leaday | Concho, TX | |
| 23:15 UTC | HAIL 3 | 1 E Ballinger | Runnels, TX | |
| 23:20 UTC | HAIL 4 | 4 E Ballinger | Runnels, TX | Delayed Report: There was a picture of softball size hail 4 miles east of Ballinger along County Road 123. |
| 23:26 UTC | HAIL 3 | 3 Sw Leaday | Concho, TX | Spotter reported 3.5 inch size hail. |
| 23:26 UTC | HAIL 4 | 2 Nne Millersview | Concho, TX | Damage to vehicles and holes in metal awnings. |
| 23:29 UTC | HAIL 2.75 | 5 N Stacy | Coleman, TX | Report from mPING: Baseball (2.75 in.). |
| 23:30 UTC | HAIL 4 | 2 Sw Leaday | Concho, TX | Concho Park Marina. Softball size hail. |
| 23:42 UTC | TORNADO | 2 Ne Stacy | Coleman, TX | Confirmed tornado on ground. |
| 23:45 UTC | TORNADO | 2 Nnw Doole | Concho, TX | Law enforcement relayed report from storm chaser on tornado on the ground northwest of Doole. |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2024 tornado in TexasEvery tornado in Texas since 1950Warnings in force in Texas nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of May 2, 2024
7 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2 | 10:09 AM CDT | EF1 | Sabine Parish, LA | 5.2 | 325 | |||
| May 2 | 11:32 AM CDT | Unrated | Jefferson Davis Parish, LA | 0.0 | 1 | |||
| May 2 | 1:40 PM CDT | EF1 | Jasper, MO | 0.8 | 100 | $30,000 | ||
| May 2 | 3:58 PM CDT | EF0 | , PR | 0.5 | 4 | $8,000 | ||
| May 2 | 5:53 PM CDT | EF2 | Runnels, TX | 4.5 | 390 | |||
| May 2 | 6:29 PM CDT | Unrated | Jones, TX | 0.8 | 100 | |||
| May 2 | 7:06 PM CDT | EF3 | Jones, TX | 3.3 | 210 | 4 |
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.