EF1 tornado, (Tpl)Temple Muni Arp to Heidenheimer, Texas, May 22, 2024

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 mphthis tornado

   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.

Rating

EF1

Date

May 22, 2024

Touchdown

6:33 PM CDT (23:33 UTC)

Lifted

6:37 PM CDT (23:37 UTC)

On the ground

4 minutes

Path length

2.2 miles (3.5 km)

Path width

100 yards (91 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Property damage

$550,000

County

Bell County

Touchdown point

31.046, -97.303

Lift-off point

31.024, -97.275

Record number

2405221733-01

43 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS FWD, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF2. The highest wind the damage implies is 130 mph.

• Northern extend of tree damage along Airport Rd
• Northern extension of the damage
• Multiple power pole lines snapped towards the same direction, to the east. Tree limbs also damaged but also leaning towards the east.
• Will need to revisit. Small metal structures in the area were intact

Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.

Isolated thunderstorms associated with the dryline occurred on May 21. Much more widespread thunderstorm activity took place on May 22 as a cold front sagged south into the area and a strong jet stream developed aloft. Large hail, damaging winds, and flash flooding affected several locations on the 22nd. An EF2 tornado occurred in the Temple area of Central Texas, causing significant damage and injuring dozens of people. A second tornado occurred in Bell County southeast of Temple and was rated an EF-1.

An EF-2 tornado formed near TX-317 between FM 2483 and W Adams Ave where at least a dozen power poles were significantly damaged. The tornado continued to move east/southeast across the Terrace at Lake Pointe subdivision damaging many homes, especially roofs and windows. Significant roof and tree damage was found in the neighborhood south of Tarver Elementary School. At least, four homes lost most of the roof, some outside walls, and sustained significant damage to the windows. Several trees were snapped or uprooted across the neighborhood. Then, the tornado crossed Tanglehead Dr. towards W. Adams Ave damaging many businesses, including stand-alone restaurants, shops, banks, and strip malls. A few of the businesses in this area lost most of their roof (DI 9, DODs 5 &7). Several cars sustained moderate to significant damage and cars were flipped. Most of the power poles were damaged or snapped along W. Adams Ave. The tornado continued to move southeast, crossing Old Waco Rd, damaging other homes and businesses (DI 2, DOD 6). Additional tree damage was found as the tornado tracked across an open field south of W. Adams Ave and west of S Kegley Rd. Maximum estimated winds were 120 mph.

A second tornado developed southeast of Temple near Bob White Rd north of FM-3117 tracking mostly over open field. Major roof damage was found near the intersection of these roads (DI 2, DOD 4). Additional but less extensive roof damage was seen to others homes as the tornado tracked southeast near Heidenheimer Rd. The team also found significant damage to several transmission lines along this area with more than a dozen towers flipped on its side. Many trees along the tornado track were also heavily damaged. Another home on Shaw Rd near Stallion Rd lost all its roof material and most of the wood beams constructing the roof. The tornado lifted soon after crossing Shaw Rd. This tornado was rated EF-1 with maximum estimated winds of 110 mph.

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

31 minutes of warning. NWS FWD issued a tornado warning for this county at 23:02 UTC, 31 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 23:45 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 17:30 UTC and running to 23:41 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 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. 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.

The Ft Hood radar (KGRK), 36 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 23:32 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.

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

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

The live radar over the trackEvery 2024 tornado in TexasEvery tornado in Texas since 1950Warnings in force in Texas nowThe forecast where you are

4 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.