EF2 tornado, Warfield to (Maf) Midland Intl, Texas, May 30, 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 mph

   Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

3. 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.

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

EF2

Date

May 30, 2024

Touchdown

5:10 PM CDT (22:10 UTC)

Lifted

5:41 PM CDT (22:41 UTC)

On the ground

31 minutes

Path length

10.3 miles (16.5 km)

Path width

1,700 yards (1554 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Property damage

$75,000

County

Midland County

Touchdown point

31.920, -102.230

Lift-off point

31.810, -102.220

Record number

2405301610-01

48 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS MAF, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EFU. The highest wind the damage implies is 140 mph.

• The tornado continued to intensify as it quickly moved to the southwest. KMAF radar indicated a peak VROT of approximately 90-100 knots at 550 ft AGL at this time. The lack of damage indicators at this time may have precluded a higher rating for this tornado.
• The tornado likely continued to travel slowly to the southwest. The circulation begins to broaden and weaken while the TDS begins to dissipate. The tornado likely dissipated near this location based on KMAF radar data.
• Likely RFD wind damage snapped 24 power poles along FM1788 west of Midland International.
• Broken power poles reported at CR 1296 and Business 20. This damage was caused by RFD winds. Time is estimated from radar.

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

A dryline would set up and become focused near the Texas/New Mexico state line south into the Lower Trans Pecos during the afternoon. At the same time, a southwestward advancing outflow boundary generated by a convective system east of the region would interact with the dryline. Initial thunderstorm development occurred near the Stockton Plateau and Llano Estecado. These thunderstorms would mainly produce instances of very large hail through the evening. A separate prolific severe weather-producing supercell would quickly develop at the intersection of the dryline and outflow boundary. This supercell would impact portions of Ector, Midland, and Upton Counties, producing several tornadoes, very large hail, damaging winds, and flash flooding.

This tornado likely began as a weak, uncondensed tornado near Highway 80 and FM 1788, causing minor damage as it tracked towards I-20 and FM 1788. The tornado was then observed crossing I-20 and becoming a dusty circulation, causing damage to power poles, buildings, and RVs near CR1270. NWS employees could see this tornado from the office to the south of I-20. A strong RFD surge overtook the circulation after this time. Reports indicated the tornado may have dissipated, but it most likely became shrouded in rain and dust as a very intense couplet quickly developed as the circulation moved south-southwest. A VROT of 90-100 knots was observed on KMAF radar data at its peak. Limited damage indicators existed during its peak intensity. Minor damage was reported southeast after this time as the circulation slowly weakened and broadened, potentially becoming a larger, multivortex circulation. This tornado likely reached its peak width of approximately a mile wide at this time. This tornado likely dissipated a short time later to the southwest as the TDS dissipated. Property damage cost is an estimation.

NWS employees spotted a secondary, smaller, and weaker circulation to the east of the strengthening Warfield tornado. The NWS survey team was unable to find damage in the area, as this weak satellite tornado likely occurred over open terrain. This tornado was, therefore, rated EF-Unknown. The time and location of this brief tornado are estimated from radar data and reports.

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

5 minutes of warning. NWS MAF issued a tornado warning for this county at 22:05 UTC, 5 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 22:30 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 20:32 UTC and running to 02:00 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 20:06 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 Midland/Odessa radar (KMAF), 9 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 22:12 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

11 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.