EF3 tornado, (Maf) Midland Intl to Midkiff, 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 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 mphthis tornado

   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

EF3

Date

May 30, 2024

Touchdown

6:40 PM CDT (23:40 UTC)

Lifted

7:05 PM CDT (00:05 UTC)

On the ground

25 minutes

Path length

5.3 miles (8.6 km)

Path width

250 yards (229 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Property damage

$150,000

Counties

Midland and Upton counties

Touchdown point

31.660, -102.070

Lift-off point

31.640, -102.150

Record number

2405301740-01

24 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS MAF, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF3. 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.
• Odessa FD/PD responded to an overturned double wide home along CR 172. This was likely the result of RFD winds on the backside of the tornadic circulation. Time is estimated from radar.
• 13 poles broken in a non continuous line

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 was reported to have begun as a large tornado very near the Midland/Upton County line by multiple observers. This tornado began to move towards the west, growing in size and increasing in intensity as it caused EF-3 damage to vegetation and heavy oil equipment. Ground scouring was noted along this portion of the damage path. The tornado may have been nearly stationary for a short time before moving back to the west, continuing to cause damage to vegetation, power poles, and oil equipment. During this portion of the path, the tornado would cross from Midland County into Upton County, a short distance from FM 1788. Eventually, the tornado began to dissipate as it continued towards the west-southwest as a stringing cone tornado before ending. Property damage cost is an estimation.

This tornado was reported to have begun as a large tornado very near the Midland/Upton County line by multiple observers. This tornado began to move towards the west, growing in size and increasing in intensity as it caused EF-3 damage to vegetation and heavy oil equipment. Ground scouring was noted along this portion of the damage path. The tornado may have been nearly stationary for a short time before moving back to the west, continuing to cause damage to vegetation, power poles, and oil equipment. During this portion of the path, the tornado would cross from Midland County into Upton County, a short distance from FM 1788. Eventually, the tornado began to dissipate as it continued towards the west-southwest as a stringing cone tornado before ending. Property damage cost is an estimation.

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

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down. One was issued for the county at another hour that day.

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 Slight 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.

Midland Intl (MAF), 34 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

The Midland/Odessa radar (KMAF), 33 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 23:40 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.