16 tornadoes confirmed to hit North Texas last week, National Weather Service says
The Dec. 13 storms spawned at least 16 confirmed tornadoes across North Texas, including six in Tarrant County, the National Weather Service said Monday in an update on its preliminary damage survey.
The tornadoes swept along a northeast track from Cisco in Eastland County to Paris in Lamar County.
At least six tornadoes touched down in Tarrant County, causing streaks of damage between Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth to Grapevine. Two of the tornadoes were EF-0, with 65 mph to 85 mph winds. The other four were EF-1, with winds up to 110 mph. Other affected areas included Sansom Park, North Richland Hills and near Meacham Airport.
Farther north in Wise County, an EF-2 tornado with winds up to 125 mph traveled a long path near Decatur, and a tornado with 85 mph winds hit northwest of Callisburg, east of Interstate 35 near the Oklahoma border.
The National Weather Service reported that there was an EF-2 tornado with 125-mile per hour winds south of Eastland. The weather service also reported that there was a “short track” of damage from 90 mph winds south of Bluffdale in Erath County which was likely a straight-line wind surge.
Matt Stalley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Fort Worth, said that while tornadoes are more common in the spring, it’s not unusual to see tornadoes this time of year.
In 2015, an EF-4 tornado swept through Garland and Rowlett with winds up to 200 mph.
“Yesterday’s storms were less violent than those we saw in 2015,” Stalley said on Dec. 14.
The Tuesday severe weather outbreak was triggered by a major winter storm that was bringing snow and ice to the Midwest and East Coast.
In Grapevine, five people were injured.
Grapevine Middle School had roof and water damage.
In North Richland Hills, 20 homes and businesses were damaged, according to police.
Tornadoes also caused havoc in Wise County, where homes were damaged near Decatur and a semi overturned.
Gina Wilken, a public affairs specialist with State Farm, said the insurer had received approximately 360 claims from the storms as of Wednesday. A third of those were from Rockwall County, with 35% of the claims for wind and 30% for hail damage.
This story was originally published December 14, 2022 at 4:30 PM.