TEMPLE, Texas — The National Weather Service confirmed in a preliminary report Thursday night that two tornadoes, an EF-2 and an EF-1, touched down in the Temple area Wednesday.
Both tornadoes are said to have formed from a "supercell," but damage to the area was also caused by straight line winds that impacted the city Wednesday night.
The first tornado was the EF-2 twister that was initially reported here. It had winds of up to 120 mph and traveled three miles between 6:21 p.m. until 6:26 p.m., according to the NWS.
Below is the reported track of the tornado, according to NWS:
- Formed near TX-317 between FM-2483 and West Adams Avenue
- Moved east/southeast across Terrace at Lake Pointe subdivision
- Crossed Tanglehead Drive toward W. Adams Avenue
- Moved southeast and crossed Old Waco Road then into an open field south of West Adams Avenue and west of S. Kegley Road
According to the NWS, 30 people were injured, but no one died. Many homes and businesses were damaged, which included torn up roofs, outside wall damage, broken windows. Several trees were snapped and also uprooted throughout its path.
The second tornado, an EF-1, was brief and had winds of up to 95 mph. It started minutes after the first tornado at 6:33 p.m. near Little River-Academy, and lasted until 6:35 p.m., according to the NWS.
NWS said started its path near Bob White Road, north of FM-3117, and primarily tracked across an open field, moving southeast near Heidenheimer Road. It lifted shortly after crossing Rabbit Road.
"Additional but less extensive roof damage was seen to others homes as the tornado tracked southeast near Heidenheimer Road," NWS said. "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."
Meanwhile on Friday, NWS confirmed that an EF-1 tornado with an estimated peak winds of 105 mph touched down in McLennan County into Falls County, just east of Bruceville-Eddy, on Thursday.