SUMMARY OF THE GRAY AND DONLEY TORNADOES OF 28 MARCH 2007 BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN AMARILLO...

JERICHO TORNADO:
EF-2 (MAX WINDS 110-137 MPH)
PATH LENGTH: 5 MILES
MAX WIDTH: 600 YARDS
TIME BEGAN: 7:39 PM...ENDED 7:54 PM
2 INJURIES / 0 FATALITIES

THE TORNADO FORMED APPROXIMATELY 5 MILES SOUTHEAST OF JERICHO.
DAMAGE WAS FIRST NOTED 2 MILES SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 40 ALONG
COUNTY ROAD 9. THE ROOF OF A HORSE BARN BUILT IN 1929 WAS
COMPLETELY DESTROYED...AS WAS THE REAR ROOM ADDITION. BESIDE THE
BARN...WELDED STEEL FENCING WAS BENT OR MILDLY TWISTED. A
REFRIGERATED BOXCAR THAT HAD CONTAINED TOOLS AND HORSE FEED WAS
ROLLED NORTHWARD 11 TIMES AND FOUND ON ITS SIDE ALMOST 100 YARDS
NORTH OF ITS ORIGINAL LOCATION. A FEEDING TROUGH ORIGINALLY NEAR THE
BOXCAR WAS CARRIED 100 YARDS NORTHWEST OF ITS PREVIOUS LOCATION. 300
YARDS AWAY...THE MOBILE HOME OF THE PROPERTY OWNER SUFFERED ONLY
MINOR DAMAGE.

ONE MILE NORTH NORTHWEST OF THIS LOCATION...A LARGE HOME APPARENTLY
LOST A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF ITS ROOF. FLOODED ROADWAYS PREVENTED A
CLOSE INSPECTION OF THIS SITE. AN IRRIGATION PIVOT WAS OVERTURNED IN
A FIELD JUST NORTHWEST OF THE HOME.
THE MOST SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE FROM THIS TORNADO OCCURRED TO THREE
SEMI TRUCKS THAT WERE CAUGHT AND BADLY DAMAGED IN THE TORNADO ON
INTERSTATE 40. IN THIS AREA...POWER POLES WERE SNAPPED NEAR THEIR
BASES. THE CAB OF ONE OF THE SEMI TRUCKS WAS REPORTEDLY LIFTED AND
DEPOSITED ATOP ITS TRAILER. THE DRIVER AND HIS WIFE WERE SUCKED OUT
OF THE CAB. THE DRIVER WAS FOUND COMPLETELY DISROBED SOME DISTANCE
AWAY THE TRUCK. HIS CLOTHING WAS FOUND TANGLED IN THE ENGINE OF THE
TRUCK. THE DRIVER AND HIS WIFE WERE REPORTED TO BE IN CRITICAL AND
SERIOUS CONDITION...RESPECTIVELY. ADDITIONALLY...THE CAB WAS CRUSHED
TO THE STEERING COLUMN. THE TRAILER ROOF APPEARED TO HAVE BEEN PRIED
UP AND TWISTED...AND AT LEAST ONE OF THE SIDE WALLS FAILED. THE
CONTENTS OF THE TRUCK WERE SCATTERED DOWNSTREAM INTO A FIELD FOR
NEARLY A MILE. IN THIS FIELD...IRRIGATION PIVOTS WERE OVERTURNED. THE
PROPERTY OWNER ALSO REPORTED THAT IRRIGATION PIVOT TIRES WEIGHING
300 POUNDS WERE RELOCATED AND A 1500 GALLON FERTILIZER TANK THAT WAS
ONE QUARTER FULL WAS GONE.

LIGHT DAMAGE WAS OBSERVED ALONG VERNON ROAD...WHERE METAL ROOFING
DAMAGE WAS OBSERVED TO BARNS...STABLES...AND SHEDS. A LARGE QUANTITY
OF METAL ROOFING PANELS WAS ALSO FOUND SOUTH OF THESE BUILDINGS...
WITH SEVERAL TWISTED AROUND FENCEPOSTS AND TREES. THE TORNADO
DISSIPATED JUST NORTH OF THIS AREA.
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TORNADO #1:
RATED EF-2 (MAX WINDS 110-137 MPH)
PATH LENGTH: 2 MILES
MAX WIDTH: 0.3 MILES
TORNADO BEGAN 7:46 PM...ENDED 7:50 PM
0 INJURIES / 0 FATALITIES

THE TORNADO DEVELOPED ABOUT 6 MILES NORTHWEST OF HEDLEY IN EAST
CENTRAL DONLEY COUNTY. THE INITIAL PHASE OF THIS TORNADO WAS FAIRLY
WEAK WITH MINOR DAMAGE OCCURRING TO A TIN ROOF...FENCES...AND SMALL
TREE LIMBS. THE TORNADO BECAME PROGRESSIVELY STRONGER...RESULTING IN
THE TOTAL REMOVAL OF DEER BLINDS AND CONSIDERABLE LOSS OF METAL
ROOFING TO A HOME AND THE DETACHED GARAGE. THE WORST DAMAGE OCCURRED
NEAR THE END OF THE TORNADO. NUMEROUS LARGE TREE LIMBS WERE DOWNED
AND SEVERAL TREE TRUNKS WERE SNAPPED AT THE BASE. A LARGE BARN WAS
NEARLY COMPLETELY SWEPT AWAY...WITH PORTIONS OF THE STRUCTURE FOUND
UP TO 500 YARDS AWAY. SEVERAL POWER POLES WERE SNAPPED AND CARRIED
OVER 20 YARDS. A LARGE HITCH TRAILER WAS CARRIED AWAY FROM BESIDE
THE BARN AND DEPOSITED IN A NEARBY TREE. A VAN WAS ALSO DISPLACED
INTO A GROVE OF TREES NEAR GROUND LEVEL.
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TORNADO #2:
RATED EF-2 (MAX WINDS 110-137 MPH)
PATH LENGTH: 5 MILES
MAX WIDTH: 200 YARDS
TORNADO BEGAN 8:13 PM...ENDED 8:24 PM
0 INJURIES / 0 FATALITIES
THE TORNADO DEVELOPED APPROXIMATELY 6 TO 7 MILES SOUTHWEST OF MCLEAN
OVER RANCH LAND INITIALLY CAUSING SPORADIC DAMAGE TO TREES AND
FENCES. THE FIRST CONTINUOUS TRACK OF DAMAGE ENCOUNTERED WAS TO A
NEWLY CONSTRUCTED HOME...WHICH SUSTAINED TOTAL ROOF LOSS AS THE ROOF
WAS LIFTED...DESTROYED...AND SCATTERED OVER A MILE NORTHWARD. THE
HOUSE WALLS WERE CONSTRUCTED OF REINFORCED CONCRETE AND WERE LEFT
INTACT...SUFFERING ONLY WINDBLOWN HAIL DAMAGE TO THEIR STUCCO
EXTERIOR. A FEW POWER POLES WERE ALSO SNAPPED IN THE VICINITY OF THE
HOME. ON THE RANCH TO THE NORTH OF THE HOME...SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO
HARDWOOD TREES WAS ENCOUNTERED /RANGING FROM SNAPPED LARGE BRANCHES
TO SNAPPED TRUNKS/. POWER POLES WERE ALSO SNAPPED ON THE PROPERTY...
AND IN SEVERAL LOCATIONS FENCING WAS DESTROYED. THE WORST DAMAGE ON
THIS RANCH WAS SUSTAINED IN AN AREA OF DENSE TREE COVERAGE...WHERE
TREETOPS WERE SHEARED OFF...INTACT TREES WERE DEFOLIATED AND LARGE
TRUNKS WERE SNAPPED. FIVE TO SIX FOOT TALL GRASSES AND WEEDS WERE
TRUNCATED ABOUT ONE FOOT FROM THE GROUND. 200 YARDS OF BARBED WIRE
FENCING HAD BEEN ROLLED INTO A BALL...AND SEVERAL DEER CARCASSES WERE
ENCOUNTERED ALSO. THE TORNADO DAMAGE PATH ENDED ON THE RANCH LAND TO
THE WEST OF HIGHWAY 273 BEFORE A NEW TORNADO DEVELOPED SOUTHEAST OF
MCLEAN.
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TORNADO #3:
RATED EF-2 (MAX WINDS 110-137 MPH)
PATH LENGTH: 5 MILES ESTIMATED
MAX WIDTH: 200 YARDS
TORNADO BEGAN 8:23 PM...ENDED 8:38 PM
0 FATALITIES / 0 INJURIES

THE TORNADO LIKELY DEVELOPED TWO MILES SOUTHEAST OF MCLEAN IN
SOUTHEASTERN GRAY COUNTY /IT IS UNCLEAR IF THE TORNADO CROSSED
INTERSTATE 40/. THE TORNADO MOVED NORTH NORTHEAST ACROSS EASTERN
PORTIONS OF MCLEAN. A MAX WIND SPEED OF 127 MPH WAS REPORTED AT 8:35
PM AT THE WEST TEXAS MESONET WEATHER STATION...1 MILE EAST OF MCLEAN.
THE TORNADO LIFTED 3 MILES NORTHEAST OF MCLEAN.
MAJOR DAMAGE ASSOCIATED WITH THIS TORNADO INCLUDED THE FOLLOWING.
THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION METEOROLOGICAL TOWER WAS
BENT AT A 90 DEGREE ANGLE TO THE GROUND 1 MILE SOUTHEAST OF MCLEAN.
APPROXIMATELY 500 YARDS TO THE NORTH NORTHEAST OF THIS TOWER...A
METAL VETERINARY CLINIC HAD A TXDOT HIGHWAY SIGN IMPACT THE BUILDING
AND PENETRATE THE METAL SIDING AND ALSO LOST PART OF THE TIN FROM
THE ROOF. ONE HUNDRED YARDS TO THE NORTH AND SLIGHTLY WEST OF THE
VETERINARY CLINIC WAS A HOUSE THAT SUFFERED EXTENSIVE ROOF DAMAGE.
A SMALL SECTION OF THE ROOF WAS COMPLETELY REMOVED. ALTHOUGH ONLY A
SMALL SECTION OF THE ROOF WAS DESTROYED...INDICATIONS THROUGHOUT THE
HOUSE SHOW THAT THE ENTIRE ROOF STRUCTURE ATTEMPTED TO BE LIFTED
FROM THE WALLS. A LARGE BARN WAS ALSO DESTROYED ALONG WITH SOME
TREE DAMAGE OCCURRED JUST NORTHEAST OF MCLEAN DURING THE FINAL
STAGES OF THE TORNADO.

MINOR DAMAGE WAS ENCOUNTERED ALONG COUNTY ROAD Y...WHERE METAL
ROOFING WAS LOST FROM A LARGE METAL SHED. METAL LAWN AND PORCH
FURNITURE WAS MANGLED AND RELOCATED...A LARGE SATELLITE DISH
SUFFERED MINOR DAMAGE TO ITS MESH LINING...AND A FEW LARGE BRANCHES
WERE SNAPPED FROM NEARBY TREES. AN EMPTY FERTILIZER BIN ALSO
DISAPPEARED. THE TORNADO DISSIPATED NORTH OF COUNTY ROAD Y.
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TORNADO #4:
RATED EF-3 (MAX WINDS 138-167 MPH)
PATH LENGTH: 7 MILES
MAX WIDTH: 1 MILE
TORNADO BEGAN 8:45 PM...ENDED 9:00 PM
0 FATALITIES / 0 INJURIES

THIS TORNADO DEVELOPED FROM THE SAME STORM THAT MOVED JUST EAST OF
MCLEAN. THE INITIAL CIRCULATION DEVELOPED 8 MILES NORTH NORTHEAST
OF MCLEAN AT 8:45 PM AND WAS INITIALLY MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH.
AS IT CROSSED FM 2473 AT THE MCCLELLAN CREEK BRIDGE...HIGH-TENSION
POWER LINES SUPPORTED BY DOUBLE WOODEN POLE STRUCTURES WERE BROKEN
OR SNAPPED AT THE GROUND AT SEVERAL LOCATIONS. NUMEROUS HARD
AND SOFTWOOD TREES WERE DEBARKED WITH ONLY STUBS REMAINING. AT 8:49
PM...THE TORNADO MOVED MORE NORTHWESTERLY AND ACCELERATED TO 45 MPH.
A LOCAL RANCHER...WHO LIVES ABOUT 7 MILES NORTHWEST OF KELLERVILLE
HEARD THE TORNADO APPROACHING AND TOOK SHELTER. DAMAGE TO HIS
PROPERTY INCLUDED A COVERED PORCH THAT WAS COMPLETELY BLOWN OFF AND
STEEL ROOFING WAS PEELED BACK ON THE SOUTHWARD FACING SIDE. A BRICK
CHIMNEY ALSO COLLAPSED. SEVERAL TREES...AS MUCH AS 200 FEET FROM
THE WEST EDGE OF THE HOUSE...WERE BLOWN DOWN. A BUNKHOUSE ON THE
PROPERTY LOST HALF OF THE ROOF. THE STEEL ROOF ON THE RESIDENCE
HOME WAS PEELED BACK. AN ANCHORED LARGE STEEL FEED BUNK WAS PULLED
OUT OF THE GROUND. SEVERAL POWER POLES WERE ALSO SNAPPED AT THE
GROUND.
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LEFORS TORNADO #1:
RATED EF-0 (MAX WINDS 65-85 MPH)
PATH LENGTH: LESS THAN 1 MILE
MAX WIDTH: 50 YARDS
TIME BEGAN: 8:30 PM...ENDED AT 8:30 PM
0 INJURIES / 0 FATALITIES

A BRIEF TORNADO OCCURRED ALONG HIGHWAY 273 EAST SOUTHEAST OF MCLEAN.
THIS TORNADO FORMED FROM THE SAME STORM THAT SPAWNED THE JERICHO
TORNADO. A SEMI TRUCK HEADING WEST EXPERIENCED A VERY STRONG
NORTHERLY WIND THAT FORCED HIM INTO...AND LEFT HIM STRADDLING...THE
GUARDRAIL ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THIS HIGHWAY. EAST OF THIS LOCATION...
A TREE SUFFERED CONSIDERABLE DAMAGE TO ITS LARGE BRANCHES AND
OFFSHOOTS OF ITS TRUNK...SEVERAL OF WHICH WERE SNAPPED.
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LEFORS TORNADO #2:
RATED EF-1 (MAX WINDS 86-109 MPH)
PATH LENGTH: 1 MILE
MAX WIDTH: 50 YARDS
TIME BEGAN: 8:36 PM...ENDED AT 8:37 PM
0 INJURIES / 0 FATALITIES

A SECOND BRIEF TORNADO OCCURRED ALONG THE SOUTHEAST OUTSKIRTS OF
MCLEAN...PERHAPS A REDEVELOPMENT OF TORNADO #1.
THE MOST SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE WAS TO DETACHED GARAGES. ONE GARAGE
WAS COMPLETELY DESTROYED...WITH DEBRIS FROM THIS BUILDING FOUND IN
A NEARBY TREES. A TRAVEL TRAILER PARKED NEXT TO THE GARAGE WAS MOVED
40 YARDS TO AND DESTROYED. LARGE TREE BRANCHES WERE SNAPPED AS
WELL.

A SECOND WELL CONSTRUCTED GARAGE WITH STEEL ROOFING BEAMS SUFFERED
DAMAGE AS WELL. ROOF PANELING WAS PEELED SOUTHWARD. AT THE NORTH
SIDE OF THE GARAGE WAS AN INTERIOR ROOM WHICH SUFFERED DAMAGE AS THE
GROUND LEVEL WALL MOUNTED AIR CONDITIONER WAS PULLED INWARD INTO THE
ROOM AS THE GARAGE DOOR FAILED AND BLEW OUTWARD. POWER POLES WERE
SNAPPED AT 6 FOOT LEVEL ALONG WITH CONSIDERABLE FENCE DAMAGE. THE
NORTH FACING PORCH STRUCTURE WAS DAMAGED. A LARGE 1950S CAR WAS MOVED
APPROXIMATELY 15 YARDS...AND ROTATED CYCLONICALLY FROM ITS ORIGINAL
POSITION. TWO LARGE TANKS...EACH WEIGHING 2000 POUNDS...WERE MOVED 75
YARDS.
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ALL DAMAGE SURVEYS HAVE BEEN COMPLETED AT THIS TIME. THE NATIONAL
WEATHER SERVICE IN AMARILLO WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE LAW
ENFORCEMENT...EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT...LOCAL OFFICIALS...STORM SPOTTERS
AND OTHERS THAT ASSISTED IN DAMAGE SURVEYS. THE NWS ALSO APPRECIATES
THE PUBLIC FOR ITS COOPERATION AS DAMAGE WAS ASSESSED IN THE WAKE OF
THIS HISTORIC EVENT. FOR DETAILED INFORMATION VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT
WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/AMA