Power Outage in Clarendon, TX

A tornado touched down on the southwest side of Clarendon, continuing through Greenbelt Reservoir before dissipating northeast of Howardwick. Minor damage to homes and Clarendon College was observed on the west side of Clarendon. The tornado took on a wider path and strengthened as it progressed toward Greenbelt Reservoir causing considerable damage to mobile homes, recreational vehicles, and boating facilities. In addition, several power poles of varying sizes were downed and many trees were snapped in the area.

A tornado touched down on the southwest side of Clarendon, continuing through Greenbelt Reservoir before dissipating northeast of Howardwick. Minor damage to homes and Clarendon College was observed on the west side of Clarendon. The tornado took on a wider path and strengthened as it progressed toward Greenbelt Reservoir causing considerable damage to mobile homes, recreational vehicles, and boating facilities. In addition, several power poles of varying sizes were downed and many trees were snapped in the area.

A combination sleet and freezing rain led to light ice accumulations which caused hazardous driving conditions the morning of Monday, October 26th. On the evening of the 27th, several hours of freezing rain lead to ice accumulations of a quarter to half an inch across much of the county. The higher amounts of half an inch fell in the northern portions of the county adjacent to Gray County. This ice accumulations lead to damaged trees and powerlines with several county residents losing power from this ice storm.

Tree knocked down on powerline.

This was the second of two tornadoes that developed from the same supercell near Howardwick. The tornado motion was somewhat unusual as it moved toward the northwest. Damage from this tornado included broken limbs, trees uprooted, and a power pole was broken at rotten base. This tornado was rated an EF-1 with an estimated peak wind of 94 mph.

A broken line of thunderstorms moved across the southern Texas Panhandle during the evening hours of the 27th. As this line moved over the city of Clarendon (Donley County), a member of the public reported that 3 power poles had been blown down along State Highway 70 by a downburst. There was also heavy damage to two large storage units, and two center pivot irrigation systems were turned. This line continued to move eastward across the southern Texas Panhandle after producing this damage.

The tornado formed in the northwest part of Donley county at 1839 CST three miles south southwest of Jericho and tracked north northwest for about three miles before exiting Donley county one and a half miles west northwest of Jericho at 1848 CST.The tornado continued in Gray county for about another three miles before dissipating at 1854 CST.|Damage was first noted two miles south of Interstate 40 along County Road 9 in northwest Donley County. The roof of a horse barn 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 eleven times and found on its side almost one hundred yards north of its original location. A feeding trough originally near the boxcar was carried one hundred yards northwest of its previous location. Three hundred 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. 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 on the Donley county and Gray county line. 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 completely disrobed some distance away from 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 three hundred pounds were relocated and a fifteen hundred gallon fertilizer tank that was one quarter full was gone.

This tornado developed in northern Donley County near where Farm to Market Road 291 ends and then traveled northeast to near the Donley County and Gray County line and dissipated at 1924 CST about eleven miles east of Jericho. The tornado developed 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 a 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 fencing was destroyed in several locations. 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. Two hundred yards of barbed wire fencing had been rolled into a ball. No injuries were reported.

Power lines reported blown down along U.S. Highway 287 southeast of Giles Texas in Donley County. No injuries were reported.

Rope tornado verified by broadcast media video. Several power lines were knocked down...but otherwise no other damage and no injuries. The tornado occurred over open country and the path length and path width were estimated.

High winds at Clarendon High School knocked over the top two-thirds of one of the light poles at Bronco Stadium. The steel pole snapped electric lines and disrupted power in the city for half an hour. The pole fell on top of the south wall of the stadium but did not damage the historic rock wall.

The Grass Fire 287 & 20 wildfire began at 1345CST about three miles southeast of Lelia Lake Texas in Donley County just south of U.S. Highway 287 and then east right off of County Road 20. The wildfire consumed six hundred and forty acres and was caused by downed power lines. The wildfire began from U.S. Highway 287 to County Road X and then from County Road 20 to two-thirds of the way to County Road 22. There were no reports of structures were lost, however two homes were threatened but were saved. There was a report of pasture and some fence damage. There were no reports of any injuries or fatalities. The Clarendon VFD and the Memphis Fire Department responded to the wildfire which was contained and controlled at 1810CST.

The Windy Valley Fire began around 1511CST in Donley county about four miles south of Lelia Lake. The wildfire consumed an estimated six hundred and twenty acres and was caused by downed power lines. One home and two other structures were threatened but none were lost. There were no injuries or fatalities reported. The wildfire was contained around 2100CST and a total of four fire departments/agencies responded to the wildfire.