![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b6/Deer_Park%252C_TX_EF3.png/640px-Deer_Park%252C_TX_EF3.png&w=640&q=50)
2023 Pasadena–Deer Park tornado
EF3 tornado in Texas / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
On the afternoon of January 24, 2023, a large, intense, rain-wrapped tornado moved through the suburbs of Pasadena and Deer Park, in the Houston metropolitan area, Texas, United States.[1][3] The National Weather Service rated the most-severe damage from the tornado was low-end EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita scale with winds estimated at 140 miles per hour (230 km/h).[4][1] The tornado prompted the issuance of a tornado emergency, the first to be issued by the National Weather Service's forecast office in Houston.[5][6][7] The tornado was the strongest cold-season tornado to strike the Houston area since 1992.[8] The staff of KTRK-TV published in December 2023 that the tornado was "hands down the most impactful weather story" covered by the news station during the year.[8] The tornado was part of a small outbreak that produced 14 other tornadoes across Texas, Louisiana, and Florida from January 24–25.[9]
![]() NEXRAD radar data of the EF3 tornado in Deer Park, Texas. An annular ring of debris circling the tornado is visible on the correlation coefficient (bottom left) | |
Meteorological history | |
---|---|
Formed | January 24, 2023, 2:15 p.m. CST (UTC−06:00) |
Dissipated | January 24, 2023, 2:50 p.m. CST (UTC−06:00) |
Duration | 35 minutes |
EF3 tornado | |
on the Enhanced Fujita scale | |
Highest winds | 140 mph (230 km/h)[1] |
Overall effects | |
Fatalities | 0 |
Injuries | 3[2] |
Damage | $6.6 million (2023 USD)[1] |
Part of the tornado outbreaks of 2023 |