SPC Stats

Path length: 10.6 miles

Width:  100 yards

Fatalities:  0

Injuries:  0

Rating:  F5

County:  McLennan, Bosque

This F5 tornado traveled 10 miles through parts of McLennan and Bosque Counties in Texas.  It formed 5 miles south of Valley Mills and moved due north.  The max width was 100 yards.  There were no injuries or fatalities reported with this event.  Two barns were demolished with only a small piece of tin remaining in the area.

Per Thomas Grazulis in Significant Tornadoes, “The F5 rating was applied by wind engineers and is based on reliable reports that one pickup truck was carried, in the air, for a half mile.  Another one was carried for 200 yards.”

I did not find much information on this tornado in newspaper articles.  If anyone has information on this event, please let us know!  Contact Us

Tornado Path

Click Map To Enlarge

SPC coordinates:  Start: 31.63 / -97.48   End:  31.73 / -97.35      

Note:  Exact tornado path may not be straight and/or continuous.

Newspaper Clippings

Discrepancies:

We gathered information for this event from the SPC & NCDC Databases, the May 1973 Storm Data Publication and Thomas Grazulis in Significant Tornadoes and found the following differences:

Path Length:

  • SPC/NCDC has the length at 10.6 miles.
  • Grazulis and Storm Data list a 10 mile path.

Counties:

  • NCDC doesn’t list Bosque County.  They have all stats in McLennan County.
  • Remaining sources list both counties.

      Sources:

      The Storm Prediction Center

      NCDC Storm Events Database

      May 1973 Storm Data Publication

      newspapers.com

      Grazulis, Thomas P. (1993). Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events. St. Johnsbury, VT: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films. Page 1139.

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