A San Angelo National Weather Service team of meteorologists surveyed damage from Tuesday night’s storm in Zephyr and determined the damage was caused by an EF 1 tornado.  Wind speeds were estimated to be between 86 and 110 mph, mostly likely around 90 mph.  The tornado touched down at 3:19 am .4 miles northwest of Zephyr and traveled 1.4 miles, lifting just two minutes later, at 3:21 am, one mile east of Zephyr.  It was 230 yards wide.  (EF stands for Enhanced Fujita – a damage scale named for Dr. Ted Fujita, a prominent Japanese-American severe storms researcher)

The tornado overturned a small residence and threw it 50 feet from its foundation.  The tornado tore off several roofs, destroyed awnings and power lines, snapped power poles and trees and damaged a grandstand.  The tornado also wrapped the metal off a roof tightly around a tree as it blew out the wall of a store.

Fortunately the young man in the house was not injured.  Shown in the photo is the Petty building which was in the direct path of the tornado.