The December 26, 2015 tornado
EF4Dallas and Rockwall counties, Texas
An EF4 tornado on a 13.0-mile path that killed 10 and injured 468. It was one of 13 tornadoes recorded in the U.S. that day, 2 of them rated F3/EF3 or stronger.
Watch how it happenedEF4 tornado · December 26, 2015
How it happened
Follow the tornado’s path, minute by minute.
The tornado
- Rating
- EF4
- Enhanced Fujita scale
- Path length
- 13.0 mi
- Width up to 550 yards
- Killed
- 10
- Along the whole path
- Injured
- 468
- Along the whole path
- Date and time
- Saturday, December 26, 2015
- 6:46 PM CST
The National Weather Service account
Written by the local Weather Service office after its damage survey.
The Garland and Rowlett tornado began in Sunnyvale, where several mobile homes were destroyed along a wide and long path. The full tornado length was a little over 13 miles, with nearly ten miles within Dallas County. Nine people lost their lives in vehicles as the tornado crossed Interstate 30 at the President George Bush Turnpike. Another male died after sustaining injuries in a collapsed home in Rowlett. Eight of the 10 died that night, but one died on January 8th from his injuries, and another passed away on January 18th. The tornado affected nearly 600 homes in Dallas County, destroying nearly 400 of these homes. Twenty-two businesses were affected by this tornado, with one business being completely destroyed.
The storm system that day
A potent storm system brought deadly tornadoes and severe weather to North Texas on the 26th followed by waves of heavy rainfall that resulted in significant flooding across parts of North and Central Texas. Twelve tornadoes were confirmed on the afternoon and evening of the 26th, killing 13 and injuring over 300. The strongest tornado was an EF-4 that struck the Garland and Rowlett areas of Dallas and Rockwall County and where most of the fatalities occurred. Then the waves of heavy rain persisted through the night of the 27th until the upper level low moved past the region. The heaviest rainfall and thus most significant flooding was along and east of Interstate 35 where an average of 3-6+ of rain fell.
NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
Counties on its path
Storm Prediction Center severe weather database. Path drawn as a straight line from the recorded start to end point.