Multiple tornadoes tore through the Texas Panhandle on Monday, knocking down power lines and damaging a closed Halliburton plant, The National Weather Service reported.
"There were at least two long-track tornadoes on the ground for more than two minutes, and we did have additional reports of tornadoes up near Booker," said weather service meteorologist Nicholas Fenner. "We're also looking near Claude, Groom, Pampa, Miami, Canadian and near Booker."
The weather service sent storm surveyors to assess the damage and determine the exact number of tornadoes that touched down, and as of Wednesday morning, they've surveyed and rated three tornadoes with the Enhanced Fujita scale, used to rate the strength of tornadoes in the United States and Canada based on the amount of damage they cause. Two were rated as an EF3 and one as an EF2, according to KOCO-TV.
One EF3 had winds estimated to be 155 mph and destroyed a Halliburton plant, reported CBS News. The tornado formed a little after 7 p.m. south of Pampa and remained on the ground for 11 miles. The other EF3 had winds estimated to be 140 mph, touching down 16 miles south of Pampa at 6:30 p.m. and remaining on the ground for 35 miles.
The EF2 had winds of up to 115 mph, touching down northwest of Groom at 6:42 p.m. and remaining on the ground for 10 miles.
While there was a plethora of property damage, no fatalities or injuries have been reported, according to CBS's Texas affiliate KFDA-TV.
November is an unusual time of year for tornadoes to hit the region. In fact, since 1950, when records first started being kept, no tornadoes have been recorded in the Texas Panhandle in November.
