Videos show tornado rip through Texas

Video has been posted on social media showing two tornadoes that struck western Texas on Thursday.

The footage posted on X, formerly Twitter, shows separate twisters near El Campo in Wharton County and in the Crosby area of Harris County. No injuries have been reported in either incident but three farms in Wharton County were damaged, according to authorities.

Newsweek has contacted the Texas Division of Emergency Management via email outside of regular office hours.

The Context

Tornadoes can be devastating in Texas, with one tornado that hit the northern part of the Lonestar State leaving seven dead in May 2024 after it ripped through a truck stop.

While tornadoes primarily occur during the summer months they do also occur in winter, particularly in the southeastern U.S. and in the Gulf Coast states. According to the Weather Channel, Texas has averaged 124 tornadoes per year between 2003 and 2022, more than any other state.

Texas was struck with severe storms earlier this week, which prompted flash flood warnings on Tuesday from the National Weather Service (NWS). According to the federal agency, heavy rain and powerful winds caused a flash flood risk on Thursday in the Dallas/Fort Worth area of Texas, potentially impacting some families trying to head home after Christmas Day.

What To Know

On Thursday, the Wharton County Sheriff’s Office reported a tornado “in the area of Highway 59 and the El Campo truck stop heading northeast toward Pierce” and urged anybody in the area to “seek shelter immediately,” according to local network Click 2 Houston.

A 16-second clip of the tornado was posted on X by the Live Storm Chasers account, which has over 40,000 followers and tracks extreme weather events. In the footage, a tornado can be seen across the road from a group of people inside a building, one of whom urges others to “come inside” as “we’re about to lock the door.” The footage received over 580,000 views on the platform.

Local network Click 2 Houston said there were no reports of injuries in the incidents but that three farms were damaged.

The second tornado took place in Harris County, with local network KFDM being informed by one viewer that it struck shortly before 4 p.m. local time.

Footage of the twister was shared on X by freelance meteorologist and self-confessed “tornado geek” Kody Wilson, who wrote: “My friend Jocelyn Kmiecik just sent me this video from Crosby, Texas looking north at a tornado that moved across Lake Houston.”

In the 12-second video a tornado can be seen over a body of water, while a woman comments: “No I’m dead serious Mom. It’s on the water right now.” The clip received over 110,000 views. Newsweek has not independently verified the two videos.

What People Are Saying

Speaking to Newsweek on Thursday, before reports of the second tornado, NWS meteorologist Sean Luchs said: “So far we have seen one [tornado] touch down near El Campo and Wharton, Texas around 2:20 p.m. It’s not rare, but I wouldn’t call it terribly common either. Severe weather events with tornadoes are definitely something that has and can happen around here in December.”

In a separate incident on Thursday, Weather Channel field reporter Charles Peek shared photographs on X of “likely tornado damage in Liberty County, TX.” The three images showed a number of trees had been brought down, one of which crashed into a trailer home, breaking the roof.

What Happens Next

NWS dense fog advisory alerts are in place across northern areas of Texas on Friday, with the fog expected to dissipate by midday.

After the fog clears, conditions over Texas are expected to settle heading into the weekend.