2023 Pasadena–Deer Park tornado

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

On January 24, 2023, a large, rain-wrapped tornado swept through the suburbs of Pasadena and Deer Park, near Houston, Texas. It lasted about 35 minutes and reached its strongest level, low-end EF3, with winds around 140 mph. The tornado emergency issued by the National Weather Service was the first of its kind for the Houston forecast office.

The storm began in southeastern Houston and moved northeast, causing damage along its path. It hit the Beamer Place Apartments with significant destruction, damaged two schools, and tore roofs off several homes and buildings. As it crossed I-45, damage ranged from mid-range EF1 to a small EF2 pocket, including the Genoa area and parts of Pasadena where roofs and windows were damaged and trees were downed.

In Pasadena, the tornado caused substantial roof damage and downed trees. It crossed Fairmont Parkway, where the path was about half a mile wide at one point, before entering a subdivision near Bliss Meadows Park with several homes heavily damaged. The storm then damaged a church and a nursing home in Deer Park, snapped trees and power poles, and toppled some cars.

The tornado intensified to its peak strength, EF3, near the San Jacinto Battleground area, where large metal transmission towers were toppled. It then weakened as it moved into Baytown, crossing the Houston Ship Channel at high-end EF1 strength, with some mobile homes damaged or destroyed and houses shifted off foundations. It finally weakened to EF0 before lifting near Interstate 10.

Overall, the Pasadena–Deer Park tornado traveled about 24 miles, caused about $6.6 million in damage, and injured three people. It was the strongest cold-season tornado to hit the Houston area since 1992 and occurred during a two-day outbreak that produced 19 tornadoes across Texas, Louisiana, and Florida. The broader outbreak also included notable EF2 tornadoes in Orange, Texas, and Gaytine, Louisiana. In the aftermath, schools closed for damage assessments, more than 20,000 homes lost power, and community efforts led to actions such as adding warning-tower strobe lights in Deer Park.