| 2007 Piedras Negras-Eagle Pass tornadoes | |
| Damage to a mobile home from the 2007 Piedras Negras-Eagle Pass tornadoes | |
| Date of tornado: | April 24, 2007 |
| Time: | 6:00 pm |
| Rating of tornadoes: | One F4, one EF3 |
| Damages: | |
| Fatalities: | 10 |
| Area affected: | Coahuila & Texas |
The 2007 Piedras Negras-Eagle Pass tornadoes were a deadly pair of tornadoes that struck the border cities of Piedras Negras, Coahuila, and Eagle Pass, Texas, along the United States-Mexican border on April 24, 2007. At least 10 people died as a result of the tornadoes: seven in the US and three in Mexico.
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The supercell producing at least two tornadoes first formed in northern Coahuila around 6:00 pm CDT (2300 UTC) and tracked eastward. It further developed, and became a right-moving supercell as it approached the city of Piedras Negras, where large tornado was reported to have touched down. At least three people were killed and 87 were injured as the tornado moved through Piedras Negras.[1] Dozens of houses and cars were damaged (with structural damage to some houses) and power poles were knocked down.[2] That tornado was rated "F4" on the Fujita scale.[3]
A second, EF3 tornado then formed across the Rio Grande in Texas. In Eagle Pass (about 150 miles (240 km) southwest of San Antonio) Rosita Valley Elementary School was destroyed, more than 300 houses were damaged or destroyed (including 198 mobile homes)[4] and the municipal water treatment plant was also destroyed. Several mobile homes were reportedly flattened and "blown away" by the tornadoes.[2] The hardest-hit neighborhoods were just south of Eagle Pass, where seven died, including five in a single mobile home. In addition, 76 others were injured. The Texas Army National Guard, Texas State Guard and Border Patrol were quickly on the scene looking for additional victims.[5] This was the first of only a dozen tornadoes in the history of Maverick County (where Eagle Pass is located) to produce any fatalities. The system that spawned the deadly tornado also spawned 80 tornadoes from April 22 to April 29, 2007.
In both communities, hundreds were left homeless after the tornadoes.[4]
The tornadoes were part of two tornado outbreak sequences that lasted from April 20 to April 27. The first outbreak produced several strong tornadoes across western Texas on April 21 while the second outbreak produced tornadoes from Texas to the Ohio Valley from April 26. A total of 93 tornadoes were confirmed during those two outbreak sequences but no other fatalities were reported beside the Piedras Negras and the Eagle Pass Tornadoes.
| Confirmed Total |
Confirmed EF0 |
Confirmed EF1 |
Confirmed EF2 |
Confirmed EF3 |
Confirmed EF4 |
Confirmed EF5 |
| 93 | 61 | 23 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 |