A NOAA storm survey team says the uprooted trees and other extensive damage left behind in Elgin after Tuesday's storms came from a weak EF-0 tornado.
With winds up to 85 mph, the twister was on the ground from 5:37 to 5:39 p.m. and likely up to 200 yards wide as it traveled 1.77 miles roughly two to three miles northeast of the center of Elgin.
Here's the detailed summary provided by NOAA:
This tornado was produced by the bookend vortex of a bow echo that moved through the city of Elgin on the afternoon of May 23rd 2017. The tornado began just east of Texas Highway 95 and just north of Roemer Road, where it displaced and flipped a shed off its foundation. The tornado then caused extensive damage to a business along Roemer Road. As it continued to the east-southeast, the tornado ripped the metal roof off a large barn and caused roof damage to a well-built home adjacent to the barn. In the pasture adjacent to these structures, there were multiple pieces of splintered wood that were driven into the ground from the opposite direction from which the storm came. Several cattle and a bull were reportedly thrown about 1500 feet from one pasture into another, jumping a couple of fences in the process. The tornado then completely destroyed an old wooden barn just north of Roemer Road. At this point, the tornado was approximately moving along Roemer Road, and caused some minor tree damage. The tornado then crossed Red Town Road just south of Roemer Road and ended just east of Red Town Road, where it caused some minor damage to a structure.