'' publication from the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The tornado touched down northwest of Loyal Valley near the
Llano River. The
National Weather Service (NWS) office in
San Angelo noted that this was an extremely slow-moving tornado, which tracked approximately . One home was completely swept away, with its foundation said to be gone. Parts of a pickup truck were found from the house. A reporter said: "I hadn't seen anything like that. I couldn't believe what it did to animals. This was wiped clean, too, but the cattle – their hides had been ripped right off of them. Some of them were missing heads, and some were caught up and entwined in barbed wire." Meteorologist Bill Hecke believed the tornado was capable of devastation comparable to that suffered by
Oklahoma City in the Bridge Creek–Moore tornado or damage from the
1997 Jarrell F5 Tornado.
Possible F5 intensity In 2023, the NWS office in San Angelo stated this was the strongest tornado ever recorded in their forecasting area and that "considerations were made for an F5 rating". However, the survey found that the structures impacted were not built well enough to ultimately warrant the F5 rating. ==See also==