BELL COUNTY, Texas (Talk1370.com) -- A preliminary damage survey found that a tornado that struck southern Bell County to the west of Salado Tuesday evening had maximum winds of 165 miles per hour at its peak, officials said Wednesday.
Survey teams from the National Weather Service were on the ground Wednesday to investigate damage from Tuesday's storms. According to the NWS Austin/San Antonio office, teams confirmed EF-1 damage with maximum winds near 100mph north of Florence, which then tracked northeast into Bell County.
Once the tornado moved into Bell County, survey teams found increasing winds and increasing damage, with the tornado ending near Stillhouse Hollow Lake. While the tornado was on the ground in Bell County, it grew to an EF-3 with estimated winds of 165mph.
23 people were injured in the storm, according to Bell County Judge David Blackburn, who spoke live with Talk 1370's Cardle & Woolley Wednesday morning.
Blackburn said of the 23 people, 12 were transported to hospitals with one person believed to have been in critical condition. The other patients refused transport.
One other tornado was seen in Bell County near Seaton, and a third was seen in Coryell County near Fort Gates. Based on the spotter tracks, it's possible that the EF3 tornado near Salado lifted up briefly and touched down again near Seaton.
All of the survey details released on Wednesday are preliminary and subject to further revision, officials said.