Survey Team Confirms Long-Track, Strong EF1 Tornado Hit East Texas

The National Weather Service office in Shreveport conducted a storm survey on Sunday, April 6, for the area in Northeast Texas, starting near Lake Hawkins and extending to Gilmer Lake.

The damage assessment team concluded that on Friday, April 4, a long-track tornado stayed on the ground for 31 minutes, travelling 20.63 miles, with estimated top winds of 110 mph (strong EF1)

NWS Tornado Survey Summary

On Friday, April 4, a tornado touched down at 4:30 p.m., approximately 3.5 miles west-northwest of Hawkins, Texas. This is located between State Highway 80 and the West Upper Lake portion of Lake Hawkins. The tornado traveled northeast.

A fairly intense and concentrated area of snapped pine trees was observed by the NWS survey team along County Road 3440. More tree damage was noted on County Roads 3431 and 3419.

One home lost a few metal roof panels, while a carport at another location was destroyed. No injuries were reported during this path of the tornado.

READ MORE: Deadliest Tornadoes in Texas History

As the tornado continued a few miles north of Hawkins, significant roof damage was reported at an Ozarka (Nestle) water bottling plant. One injury occurred to a driver in a semi-truck at the 400,000 square foot facility.

This is the second time in 10 years that this water bottling plant has suffered damage from a tornado.

The tornado stretched to its widest length (1420 yards) as it continued east of Holly Lake Ranch. It continued northeast, snapping and uprooting more trees as it crossed Texas Highway 154. The twister finally lifted along Armadillo Road on the north side of Lake Gilmer.

Surveyors with the NWS noted some scouring damage to the asphalt on the FM 852 bridge over Lake Gilmer.

This was an indirect effect of the tornado. The rear flank downdraft of the tornado caused winds of 70-80 mph, which resulted in extreme wave action that washed over the bridge, resulting in pavement damage.

There Was Another Tornado

A second EF1 tornado with top winds of 95 mph occurred just a few minutes following the end of the first tornado.

It was located 4 miles north-northwest of Gilmer. It lasted less than a minute, and only a few damaged trees were reported.

Damage reports detailing storms that occurred on April 2-3 are expected to be released on Monday from the National Weather Service.