NWS: At least 4 tornadoes confirmed in East Texas; surveys ongoing
Published 11:00 pm Monday, April 7, 2025
- High water at Old Sabine Bottom WMA in Lindale. Areas of Lindale saw flooding after a heavy storm passed through. (Jennifer Scott/Tyler Morning Telegraph)
At least four tornadoes touched down in East Texas over the last week, according to the National Weather Service. Storm surveys remain ongoing and those results are expected to be released later this week.
An EF-1 tornado with estimated wind speeds of 110 mph went on for over 20 miles from Wood County into Upshur County on Friday night, according to NWS. Most of the damage associated with this tornado consisted of snapped and uprooted trees. One person was injured.
NWS reported the initial start point of this tornado is somewhat uncertain. Some minor tree damage was observed along Farm-to-Market 2710; however, the storm quickly moved into the Sabine River Bottoms and was inaccessible.
The NWS survey team saw a consistent damage track beginning along U.S. Highway 80 west of Hawkins and south of West Upper Lake. A fairly intense and concentrated area of snapped pine trees could be seen along County Road 3440. One home also lost a few metal roof panels, according to NWS.
The tornado continued northeast, snapping and uprooting more trees as it crossed County Roads 3431 and 3419. One home along CR 3419 lost its large, well-built carport, although the bottom of the wooden posts supporting the carport appeared to be somewhat rotted, NWS said.
The tornado continued northeast, crossing County Roads 3480 and 3525. It entered a large area of open land with no roads.
The tornado caused significant roof damage to a water bottling plant north of Hawkins. A driver in a semi-truck was injured at the bottling plant, according to NWS.
The damage path soon went along County Road 3550 east of Holly Lake Ranch. The tornado widened as it crossed Palm Road, FM 1092, Tangerine Road, Nutmeg Road, and FM 49. It continued northeast snapping and uprooting more trees as it crossed State Highway 154 and FM 852 and finally lifted along Armadillo Road on the north side of Lake Gilmer.
It appears likely that intense winds estimated at 70 to 80 mph induced extreme wave action on the lake.
Also on Friday, an EF-1 tornado touched down in Upshur County for a little over 1 mile. Wind speeds were up to 95 mph, according to NWS.
No one was injured in this tornadic event.
The brief tornado developed between the Union Hill and Delrose communities. A few hardwood and softwood trees were snapped and uprooted.
An EF-0 tornado with winds of 80 mph tore through Van Zandt County for about 9 miles, according to NWS. There were no injuries.
This tornado touched down around 9.5 miles east of Canton along County Road 1321 then moved northeast, passing south and east of Grand Saline before crossing U.S. Highway 80 and lifting north of Silver Lake, NWS stated.
One home on FM 1255 lost part of the wall on an addition built over the garage, and a mobile home along FM 1255 near County Road 1605 had roof and porch damage. Another home on CR 1701 had roof damage.
Several trees were also uprooted or damaged along the path.
The tornado may have crossed into Wood County for a short distance, but due to the lack of roads in the area, that could not be confirmed, NWS stated in its report.
Elsewhere in East Texas, 250 pine trees were twisted, uprooted and knocked down in Morris County during an EF-2 tornado. Six cars in a parking lot were picked up and thrown about 100 yards or more, and dozens more were damaged. Roofs were ripped off buildings at the Lakeview Baptist Assembly near Lone Star, according to the Longview News-Journal.
This tornado had a peak wind speed of 120 mph and tore through Morris County for 4 miles. There were no reported injuries, according to NWS.
NWS of Shreveport said it is conducting multiple storm surveys this week in relation to the severe thunderstorms that moved through the area Wednesday through Saturday. A final assessment is expected to be completed later this week after all surveys have been completed.