Early Spring Heat Wave in the Southwest U.S.; Critical Fire Weather in the Central Rockies and Plains

An unusual early Spring heat wave will continue much above-normal temperatures over the Southwest U.S. through early next week. Many locations are likely to set records for the highest-ever March temperature. Periods of critical fire weather will persist from the central Rockies to the central Plains through Saturday as gusty winds and low relative humidity continue. Read More >

Overview

A thunderstorm developed over Northeast Texas during the early afternoon hours of May 16, 2013. As it tracked southeast, it developed into a supercell and eventually produced four tornadoes between Waskom, TX, and Stonewall, LA. These tornadoes were all rated as EF1. A severe downburst, with wind speeds estimated around 105 mph, produced a wide swath of straight-line wind damage across southern Caddo and northern De Soto Parishes. Several reports of wind damage and large hail were also received from across East Texas and Northwest Louisiana. Hail to the size of ping pong balls was reported north of Campti in Natchitoches Parish. Aerial photography shown by local TV stations showed the hail on the ground, and it looked just like snow from the air!

Meteorologists from the National Weather Service in Shreveport conducted damage surveys in the days following the storms. Below is a preliminary report from the findings of the survey. The report is presented in chronological order of when the tornadoes occurred. More information may be added to this page in the coming days as it becomes available

TOTAL TORNADO COUNT = 4

EF1 = 4

Tornado Table

Photos

Damage Map

TOR. #	START POINT	END POINT	RATING	PEAK WIND	START TIME	END TIME	LENGTH/ WIDTH	FATALITIES/ INJURIES	REMARKS
#1	5 miles W of Waskom, Harrison County, TX	4 miles W of Waskom, Harrison County, TX	EF1	90 mph	2:20pm CDT	2:24pm CDT	1.5 miles/ 500 yards	1 injury	This tornado began 5 miles west of Waskom and just south of I-20. The tornado caused damage to several metal buildings at Five Star Builders. The tornado then tracked east uprooting and snapping trees along its path before lifting near CR-1105.
#2	1 mile SSE of Waskom, Harrison County, TX	1 mile SSE of Waskom, Harrison County, TX	EF1	100 mph	2:34pm CDT	2:36pm CDT	0.5 miles/ 200 yards	None	This tornado touched down just south of I-20 on the southern end of Waskom just west of Magnolia Road. The tornado caused minor damage to metal buildings and equipment at Red Diamond Oilfield Services. The tornado then tracked SSE uprooting and snapping trees along its path and causing damage to a few residential homes. The tornado lifted about 0.5 miles south of I-20 and 0.25 miles east of Magnolia Road.
#3	1 mile ENE of Greenwood, Caddo Parish, LA	6 miles ESE of Greenwood, Caddo Parish, LA	EF1	100 mph	2:39pm CDT	2:50pm CDT	5 miles/ 1400 yards	1 injury	This tornado touched down just north of I-20 in Greenwood near the Old Kelly Truck Stop. It crossed I-20 near the Highway 80 intersection on the east side of Greenwood. The tornado uprooted and snapped trees as it moved southeast toward the old General Motors Plant. Several residential and mobile home communities had structural damage from fallen trees in the path. One injury occurred at the Blue Ridge Mobile Home Community near Buncome Road and Bert Kouns Industrial Loop. The tornado lifted about 0.4 miles southeast of the intersection of Bert Kouns and Buncombe Road.
#4	2.5 miles N of Stonewall, Caddo Parish, LA	1 mile NNE of Stonewall, De Soto Parish, LA	EF1	100 mph	3:05pm CDT	3:09pm CDT	2.54 miles/ 250 yards	None	This tornado touched down N of Stonewall in Caddo Parish on Keithville-Kingston Road. The tornado continued east in De Soto Parish and lifted near Russel Road just west of Linwood Ave.
	Southern Caddo & Northern De Soto Parishes, LA		Downburst	105 mph	3:05pm CDT	3:13pm CDT	3.5 miles/ 6000 yards	None	A supercell thunderstorm produced a downburst that caused significant straight-line wind damage in southern Caddo and northern De Soto Parishes. NWS Radar estimated that some of these winds could have reached 105 mph. The damage path started near Barron Road in southern Caddo Parish and ended near Lake Road just east of I-49 in De Soto Parish. Other sporadic wind damage was observed in south Shreveport and other parishes across NW Louisiana. However, this area was the most significant.


These photos were taken about 20 miles south of Shreveport, LA, on Louisiana State Highway 1. Photos are courtesy of Jamie Cole and were relayed to us by KSLA News-Shreveport.


Aerial views of the hail in northern De Soto Parish. Photos are courtesy of the De Soto Parish Sheriff's Office.

Siding striped from a mobile home by wind-blown home

Siding was stripped from the side of this mobile home by wind-blown hail in northern De Soto Parish. Photo courtesy of the De Soto Parish Sheriff's Office.

Hail accumulation in northern De Soto Parish

Hail accumulation on the ground in northern De Soto Parish. Photo courtesy of the De Soto Parish Sheriff's office.

Wall cloud northeast of Natchitoches, LA. Photo courtesy of John Champagne.

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