January 21, 2018: Severe Weather & Tornadoes

Overview

A strong, spring-like storm system moved across the Southern Plains during the evening and nighttime hours of Sunday, January 21, 2018. This storm system brought several strong to severe thunderstorms to the region resulting in the first severe weather event of 2018. Several reports of large hail, wind damage, and possible tornadoes were received from near Winnsboro, TX, northeast to De Kalb, TX, and into Southwest Arkansas. In fact, this supercell exhibited strong, persistent rotation for well over 200 miles. Other reports of wind damage were received near Henderson, TX, as well. This severe weather event occurred less than a week after portions of the Four State Region received between one and three inches of snow.

Survey teams from the NWS office in Shreveport were deployed to investigate the damage and determine if any tornadoes touched down and how strong they were. Surveys will likely be ongoing for the next several days. This page will be updated with the latest information regarding the surveys has it becomes available. This report is PRELIMINARY and subject to change.

TOTAL TORNADO COUNT = 3

EF0 = 1

EF1 = 1

EF2 = 1

Straight-Line Wind Damage Near Winnsboro, TX

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START POINT	Winnsboro, Wood County, TX
RATING / PEAK WIND	Straight-line winds / 75 mph
DATE	January 21, 2018
START TIME	8:21pm CST
FATALITIES/ INJURIES	None
Summary: A severe thunderstorm moved northeast across Winnsboro, TX, at 8:21pm CST. The thunderstorm produced large hail and wind gusts estimated at 75 mph resulting in a large hard wood tree falling onto a one-story home causing significant roof damage. A metal roof was also completely blown off of a portion of a one-story apartment complex.

Tornado #1: Near De Kalb, TX

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START POINT	4 miles SSW of De Kalb, Bowie County, TX
END POINT	2.7 miles NE of De Kalb, Bowie County, TX
RATING / PEAK WIND	EF2 / 125 mph
DATE	January 21, 2018
START TIME	9:26pm CST
END TIME	9:35pm CST
LENGTH/ WIDTH	7.04 miles/ 560 yards
FATALITIES/ INJURIES	None
Summary: This tornado began along U.S. Highway 259 just southwest of De Kalb and tracked northeast across the intersection of County Road 4231 and FM 44. Here, it caused significant damage to a well constructed two-story home and did considerable damage to eight chicken farm buildings. The tornado continued northeast and crossed the intersection of FM 990 and FM 1840 where a one-story home had its roof removed and several hard wood and pine trees were uprooted and snapped. As the tornado moved across County Road 4228, it widened and snapped more trees and downed power lines. Once the tornado reached U.S. Highway 82, more trees were snapped at their bases and significant damage occurred to the roofs of a church and nearby homes. The tornado continue northeast and moved across County Road 3201 and crossed County Road 3203, where a metal roof was uplifted from a home and seven chicken farm buildings were destroyed. Once it crossed northeast across County Road 3202, the tornado split and twisted hard wood trees and destroyed an outbuilding before finally dissipating.

Tornado #2: North of Malta, TX

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START POINT	5 miles N of Malta, Bowie County, TX
END POINT	5.25 miles NNE of Malta, Bowie County, TX
RATING / PEAK WIND	EF0 / 80 mph
DATE	January 21, 2018
START TIME	9:43pm CST
END TIME	9:45pm CST
LENGTH/ WIDTH	0.55 miles/ 50 yards
FATALITIES/ INJURIES	None
Summary: A tornado initially touched down along County Road 3109 where it damaged the roof of a one-story home. The tornado traveled northeast where it damaged the roof of Liberty Hill Church along Country Road 3109. It uprooted several hard wood trees before dissipating along Highway 992.

Tornado #3: Southeast of Foreman, AR

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START POINT	7.24 miles SW of Foreman, Little River County, AR
END POINT	3.37 miles SSE of Foreman, Little River County, AR
RATING / PEAK WIND	EF1 / 100-110 mph
DATE	January 21, 2018
START TIME	9:48pm CST
END TIME	9:53pm CST
LENGTH/ WIDTH	6.49 miles/ 295 yards
FATALITIES/ INJURIES	None
Summary: This tornado touched down on the Legacy Ranch, bending the fence, stripping the siding and roofing material on a large barn, and flipping two semi trailers on their side. It moved northeast across LR 4 and Highway 51, snapping power poles and trees. As the tornado continued northeast, several trees were snapped and uprooted. The First Baptist Church lost several shingles, and several homes sustained minor roof damage along Highway 32, LR 10, and LR 76, primarily losing shingles. Two additional outbuildings and barns sustained minor damage. The tornado finally lifted just north of LR 76.

Click here to download the survey KMZ file.

This survey data is preliminary and subject to change as more information becomes available. Road accessibility and inconsistencies between mapping and GPS software may limit the accuracy of the tracks plotted on this map. Line widths are not representative of actual tornado widths. The information plotted on this map is intended for general reference use only.

For official post-storm information, use Storm Data from the National Centers for Environmental Information.

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