National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Severe Thunderstorms in West-Central Texas; Critical Fire Weather Threat in the Rockies and Plains

Isolated strong to severe thunderstorms capable of producing large hail and damaging wind gusts will be possible this evening across west-central Texas. Elevated to Critical fire weather conditions will persist across the southern Rockies and portions of the southern Plains through this weekend. Read More >

Overview

TOTAL TORNADO COUNT = 1

EF1 = 1
 
Tornado #1: South of Hope, AR
CLICK TO VIEW ON MAP
START
POINT
1 mile NW of Spring Hill,
Hempstead County, AR
END
POINT
3 miles E of Hope,
Hempstead County, LA
RATING /
PEAK WIND
EF1 /
107 mph
DATE December 1, 2018
START TIME 1:25am CST
END TIME 1:34am CST
LENGTH/
WIDTH
8.53 miles/
75 yards
FATALITIES/
INJURIES
None

Summary:

A long-lived bow echo, which originated in Northeast Texas, moved across Hempstead County. This bow echo developed a book-end vortex which generated the rotation that produced the tornado. Damage was intermittent along the path.

Tornado damage was first observed along County Road 1041 about a mile NW of Spring Hill. Tree limbs were downed and a tree trunk was snapped. The most well-defined tornado damage was found as the storm crossed Route 174. At this location, a barn's tin metal roof was completely removed, windows were blown out on two homes, shingles were removed from roofs, a shed was shifted off its foundation, and a carport was destroyed. In addition, approximately 15 trees were either uprooted or snapped at their trunk with damage in a convergent pattern.

As the storm continued near Route 29, it ripped the tin metal roof of a heavy machinery shelter and led to the column anchorage failure of the structure. The metal roof was thrown and twisted into a tree behind it. The storm continued to uproot and snap trees as it crossed Country club drive, East 28th Street, and Route 32 before the last damage was found along U.S. Highway 278.

A special thanks goes out to the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management and Hempstead County's Office of Emergency Management for their assistance during the damage survey.

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.
 
Back to Top