EF1 tornado in Nacogdoches County, Texas

This EF-1 tornado with estimated maximum winds near 100 mph, was part of a line of convection that moved through Nacogdoches County and was embedded in a much wider swath of wind damage. The tornado first touched down southwest of the corner at County Road 302 and County Road 313. The damage in this area consisted of many trees snapped or uprooted that were convergent and more chaotic than the surrounding damage. However, there was some damage to the roofing of a small barn on the property along with a snapped power pole nearby. The tornado then crossed County Road 313 just south of County Road 302 where significant tree damage was observed. From there, the road network was sparse and no other points were accessible until the tornado crossed County Road 302 north of San Augustine Highway to the west of Melrose. EF-0 damage continued along County Road 302 south to San Augustine Highway with damage observed along the highway into Melrose. The tornado then crossed County Road 331 where damage seemed to increase and was consistent with that of EF-1 wind speeds. From there, the tornado continued north of San Augustine Highway until it reached FM 3276 before it lifted just to the east of 3276.

Remnants of a pre-dawn mesoscale convective system (MCS) that developed over the southern High Plains propagated downstream into the Ark-La-Tex region during the afternoon hours on May 30th. Diurnal heating and weak convective inhibition allowed for renewed development of severe thunderstorms along the leading edge of this long-lived MCS. Surface temperatures warmed into the 80s ahead of this convection across East Texas and North Louisiana, which contributed to MLCAPE values on the order of 1500-2000 J/kg within a modestly sheared environment. Additionally, a shortwave trough associated with this convection promoted further advancement downstream into an air mass that was supportive of robust updrafts. As a result, numerous severe thunderstorms affected much of East Texas with widespread damaging winds and one large hail report. In addition, multiple reports of flash flooding and an isolated tornado were also documented.