EF2 tornado in Harrison County, Texas

An EF2 tornado touched down on the East side of Longview, just west of the intersections of E Cotton Street. and Industrial Drive. The tornado then tracked north northeast causing damage to several industrial buildings along Industrial Drive, it crossed Industrial Drive just south of Hwy. 80 causing significant damage to the Fed Ex building and other surrounding industrial businesses. The tornado then crossed Hwy. 80, causing significant tree and roof damage to several homes in a residential neighborhood. The track continued north northeast as the tornado crossed Loop 281 just south of Page Road. The tornado caused major roof damage to a home on Page Road before continuing northward. The storm continued to cause tree and roof damage in a residential area before crossing Peter Bonner Road near Sandy Lane. More tree and roof damage was observed as the storm tracked into a rural area, ending south of FM 449 on Keasler Road around 4:56 PM.

A strong upper level storm system moved its way out of the southern Great Basin and into the Southern Plains during the afternoon hours of December 23rd. Strong southerly flow was found ahead of this storm system with dewpoint temperatures in the lower to middle 60s noted northward to the Interstate 20 corridor of northeast Texas and northern Louisiana. Impressive deep layer shear was noted in the warm sector across the region which was conducive for discrete storm cells during the afternoon and evening across northeast Texas. These storms spawned tornadoes and produced large hail across portions of northeast Texas. The storm system moved eastward during the predawn hours of December 24th with again, numerous storms producing tornadoes across southern Arkansas and northern Louisiana. In addition to all the storm damage...these storms were prolific rain makers with numerous reports of flash flooding across the region as well.