EF2 tornado in Sabine Parish, Louisiana

The National Weather Service conducted a storm survey from Zwolle, Louisiana eastward to north of Many, Louisiana and concluded damage was the result of an EF2 tornado. The tornado first touched down along CR 3229 knocking over trees and destroying a shed. The storm continued east crossing Hwy 191 where a 200 foot communications tower was bent to the ground and trees were snapped and uprooted near some homes. Further east along Hwy 171 two homes were completely destroyed. One home was destroyed by a large tree while the other was by the wind alone. The tornado continued east along Parish Road 1216 snapping trees and damaging roofs to homes. A few homes had their roof peeled back. At least a dozen homes sustained damage along 1216. What appears to be a downburst occurred near the intersection of 1216 and 175 feeding northeast into the tornado track which continued along cedar grove road. The tornado began to occlude near the area around cedar grove road and rocky springs road. Maximum winds are estimated at 110-120 mph.

A very volatile atmosphere developed during the late afternoon...evening and overnight hours of April 26th across the Four State Region. An area of low pressure moved from the Texas Hill Country into Northeast Texas during the afternoon. Meanwhile, a warm front had moved northward from central Louisiana and was oriented west to east near the Arkansas/Louisiana state line. A dry line had moved just east of the I-35 corridor of North Central Texas and a strong cold front trailed the dry line. Very strong speed and directional shear was noted in the low and mid levels of the atmosphere such that supercells developed. Many of these produced tornadoes across the region. Other storms produced strong straight line wind gusts with bowing segments and large hail.