EF1 tornado in Van Zandt County, Texas

A NWS Storm Survey determined an EF-1 tornado began approximately 2 miles south of Ben Wheeler and tracked northeast across Van Zandt County before continuing into Smith County. This tornado had a path length of approximately 7.5 miles in Van Zandt County and was estimated to be a 1/2 mile wide. A mobile home south of Ben Wheeler was rolled onto its side, and several homes were damaged 4 miles northeast of Ben Wheeler. The Friendly Center Baptist Church also sustained major damage. Wind speeds were estimated to be 100 MPH. A lady in the rolled mobile home sustained minor injuries.

Another round of severe weather occurred on April 26th as another upper level disturbance rounded a larger upper trough and moved into north Texas. A warm front was draped across the region, and the environment was conducive for supercell thunderstorms and tornadoes. Numerous reports of large hail and damaging winds were reported. There were 10 tornadoes confirmed on April 26th, with two rated EF-1 and the remaining rated EF-0. One EF-1 tornado occurred in Van Zandt County, near Ben Wheeler, and tracked nearly 8 miles. The winds were estimated to be near 100 MPH with this tornado. The other EF-1 tornado occurred in downtown Groesbeck causing damage to several buildings.