EF3 Tornado — Rusk, Texas

2019-04-13 · near Reklaw, Rusk, Texas

Event narrative

This is a continuation of the Cherokee and Northwest Nacogdoches County tornado that tore through the Alto and Sacul communities. This tornado crossed County Roads 4265 and 4238 in extreme Southern Rusk County, where numerous trees were snapped and uprooted. The tornado continued northeast across the East Fork Angelina River, Highway 84, and County Road 4233, where it began to weaken as much of the damage over these areas consisted of snapped large limbs. The tornado finally lifted on County Road 4233 near the intersection of FM 2753. The maximum estimated winds in Southern Rusk County was near 105 mph primarily in the area of County Roads 4265 and 4238.

Wider weather episode

A strong upper level trough entered the Southern Plains during the afternoon hours of April 12th, which allowed southerly low level winds to gradually return warm and moist air from the Gulf of Mexico north into East Texas and North Louisiana. An upper level disturbance ejecting northeast ahead of the trough across portions of East Texas and North Louisiana during the early morning hours of April 13th carried enough elevated instability, shear, and forcing north of an advancing warm front over Southeast Texas and South Louisiana, such that scattered strong to severe thunderstorms developed, with numerous reports of large hail and occasional damaging winds received. The warm front continued to gradually mix north northwest into East Texas and Northcentral Louisiana by late morning and early afternoon hours, with a very warm, moist, and unstable air mass noted over Deep East Texas and portions of Northcentral Louisiana south of the front. Coupled with even stronger forcing and low level shear ahead of the approaching upper trough, additional strong to severe thunderstorms developed near and south of the front from late morning through the afternoon, producing numerous reports of damaging winds with several tornadoes across portions of East Texas. These showers and thunderstorms diminished by early evening with the departure of the trough, and the arrival of an associated cold front which brought about cooler, drier, and more stable air southeast into the region.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (31.8453, -94.9092)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 813790. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.