EF0 tornado in Van Zandt County, Texas

The supercell thunderstorm that spawned the 2 Kaufman County tornadoes moved eastward and produced an additional brief tornado in Van Zandt County near Wills Point. The tornado formed 1/4 mile east of Van Zandt County Road 3801, tracking east through a neighborhood of manufactured homes along Van Zandt County Road 3849. The tornado was approximately 200 yards wide and was on the ground for a little more than 1/2 mile in its 5 minute lifespan. The tornado dissipated just east of Lake Dr. (Highway 47). Multiple roofs sustained damage, mainly on the south side of Van Zandt County Road 3849. Multiple sheds and carports were overturned and damaged. A few small trees were uprooted and tree branches were broken on numerous trees, all consistent with EF-0 damage between 70 and 78 mph.

Thunderstorms erupted across the DFW Metroplex as a strong upper level system and a cold front impacted the region on the evening of October 20 through the early morning hours of October 21st. A few storms developed ahead of the approaching cold front in the late evening hours of the 20th, producing tornadoes in Dallas and surrounding areas. Additional storms formed a squall line along the cold front, producing a large swath of damaging winds across North and Central Texas overnight into the early hours of October 21st. A total of 10 tornadoes were identified by NWS Survey teams, occurring both within the storms ahead of the cold front, and embedded within the squall line. The strongest of these tornadoes was an EF-3 that stretched almost 16 miles across the northern portions of Dallas County. Following on the heels of that tornado, an EF-2 tracked about 2.5 miles through Garland in Dallas County. The remaining count of tornadoes included 4 EF-1s and 4 EF-0s. Miraculously, no one was killed or significantly injured in any of the tornadoes! The total estimated cost of insured damage for all the tornadoes alone is over $2 billion, which the Insurance Council of Texas claims is the most costly tornado event in the state's history. Of the straight line wind damage, the most severe was located in Farmersville in Collin Co where a mobile home was rolled and destroyed. Three people were injured in the home. Over a dozen other manufactured homes in the same area were damaged, too.