Tornadoes and Hail in Texas, April 3, 2012

Golf ball sized hail was reported in South Bend.

Ping pong to golf ball sized hail was reported in Graham.

Quarter sized hail was reported in Cisco.

Golf ball sized hail was reported 3 miles south of Carbon.

Nickel sized hail was reported at Possum Kingdom Lake.

Ping pong ball sized hail was reported at the intersection of Grassy Ridge Road and Highway 337; south of Graford.

Quarter sized hail was reported from the intersection of Dennis Road and Interstate 20, north towards Greenwood.

Ping pong ball sized hail was reported 5 miles east of Gordon near Interstate 20.

Golf ball sized hail was reported in Senate, which is approximately 8 miles west-southwest of Jacksboro on Highway 380.

Quarter sized hail was reported in Red Oak.

An EF-1 tornado occurred southeast of the city of Joshua. The tornado began near FM 3048 and Buffalo Lane and traveled to the north-northeast before lifting northeast of the intersection of CR 705 and CR 811. One manufactured home sustained extensive damage, and a barn suffered roof damage. Part of the exterior walls of the manufactured home fell outward and the roof was completely lost. Another manufactured home on the same property sustained damage. Across CR 705, a third manufactured home sustained damage to the exterior. The twister also overturned a horse trailer and damaged two riding lawnmowers on this property. The path length was just over a mile long with a maximum width around 60 yards. The maximum winds were estimated to be around 100 mph.

Quarter to ping pong ball sized hail was reported in Burleson near Interstate 35 and the Wilshire Blvd exit.

A tornado began near Highland Road, east of I-35 in Red Oak and continued northeast into Dallas County. The tornado did minor EF-0 damage to trees, crops, and shingles while moving northeast through Ellis County. After the tornado crossed into Dallas County it strengthened and did more substantial damage in the city of Lancaster. The path length of the tornado in Ellis County was approximately 4.4 miles long, but the total path length was 13.7 miles long.

Quarter sized hail was reported in Aledo.

This tornado is a continuation from Ellis County. The tornado crossed into Dallas County near I-35E at the Ellis/Dallas County line. Light damage was noted as the tornado crossed into the county but then the tornado moved into the city of Lancaster and struck the Portofino Apartments where it damaged the roofs of two buildings and tore the roof off another building. Cars were moved in the parking lots, and the windows were blown out in one car. The tornado did significant damage to homes just northeast of the apartment complex, beginning on Sunny Meadow Dr. However, the most significant damage occurred near the intersections of Wintergreen Rd, Telephone Rd, and North Dallas Ave. Many homes in this area were heavily damaged or destroyed. Some cars were pushed into fences, many trees and tree branches were knocked down, an RV was crumpled, and some fence boards penetrated homes. The Cedar Valley Christian Academy also sustained heavy damage when it lost an entire wall. The tornado continued northeast crossing Interstate 20 near Dynasty Drive. The tornado hit a trucking company along the interstate, lofting several empty semis into the air. About 50 semitrailers were damaged or destroyed. The tornado damaged a few additional trees northeast of the trucking company and caused some minor roof damage in the Stagecoach neighborhood. The damage track ended near Palm Island St and Tioga St. In the city of Lancaster, 64 homes were destroyed, 51 sustained major damage, and another 58 sustained minor damage. An additional two homes were destroyed in the Dallas city limits. One home was destroyed when one of the semis from the trucking company was thrown into the house. The path length of the tornado in Dallas County was approximately 9.4 miles long but the total length of the tornado was 13.7 miles. Maximum estimated winds were 130 mph with a maximum width of 200 yards. Ten people in the city of Lancaster were injured, and two people sustained serious injuries.

A brief tornado occurred down in open field approximately 2 miles southeast of Spinks Airport. This tornado was observed by at least 2 storm chasers and the airport manager.

Roof and structural damage to a home on Valley View Drive in the Armadillo Hills neighborhood off Vally View Dr was reported by spotters. A shed also sustained roof damage, and 6 other residences sustained minor roof damage in the same neighborhood. The damaging winds also broke trees in half, knocked down several large branches, and scattered insulation and other construction materials. Spotters reported the damage was caused by thunderstorm winds estimated around 80 mph.

Nickel sized hail was reported at Interstate 20 and Kelly Elliott Road.

An EF-2 tornado began in Kennedale, and then moved north-northeast into Arlington. In its occlusion phase, the tornado curved back to the northwest; ending its track near the east shores of Lake Arlington along Waterview Drive. The path length of the tornado was 6.4 miles long with a width of approximately 150 yards. Damage from the tornado began near the Texas Raceway. Five manufactured homes were heavily damaged or destroyed near the racing strip. Moving to the north-northeast, the tornado produced sporadic damage to trees, power poles, and a storage facility as the storm organized rapidly. Part of the roof of a warehouse at a business on Tower Drive near Business 287 was torn off and tossed onto a city water tower nearby. The warehouse was also damaged by debris tossed by the tornado. Other businesses near this intersection were also damaged. Damage to residences began north of Sublett Rd. EF-2 damage was noted to a few homes between Sublett Rd and Hwy 287, but most areas received EF-0 or EF-1 damage. Approximately 143 homes and apartments sustained some type of damage in this area. Most of the homes appeared to have the initial failure at or near the garage, with subsequent damage coming to exterior walls or portions of roofs. Before the tornado crossed Hwy 287, it damaged the roofs of two buildings at the Chesterfield Apartments. Once the tornado crossed Hwy 287, it cut a path to the north-northeast causing mostly minor roof and fence damage to approximately 25-30 homes between Hwy 287 and Interstate 20. The tornado crossed Interstate 20 between Kelly Elliott Rd and Green Oaks Blvd. First the tornado damaged a church on the north side of the interstate, then the tornado went on to do significant damage in the Oldfield neighborhood just north of Interstate 20 near Martin High School. Approximately 100 homes were damaged in this neighborhood with an additional 85 damaged in the surrounding areas. Several homes experienced significant damage to garages and progressive failure of garage walls and portions of roofs. A few residences in this neighborhood along Haverford Dr and Thorncliffe Dr sustained EF-2 damage. Large trees were also uprooted in the neighborhood. The damage path continued to the north from this area with several other homes and trees sustaining damage near Little Road. Just west of Martin High School, the tornado began to occlude and turn northwest. At this point, near Green Oaks Boulevard and Chaperito Street, a nursing home suffered significant roof and outside wall damage, with the initial failure occurring near a large window. Nearly all of the residential damage in Kennedale and Arlington was EF-0 or EF-1. Only a small portion of the damage path suffered EF-2 damage. A total of 5 homes in Kennedale and 13 homes in Arlington were determined to be destroyed. Another 44 homes sustained major damage and 247 sustained minor damage. An additional 273 residences were affected by the storms on this day. Maximum estimated winds with the tornado were 135 mph. Eight people sustained injuries from the tornado, but only one of those injured was considered severe.

Tree damage was reported around the Bank of America building in Arlington; near the intersection of Ballpark Way and E Lamar Blvd. A few trees had 2 diameter branches snapped off and at least one tree was broken off near the ground.

Golf ball sized hail was reported in Euless.

Quarter to baseball sized hail was reported at the Fort Worth CWSU.

A brief EF-0 tornado caused damage to a few trees and the roof of one home near Skyline High School in Dallas. The path of the tornado was 0.1 miles long, the width was 25 yards, and the maximum estimated winds were 80 mph.

An EF-0 tornado occurred in the northern portions of Grand Prairie with maximum estimated winds around 85 mph. The tornado began just south of the intersection of Highway 360 and East Avenue K. As the tornado traveled northeast, it damaged the roofs of a few warehouse buildings and a strip mall. It also knocked over some light and electric poles. The tornado lifted just past Westpark Drive with a path length just under a half of a mile.

Golf ball to baseball sized hail damaged many aircraft at DFW International Airport. Around 110 aircraft from various airlines were damaged, but the airport was not damaged. The impacts from the storm affected air travel for several days after the event due to the damage done to the aircraft.

Quarter sized hail was reported at Interstate 635 and Beltline Road near Coppell.

Baseball sized hail was reported in Euless.

Quarter to half dollar sized hail was reported in Garland.

Hail up to the size of dimes was reported on the west side of Lake Whitney near Kopperl.

Damaging thunderstorm winds, likely associated with the RFD of a tornadic supercell, removed some metal panels from the roof of a motel near Highway 183 and Estrada Pkwy in Irving.

An EF-0 tornado with maximum estimated around 85 mph occurred in west Irving. The twister damaged a metal awning at a house and uprooted trees along Avenida Loop by the Irving Mall. Continuing to the northeast, the twister damaged part of the roof of the Goodwill store on N Belt Line Rd and blew HVAC units off the rooftop of the store. Wood power poles were leaning near W Rochelle Rd and N Belt Line Rd. Near the end of the track, trees were uprooted and minor damage was noted at Townsell Elementary School. Two air conditioning units at the school were damaged and so was a gas line. The path length was non-continuous and was approximately 1.3 miles long with a narrow width of 30 yards.

Penny sized hail was reported in Quinlan.

Golf ball sized hail was reported in Cleburne. The hail covered the ground and broke many windshields at a country club.

Ping pong ball sized hail fell in Irving.

Hail stones ranging from the size of quarters up to teacup size was reported in Coppell. The hail fell for nearly 20 minutes with 2-3 hail falling for at least 10 minutes in some areas of the city.

Golf ball sized hail was reported near Williams Stadium in Garland.

Hail up to the size of baseballs was reported on the north side of Irving.

Hen egg to tennis ball sized hail was reported in the area just northeast of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport; around the intersections of Interstate 635 & Royal Lane and Interstate 635 & Belt Line Rd. Many cars were dented and many car windshields were broken.

Baseball sized hail was reported near Duncan Drive in Irving.

Small tree branches were broken by RFD winds associated with a tornadic supercell near the intersection of Airline Dr and Executive Dr in Coppell.

RFD winds associated with a tornadic supercell ripped shingles off a church near E Belt Line Rd and Ingle Way in Coppell. Some letters from the church sign were also removed.

An EF-0 tornado with maximum estimated winds around 80 mph produced damage in the city of Coppell. The tornado began near the intersection of E Belt Line Rd and S Denton Tap Rd. The awning at a gas station was damaged at this intersection. The tornado moved to the northeast through a residential area causing minor damage to some roofs of homes and businesses and also damaging trees. The total path of the tornado was 2 miles long, but the damage path was non-continuous. The damage path was also narrow at about 75 yards wide.

Quarter sized hail was reported on the south end of Lake Lewisville.

Quarter sized hail was reported on Business Highway 287 in downtown Waxahachie.

Nickel sized hail fell at Hicks Airfield for approximately 10 minutes.

Golf ball sized hail was reported near Lake Lewisville.

Hen egg sized hail was reported near State Highway 121 and MacArthur Blvd in Lewisville.

Golf ball sized hail was reported 1 mile south of The Colony.

Golf ball sized hail was reported in The Colony.

Nickel sized hail was reported less than one mile west of Greenville Municipal Airport.

An EF-0 tornado occurred in an unincorporated area just south of Denton. The tornado touched down in a wheat field southeast of the intersection of Country Club Road and Ryan Rd. The tornado was confirmed by photos, radar, and eyewitness evidence.

Quarter sized hail was reported on the west side of Frisco.

The COOP Observer in Frisco reported golf ball sized hail.

One to two inch hail was reported in several areas of Frisco by amateur radio and trained spotters. The hail fell for several minutes.

Approximately 10 moderate sized trees in Sulphur Springs were knocked down by thunderstorm winds. The emergency manager noted that the trees were all already dead or dying.

Penny sized hail was reported 1 mile southwest of Grandview.

Tennis ball sized hail fell in Itasca. The local newspaper reported that cars, houses, and buildings were damaged from the large hail. The hail that fell across the county also damaged the wheat crop.

Ping pong ball sized hail was reported north of Seagoville.

A brief tornado was observed south of Interstate 30 between Campbell and Cumby. This tornado occurred in open country and was rated at EF-0.

Hail ranging from quarter sized to golf ball sized was reported just north of Hillsboro. The hail across the county damaged the wheat crop.

An EF-0 tornado with maximum estimated winds around 85 mph occurred in Mesquite. The tornado began near Independence Drive and Meadow Lane then tracked east. Minor roof damage was noted along the track of the tornado and several large trees were split or had large branches broken off. Near the end of the track on the east side of N Galloway Ave, a car service station sustained significant damage. The winds from the tornado penetrated the building through the large service doors. The roof was ripped off the building and the back wall collapsed. The path length of this tornado was 0.3 miles with a width of about 30 yards. Two people sustained minor injuries.

A very brief tornado touched down in open field near FM 3389 and CR 1170, south of Brashear.

Quarter sized hail fell in Killeen.

An EF-3 tornado did extensive damage as it wound its way through the town of Forney. The tornado began near the intersection of Broad St and N Bois D'arc Street just southwest of Highway 80. As it moved to the northeast, the first significant damage was noted near Aimee St and N Bois D'arc St. There was substantial tree damage with some large trees uprooted near this intersection. Also, shingle damage, roof damage to a fire station nearby, blown out windows at a few homes and an outbuilding was destroyed, all near this intersection. A street sign at the intersection was also completely bent flat near the base. The tornado moved northeast and crossed Hwy 80 near the Forney Cleaners business where substantial roof and commercial sign damage occurred. Debris was also observed in the median between the east and westbound lanes near this location. The tornado continued northeast producing light damage to industrial buildings, but was largely over open fields. The tornado then crossed over Ridgecrest Rd and produced substantial damage to many homes in the Diamond Creek subdivision. One of the first homes struck was on Woodberry Dr and was completely destroyed. Several more homes were destroyed in this subdivision and other homes sustained substantial damage. It was determined that several of the destroyed homes were destroyed as the result of excessive lift being forced upon the roof, and the roofs of these homes were poorly attached to the external walls of the home. Once the roofs failed, pressure built up on internal walls causing the failure of nearly all external and internal walls. As the tornado continued northeast through the subdivision it consistently produced damage to homes, most of which was different degrees of roof or top floor damage. The tornado exited the subdivision at Crosby Elementary School. The tornado damaged several vehicles that were in the school’s parking lot. One vehicle was lofted approximately 300 yards into a field northeast of the school. The school itself sustained mainly roof damage. Children were in the school when the tornado struck, but no injuries occurred. The tornado continued northeast for several miles, producing light/EF-0 damage along the way. In total, this tornado destroyed 14 homes, caused major damage to 28 homes and minor damage to another 42 homes. Many of the damaged homes were in the Diamond Creek Subdivision. Due to damage in the Diamond Creek Subdivision, the maximum estimated winds with this tornado were 150 mph. The path length was approximately 7.7 miles, and the maximum width was 150 yards. Seven people sustained non life-threatening injuries.

Golf ball to baseball sized hail was reported in Heath.

Tea cup sized and slightly larger hail pelted homes in the Travis Ranch Subdivision in north Forney. The hailstones penetrated 1/2-inch thick plywood and roof decks.

Half dollar sized hail fell at the Walmart located near Interstate 30 and Ridge Road in Rockwall.

Quarter sized hail was reported in Red Oak.

Golf ball sized hail was reported near Waco Regional Airport. The spotter also reported damage to cars and shingles on homes.

Golf ball sized hail was reported in China Spring.

Golf ball sized hail was reported 2 miles west of Waco Regional Airport.

Hail up to the size of tea cups fell in eastern Rockwall County. This large hail was falling from the tornadic supercell that also produced the EF-2 tornado south of Royse City.

Trained spotters and Sulphur Springs PD reported a tornado near Highway 19 North and Loop 301 on the north side of town. This tornado touched down in open country but did damage to a few power poles, power lines, and trees. The tornado was rated an EF-0 with maximum estimated winds near 85 mph. The total path length was around 0.6 miles long with a width of approximately 50 yards.

An EF-3 tornado began in eastern Rockwall County and traveled northeast into Hunt County before lifting. The tornado touched down to the southwest of the intersection of FM 548 and Bent Rd in Rockwall County. The tornado quickly moved into a subdivision and severely damaged or destroyed several homes. The worst of the damage in this subdivision occurred along Laci Ln. Trees and shrubs northeast of these houses by a half mile or so were completely debarked and had no vegetation remaining. The tornado continued northeast and produced damage to homes along Country Manor Rd. There was one house that had a large portion of its roof/top story completely removed. A couple of small barns were also destroyed, one which contained a classic car which ended up blown into the back of a neighbor’s house. The tornado continued northeast where it crossed Hwy 276 and sideswiped a cabinet factory. Part of the outside metal walls were crumbled. There was an incredible amount of industrial debris downstream of this factory north of the highway. The tornado continued northeast and demolished one mobile home and damaged another right at the Rockwall/Hunt County line. In total, 8 homes in Rockwall County were deemed destroyed, 17 sustained major damage, and 8 sustained minor damage. The path length of the tornado in Rockwall County was nearly 2.4 miles, but the total path length was 3.3 miles. Maximum estimated winds were 150 mph and the tornado was approximately 400 yards wide. Three people sustained minor injuries when their doublewide mobile home was struck near the Rockwall/Hunt County line.

A strong EF-2 tornado began in eastern Rockwall County and traveled northeast into Hunt County before lifting. As the tornado crossed into Hunt County, it destroyed one mobile home near the Rockwall/Hunt County Line. The tornado then continued to the northeast where it destroyed the roof of one more home before lifting north of Highway 276. The path length of the tornado in Hunt County was nearly a mile long, but the total path length was 3.3 miles. Maximum estimated winds with the tornado while it was in Hunt County were likely around 130 mph and the tornado was approximately 400 yards wide.

Golf ball sized hail was reported 5 miles south-southwest of Deport.

Quarter sized hail was reported 2 miles south-southwest of West.

Quarter sized hail was reported on the northwest side of Waco.

Nickel sized hail was reported in the Trenton and Leonard areas.

Ping pong ball sized hail was reported 1 mile southeast of Lacy-Lakeview.

Penny sized hail was reported west of Woodway on the bridge crossing Lake Waco.

Several trained storm spotters observed and reported a tornado over open country approximately 6 miles south of Greenville. This EF-0 tornado had maximum estimated winds of approximately 80 mph, a path length of approximately half a mile, and a path width of 50 yards.

Penny sized hail was reported in Greenville.

Damaging thunderstorm winds damaged the roof and structure of a barn located approximately 2 miles south of Greenville. A large section of property fence was also knocked down, an RV was overturned, and large trees were uprooted on the same property.

Golf ball sized hail was reported at Interstate 30 and Highway 34; south of Greenville.

Nickel sized hail was reported in the 1900 block of Highway 31 in Corsicana.

Hail up to roughly the size of quarters was reported near Allen Heights Dr and Bethany Dr in Allen.

Quarter sized hail was reported 1 mile southwest of Powell.

Trained storm spotters reported a tornado 6 miles northwest of Winnsboro which is also about 2 miles southeast of Pickton. The tornado damaged a few trees. Maximum wind speeds were likely around 80 mph.

Quarter sized hail was reported along FM 147 in northeastern Falls County.

A trained storm spotter reported hail fell 3 miles southwest of Rockdale from 7:15 pm until 7:41 pm. The hail started out pea-sized, but increased to the size of pennies before ending.

Ping pong ball sized hail was reported in Tucker.

Quarter sized hail was reported in Long Lake.

Quarter sized hail was reported on the west side of Palestine.