Multiple upper level shortwaves moved overtop the Plains contributing to the development of severe storms near and along a cold front and dryline on and off between the 18th and 20th. Large hail, damaging winds, flash flooding, and tornadoes were all observed, particularly on the 19th.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS FWD wrote it up.
Multiple upper level shortwaves moved overtop the Plains contributing to the development of severe storms near and along a cold front and dryline on and off between the 18th and 20th. Large hail, damaging winds, flash flooding, and tornadoes were all observed, particularly on the 19th. A total of 12 tornadoes occurred along and east of Highway 281 causing considerable damage: 1 EF-2, 5 EF-1s, and 6 EF-0s.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Fort Worth, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 18, 6:47 PM CST, 2 hours 3 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Fort Worth TX 747 PM CDT Fri Apr 18 2025 ...New Aviation, Short Term... .KEY MESSAGES... - Thunderstorm chances will increase late this evening and overnight mainly west of I-35. A few severe storms will be possible. - Additional showers and thunderstorms are expected Saturday night into early Sunday morning. Locally heavy rainfall will be possible mainly northwest of the Metroplex. - An active period of weather is expected through next week with additional storm chances Tuesday night through Friday. && .SHORT TERM... /NEW/ Update: The current RAP analysis and water vapor satellite imagery shows the mid-/upper-level low pressure system remains over Utah this evening continuing to steer a strong subtropical jet across the southern Plains. As of 7 PM, surface observations show the cold front stretched across Central OK into the southern Texas Panhandle, with the dryline extending southward into the Rolling Plains. With steady moistening and partial cloud breaks, destabilization has continued over the past several hours (1000-2000 J/kg MLCAPE) across the prefrontal warm sector. Though the capping inversion has weakened considerably this afternoon, confirmed by the 00Z observed sounding from Fort Worth, the only convection that has managed to develop over the past several hours has been east of Lubbock/Amarillo into western Oklahoma. This is likely due to the absence of adequate forcing given how far west the surface and upper level features remain. CAM guidance continues to signal convective initiation near the surface boundaries this evening and slowly shifting east overnight (after midnight). The previous forecast remains in good shape (see discussion below) therefore, only minor adjustments were necessary with this update. Given the slow pace of the front, training convection is expected over our far northwestern counties with an isolated (10% chance) for totals exceeding 4 inches by Sunday. For this reason, a Flood Watch will be issued this evening for our northwestern counties through Sunday morning. 12 Previous Discussion: /This Afternoon through Saturday Night/ A warm, humid, and moderately unstable airmass is in place across North Texas this afternoon aided by moist southerly flow. Dewpoints are currently in the mid and upper 60s across the region yielding about 2500 J/kg of instability, but a strong capping inversion is currently in place keeping things mostly quiet. High level moisture is streaming in from the southwest and some weak radar returns are noted, but none of this is reaching the ground thanks to a deep dry sub-cloud layer. The rest of the afternoon should generally remain quiet, although we'll be watching a couple of things as we head into the evening hours. The strong capping inversion will gradually weaken through the late afternoon as a combination of synoptic scale lift, mid-level cooling, and strong surface heating works to modify the profile. This should result in an environment supportive of isolated thunderstorm development by 5-7 pm, however, a lack of any appreciable low level forcing mechanism will be a limiting factor. Several runs of the HRRR attempt to develop convection in and around the Metroplex during this time, likely along a tight theta-e gradient near the shield of thicker cloud cover and mostly sunny skies. While this gradient is currently in place, it's a little uncertain whether or not it will persist into the late afternoon if cloud cover to the west thins a bit. Nonetheless, the environment will be supportive of severe thunderstorms with a large hail and damaging wind threat if any storms were to develop. We'll keep PoPs at 20% this evening to account for this potential. Attention then turns to our western counties this evening and tonight as stronger forcing for ascent spreads into the Southern Plains ahead of a potent shortwave trough. At the surface, a cold front is draped across Central Oklahoma into northwest Texas. This boundary will serve as a focus for convective development off to our northwest late this afternoon and evening, and the bulk of this activity will gradually slide southeastward into our area after dark. We'll have high PoPs to our west and northwest through the overnight hours, as most of this activity should be directly tied to the front. Similar to this afternoon, there will be some potential for severe weather, including large hail and damaging winds through the overnight hours. It's a little uncertain how far east this activity will make it, but any organized cold pools could help push things a little farther east than currently forecast. As this initial wave of ascent pulls off to the northeast, we should see a gradual decrease in coverage and intensity of thunderstorms into the early morning hours on Saturday. We'll maintain relatively high PoPs through the first half of Saturday (particularly across our northwest), but most areas may actually remain precipitation free through the afternoon hours. As the main shortwave begins to eject into the Plains Saturday night, we'll see a rapid uptick in the coverage of showers and thunderstorms across our northwest counties through the late evening hours. Some of this initial re-development could be severe with a large hail and damaging wind threat. An eventual transition into a linear complex of storms is expected through the overnight hours with this activity approaching the I-35 corridor by early Sunday morning. While there will be a threat for severe weather through the period (now through Sat night), the main concern in our area will likely be a focused area of very heavy rainfall across the northwest part of the CWA (Young, Jack, Wise, Cooke, and Montague Counties). This would be closely tied to the frontal boundary where multiple training thunderstorms may occur. There will also be a tight gradient in rainfall amounts with the heaviest occurring across our northwest and much lesser amounts to the south and east. If trends in QPF amounts continue, a localized Flash Flood Watch may be needed for parts of the CWA. Dunn && .LONG TERM... /Issued 109 PM CDT Fri Apr 18 2025/ /Sunday through Friday/ Showers and thunderstorms should be ongoing early Sunday morning with a complex of storms somewhere near the I-35 corridor. While the severe threat should be at a diurnal minimum, we'll have to see how well organized the line of storms remains overnight. A damaging wind threat may persist for a few hours early Sunday morning. Otherwise, the bulk of the strong forcing for ascent will quickly pull off to the north and east through midday, and we'll likely see a rapid decrease in the coverage of showers and storms during this time with drier air quickly filtering in from the west through Sunday afternoon. A brief lull in the active pattern is expected late Sunday through early Tuesday, but deep moisture will not be far removed from the region. Southerly winds will return and pull this moisture northward through the day Tuesday. A series of fast moving disturbances will swing through the Southern Plains during the week with the first one expected Tuesday afternoon. Thunderstorms should initially develop off to the west and south along a dryline and remnant frontal boundary during peak heating. This activity may overspread parts of North Texas Tuesday night into Wednesday. Another disturbance is expected to approach the region on Thursday and this may be the day with the greatest coverage of thunderstorms and threat for severe weather. Dunn && .AVIATION... /NEW/ /00Z TAFs/ VFR flight conditions prevail with a thick canopy of high clouds remaining across D10. Southerly winds continue to be gusty, though speeds have decreased slightly with sustained speeds around 10-15 kts and gusts to 20-25 kts. The main concern for this TAF period continues to be thunderstorms developing well west/northwest of the major airports over the next several hours and drifting slowly towards the I-35 corridor through early Saturday morning. Have extended VCTS and MVFR cigs through 16Z with this update, based on trends in recent guidance with -SHRA lingering through 18Z. The remainder of the day tomorrow still looks to remain precipitation- free with additional thunderstorms expected to reach the TAF sites just beyond the current extended TAF period as the front finally pushes through the region. 12 && .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected at this time. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Dallas-Ft. Worth 67 79 62 75 54 / 70 60 70 80 5 Waco 70 82 63 78 53 / 30 30 30 80 10 Paris 68 81 65 75 51 / 50 50 50 60 10 Denton 64 76 57 75 48 / 70 80 90 70 0 McKinney 67 79 61 73 52 / 70 60 60 80 5 Dallas 68 81 63 76 55 / 70 60 60 80 5 Terrell 68 82 64 75 52 / 30 40 30 80 10 Corsicana 70 84 67 78 55 / 20 40 20 70 20 Temple 68 84 63 78 53 / 20 30 30 80 10 Mineral Wells 65 79 56 76 49 / 70 80 100 40 0 && .FWD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. &&
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Fort Worth TX
931 PM CDT Fri Apr 18 2025
TXZ091-092-190315-
Cooke TX-Montague TX-
931 PM CDT Fri Apr 18 2025
...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of Montague and west
central Cooke Counties through 1015 PM CDT...
At 930 PM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm near
Newport, or 12 miles west of Bowie, moving northeast at 40 mph.
HAZARD...Nickel size hail.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Minor damage to outdoor objects is possible.
This strong thunderstorm will be near...
Nocona around 1005 PM CDT.
Other locations impacted by this storm include Spanish Fort,
Stoneburg, Belcherville, Bulcher, Bonita, Capps Corner, Montague,
Ringgold, Illinois Bend, and Nocona Hills.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.
A Tornado Watch remains in effect until 400 AM CDT for north central
Texas.
&&
LAT...LON 3395 9759 3390 9758 3392 9751 3391 9746
3382 9745 3383 9736 3382 9735 3343 9798
3389 9798 3385 9785 3388 9780 3390 9780
3390 9778 3392 9778 3391 9776 3394 9776
3394 9773 3399 9769 3399 9766
TIME...MOT...LOC 0230Z 223DEG 33KT 3354 9807
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.88 IN
MAX WIND GUST...<30 MPH
ReevesThe Altus AFB radar (KFDR), 125 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:48 UTC.
13 tornado, 11 thunderstorm wind, 7 hail, 3 flash flood, 2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Emergency manager reported 60 mph winds and nickel size hail near Stoneburg.
Half dollar sized hail was reported near the intersection of 1806 and Copeland Rd by an off-duty NWS employee.
The fire department reported quarter size hail and estimated 50 mph wind gusts just south of Nocona.
A member of the public reported multiple broken tree limbs on FM 677 just south of the Red River.
The Eastland AWOS station (KGZN) measured a 60 mph (52 knot) wind gust.
A member of the public reported 2 inch diameter hail on Hubbard Creek Lake.
A tornado formed approximately 3.5 miles southeast of Jacksboro, near the intersection of Fields Lane and U.S. 281. The tornado formed in open pasture south of Hwy 281, then moved northeast and impacted 2 manufactured homes along Fields Lane, producing light roofing and siding damage. The tornado crossed Hwy 281, producing damage to a commercial building system and another manufactured home on the east side of 281. The tornado tracked northeast over mostly open pastureland, crossing U.S. Hwy 380 southeast of Jacksboro before dissipating. The most significant damage occurred to the commercial building along Hwy 281, consistent with high end EF-0 intensity winds of 80 mph.
The second tornado in Jack County during this event formed approximately 8.5 miles northeast of Jacksboro, or about 3.5 miles south of the Cundiff community in eastern Jack County. The tornado developed just off Coca Cola Ranch Road, west of the intersection with Sims Road. Soon after formation, the tornado impacted a power substation, resulting in a power outage to portions of the county. The tornado tracked northeast producing scattered tree damage along Coca Cola Ranch Road. Near the end of the track, an abandoned frame home sustained roof and window damage, and significant tree damage. The tornado dissipated in open country, shortly after impacting the frame residence. Damage along the path was consistent with high end EF-0 intensity winds of 80 mph.
The third tornado in Jack County on the evening of April 19th formed near the intersection of State Highway 59 and FM 1810, approximately 3.25 miles west of the Cundiff community in eastern Jack County. Upon formation, the tornado moved northeast, paralleling FM 1810 for at least 2 miles. Significant tree damage occurred along portions of the path, consistent with EF-1 winds of approximately 90 mph. Multiple outbuildings were impacted with roof damage, and at least 3 residences sustained roof damage as well. An RV trailer at one residence was flipped over and totally destroyed. The tornado dissipated just west of the Cundiff community.
The fourth tornado which began in Jack County, formed over the extreme northeast portion of the county, near Cundiff Crafton Road and the Wise/Jack County line. The tornado moved northeast, producing scattered tree damage, before crossing the Jack/Wise County line and dissipating in the vicinity of the Crafton community in far NW Wise County. This tornado was rated an EF-0 with maximum winds of 75 mph.
This is a continuation of a tornado that formed in the extreme northeast portion of Jack County. The tornado moved northeast, producing scattered tree damage, before crossing the Jack/Wise County line and dissipating in the vicinity of the Crafton community in far NW Wise County. This tornado was rated an EF-0 with maximum winds of 75 mph.
An EF-0 tornado formed along the eastern shore of Lake Amon G Carter in far southwestern Montague County. Numerous trees were damaged within the neighborhood surrounding the Bowie Country Club near the lakeshore. A few homes also sustained minor roof damage, and fencing and outbuildings were also damaged. The tornado moved northeast, impacting some horse barns and other outbuildings near FM 1125. After crossing FM 1125, the tornado moved northeast, producing spotty wind damage. A media storm chasing team observed the tornado crossing US 287 near the Wagon Seller Rd Exit. The tornado dissipated just east of this interchange. Maximum estimated winds were 80 mph.
Tree damage was reported on a property approximately 1.5 miles north of Montague.
The city of Bowie Police Department closed Nelson Street at Mill Street, Nelson Street at the railroad bridge, and Decatur Street due to flash flooding. Social media video also indicated several flooded roads throughout the city of Bowie.
An EF-1 tornado with max winds of 110 mph touched down 5.7 miles northwest of Hico along FM 1824 and moved northeast, damaging a few trees and outbuildings. Along CR 238, several trees were snapped and uprooted and outbuildings damaged. Further to the northeast, a home on CR 229 received roof and siding damage and several trees and outbuildings were damaged. More homes and trees were damaged along CR 209, and a large dairy farm received damage to buildings. The worst damage occurred along CR 211 where one home lost much of its roof and siding, and a mobile home was completely destroyed with debris blown up to 700 yards away across fields. The tornado curved more eastward and weakened, with the last damage noted along FM 2481 to trees in the Johnsville community.
An area of strong straight-line winds developed across central Montague County along the leading edge of a line of very strong thunderstorms. Within this larger area of straight line winds, a brief, narrow spin up tornado occurred and produced significant tree damage along Upper Montague Road. One residence suffered damage when a large tree branch fell and punctured its roof. Minor damage to the roof of an outbuilding also occurred. The tornado crossed Upper Montague Road east of the affected residences and dissipated in open pastureland shortly thereafter.
A broad area of strong straight-line winds developed over central Montague County along and just ahead of a short northeast/southwest-oriented line of intense thunderstorms. Numerous hardwood tree branches were broken off of trees within the region of strong winds, and the roof of at least one barn was partially peeled up. A brief spinup EF-0 tornado also developed within this broader wind field and is documented separately.
Amateur radio passed along reports of water coming into homes, water over roadways, and stranded cars in Nocona. The Montague County Sheriff's Office also reported that US Highway 82 was closed in both directions in Nocona.
An EF-2 tornado with maximum winds upwards of 115 mph touched down along the Hood/Erath County line around 4.2 miles northwest of Paluxy just south of Loftin Road. It then tracked northward before finally lifting 5.4 miles west of Thorp Spring. This tornado blew a 125 year old farm house several feet off of its foundation causing heavy damage to the home, snapped dozens of large trees in the area, and destroyed an outbuilding nearby. A woman was in the home when the tornado struck but was not injured. The tornado then moved north-northeast toward Glenn Cemetery Road, breaking some large tree branches. As the tornado continued north across US Highway 377 at Campbell Road, a side barn and house had metal roofing torn off which was scattered and blown up to 1/2 mile away across fields. The tornado continued north along Campbell Road and heavily damaged a double-wide mobile home roof and siding, a couple of RVs and outbuildings, and blew down several trees. Additional damage was found 2.5 miles northwest of Tolar where more large tree branches were broken on Tolar Highway. Several more trees and tree branches were blown down as the tornado weakened and crossed Lipan Highway, Stonehill Court, and Ridge Court before it dissipated.
A small, weak, intermittent EF-0 tornado with max winds of 65 mph touched down around 6.2 miles southwest of Weatherford and moved northward before lifting in the Greenwood community around 3.7 miles west of Weatherford. Large tree branches were blown down and an outbuilding was flipped over along Royal Santana Run, and a few trees and tree branches were blown down along Old Brock Road and Coy Road. North of I-20, a few tree branches were blown down along Ranger Highway east of Greenwood Cut Off Road and near Desperado Way, and a home and barn received minor damage between Greenwood Cut Off Road and High Meadows Drive.
The same fast-moving supercell that produced the EF-0 tornado near I-20 produced a second tornado northwest of Weatherford. The second tornado, rated an EF-1 with maximum winds of 110 mph, began between Garner Adell Road and the Lake Mineral Wells State Trailway. The tornado moved north-northeast, tracking west of Coldwater Creek Lane towards the intersection of FM 920 and Johnson Bend Road. South of FM 920, most of the damage was rated in the EF-1 category where damage occurred to numerous large trees, uprooting many of them and twisting large branches around snapped trunks. One home in this area sustained notable roof damage when the winds lifted the ceiling on an upstairs balcony. Two other homes sustained minor damage. After the tornado crossed FM 920, it tracked along Johnson Bend Road uprooting more trees and causing damage to sheds and outhouses. However, the tornado also directly impacted a small complex of duplexes, taking off half the roof covering on 3 of the buildings. Continuing along a path to the north-northeast, the tornado caused minor damage in a residential area along Oak Drive, north of Johnson Bend Road. The tornado continued tracking a little bit more to the northeast, damaging trees on a property on Adair Lane, before dissipating north of this area. The maximum width of the tornado was 250 yards when the tornado was doing its most intense damage near FM 920 and Johnson Bend Road.
Emergency management reported multiple high-water rescues in the northern part of Montague County. Multiple boat crews were requested to assist.
An EF-1 tornado began south of Millsap, a little bit north of I-20 and east of South FM 113. The tornado directly impacted a residential property at the beginning of its track, but the home only sustained minor damage. However, many large trees were lost on the property. This is where the tornado received its highest rating of EF-1 with maximum winds of 110 mph. Moving north, the tornado impacted another home along South FM 113, damaging a carport, sheds, barns, and trees. The tornado took a more northeasterly track after reaching East Poe Prairie Road, causing relatively minor damage as it moved north along the west side of Stephens Road. However, the tornado nearly directly hit another home on the north end of Stephens Road resulting in roof damage and considerable tree damage on the property. From here, the tornado was mostly tracked for another 2 to 3 miles by broken tree limbs and other tree damage until the tornado dissipated near Old Millsap Road and Sandy Hill Road. The maximum width of the tornado was 110 yards.
A Facebook video showed hail up to golf ball size fell near Millsap.
A home was damaged on Highway 180 east of Cool. The roof was removed from the small home, but no other notable damage was observed in the area.
An EF-1 tornado with maximum estimated winds of 100 mph tracked near the Adell area. Damage along the path was mostly confined to tree damage, but some minor structural damage was observed at times along the track. The tornado began south of Walker Bend Road and west of Threatt Lane. Along Walker Bend Road, minor damage to homes, sheds, and barns was observed. Tracking northeast, the tornado continued to damage some trees and outbuildings, but received its EF-1 rating at the intersection of FM 1885 and Advance Road where more notable tree damage was observed. The tornado was tracked by minor damage, mostly to trees, for another few miles before dissipating near Russell Bend Road and Dub Lane. The maximum width of the tornado was 200 yards, early in the track.
A storm survey determined straight-line winds damaged a home on Creek Bend Dr located west of Advance and southwest of Poolville. This was the only home damaged on the street and it's elevation is notably higher than the surrounding neighbors. A lot of lightweight metal was damaged and parts of the well-built home shifted some, but not off the foundation.
A member of the public reported half dollar sized hail in Bridgeport.
A video from the public showed large amounts of pea to quarter size hail falling near Alvord.
Trees were blown down and sheet metal was ripped off the roof of a barn at 13324 CR 417, east of Bulcher in northern Cooke County.
Emergency management reported the entire town of Jacksboro lost power due to a downed transmission line near the intersection of Highway 59 and Lost Creek Rd.
Tree damage was reported near the intersection of FM 1810 and Grace Ranch Rd.
The roof of a well-built horse barn sustained damage from strong thunderstorm winds.
A member of the public reported quarter sized hail 2 miles SSW of Prosper.
A public report indicated that US-81 north of Stoneburg remained closed due to flooding.
Emergency management reported multiple county roads and bridges washed out across the county. Flooding was still ongoing, and Highway 81 near Nocona remained closed due to flooding as well.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2025Every state in 2025This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Texas, 2025Warnings in Texas, April 2025
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1253559, 1253555, 1253556, 1253558, 1253562, 1253565, 1256649, 1256653, 1256654, 1256673, 1256677, 1256714, 1257035, 1255896, 1256721, 1256724, 1256727, 1255908, 1256728, 1256731, 1256737, 1255911, 1256753, 1253572, 1257969, 1256759, 1256795, 1253564, 1253571, 1256195, 1256188, 1256193, 1257031, 1253569, 1255913, 1255914.