Tornadoes · United States · Texas · 2025

EF0 tornado, Frankston, Texas, May 6, 2025

Name: EF0 tornado, Frankston, Texas, May 6, 2025
Start: 2025-05-06T18:26:00.000Z
End: 2025-05-06T18:31:00.000Z
Location: Frankston, Texas

This EF0 tornado ran 4.8 miles across Anderson County on May 6, 2025, touching down at 1:26 PM CDT and reaching 300 yards wide. It killed nobody and injured 1, and did $50,000 of property damage.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Enhanced Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

EF065 to 85 mphthis tornado
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
EF2111 to 135 mph
Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.
EF3136 to 165 mph
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
EF4166 to 200 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
EF5over 200 mph
Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.
Unrated
The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

The record

Rating: EF0
Date: May 6, 2025
Touchdown: 1:26 PM CDT (18:26 UTC)
Lifted: 1:31 PM CDT (18:31 UTC)
On the ground: 5 minutes
Path length: 4.8 miles (7.8 km)
Path width: 300 yards (274 m)
Deaths: 0
Injuries: 1
Property damage: $50,000
County: Anderson County
Touchdown point: 32.053, -95.529
Lift-off point: 32.066, -95.449
Record number: 2505061226-01

The damage survey

87 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS FWD and NWS SHV, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 93 mph.

One tree damaged south of road too
Uprooted tree fell on end of home injuring a male inside.
Sheet metal carport torn up too
Actual end of damage was north of the bend in the road. Can’t access farther north

Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.

What the Weather Service recorded

A sharp upper trough and a meandering surface front generated two rounds of thunderstorms across the region, one round on May 5 and the other on May 6. Most of the severe weather took place on the 6th, when large hail, damaging winds, and a few tornadoes occurred. A total of 5 tornadoes were surveyed in the far southeast parts of the County Warning Area: two EF-0s and three EF-1s. The strongest tornado had winds up to 105 mph and moved through Jewett in Leon County.

An EF-0 tornado started west of the town of Frankston, close to Hwy 175 and Anderson CR 303. Initially the tornado damaged trees at a few homes along Hwy 175. As the tornado moved into town, it continued to cause tree damage, breaking large limbs from trunks and uprooting trees. Some of the limbs and trees fell on homes causing damage to roofs. One tree fell through the end of a home causing a non-life threatening injury. In the town of Frankston, the tornado was rated EF-0 with maximum winds of 85 mph. Many of the uprooted trees occurred in already saturated soils, and this was factored into the final wind speed determination. The tornado continued east of town and was tracked by scattered tree damage along CRs 3051 and 309. The tornado likely dissipated before reaching Lake Palestine.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

The warnings

3 minutes of warning. NWS FWD issued a tornado warning for this county at 18:23 UTC, 3 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 18:40 UTC.

The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 14:53 UTC and running to 19:59 UTC.

Issued (UTC)	Expired	Product	Office
12:00 UTC	22:48 UTC	Flood Watch	FWD
14:53 UTC	19:59 UTC	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	FWD
18:23 UTC	18:40 UTC	Tornado Warning	FWD
18:36 UTC	19:30 UTC	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FWD

Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.

The forecast that day

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Slight Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 16:30 UTC.

SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the tornado touched down, 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 tornado touched down at May 6, 6:02 AM CDT, 7 hours 24 minutes earlier. Its key messages:

Widespread showers and storms are expected today. Some storms may be severe and may produce heavy rain.
An unsettled pattern will continue through the end of the week.

Area forecast discussion, May 6, 6:02 AM CDT, 7 hours 24 minutes before

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Fort Worth TX
602 AM CDT Tue May 6 2025

...New Aviation, Short Term...

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Widespread showers and storms are expected today. Some storms
  may be severe and may produce heavy rain.

- An unsettled pattern will continue through the end of the week.

&&

.SHORT TERM... /NEW/
Update:

Thunderstorms over the Big Country will contain a threat for large
hail as they enter the western counties over the next few hours.

Thus far, storms have exhibited an overall weakening trend as they
move northeast and away from a warm front currently stretching
from the Edwards Plateau to Southeast Texas. However, there is
still enough elevated instability (1000-1500 j/kg of MUCAPE)
across our western zones to support a hail threat, and a Severe
Thunderstorm Watch is in effect for areas along and west of a line
from Mineral Wells to Temple until 10 AM. Otherwise, a day of
widespread showers and storms can be expected as a strong upper
level disturbance moves overhead. Some severe storms are possible,
especially later this morning and this afternoon across Central
Texas as the warm front moves north into the area. Storms will
exit into East Texas and Louisiana around sunset.

30

Previous Discussion:
/Through Tuesday Night/

Unsettled weather will continue in the near-term as an upper low
remains positioned over the Four Corners region. A strong
shortwave rounding the east flank of the low will generate
scattered to numerous showers and storms starting early Tuesday
morning. Peak coverage of convection across the CWA will be rush
hour Tuesday morning through early Tuesday afternoon when the
strongest ascent associated with the shortwave disturbance will
take place. Locally heavy rain will be the primary concern,
particularly where any training showers and storms occur, and a
Flood Watch remains in effect through Tuesday night for all but
the southwest zones. Rainfall totals will be generally in the 1 to
3 inch range, with locally higher totals possible in the Watch
area.

At the surface, a warm front over South Texas will shift north
overnight as the shortwave approaches from the southwest. The
northward extent of the surface front will be somewhere across
Central Texas late morning through this afternoon, likely limiting
the severe weather threat to the southern few rows of counties.
Damaging winds and large hail will both be a possibility in these
southern Central Texas zones. A relatively cool, stable surface
airmass will be in place across the rest of the region, precluding
surface-based convection. That being said, around 1000 j/kg of
elevated "Most Unstable" CAPE will still support the occasional
storm with 1+ inch diameter hail, so a low-end severe weather
threat will still exist in the cool sector.

Precipitation will push east into East Texas/Louisiana late
afternoon, followed by more cool and damp conditions Tuesday
night. Recent rain and dewpoint depressions approaching zero will
support a combination of low cloud and fog formation by daybreak
Wednesday.

30

&&

.LONG TERM... /Issued 253 AM CDT Tue May 6 2025/
/Wednesday through next Tuesday/

Though the prevailing synoptic pattern (Omega Block) is
collapsing, the slow-moving mid/upper-level low will be with us
for a while as it slowly progresses eastward and becomes cutoff
over the Southern Plains on Wednesday. Most of North and Central
Texas should be precipitation-free by Wednesday morning though, with
the only ongoing convective activity tied to the stalling front
draped well south of our forecast area. However, isentropic ascent
on the cool side of the surface boundary, peripherally influenced
by the nearby mid/upper-level low, could yield lingering elevated
showers and thunderstorms in our southeastern counties through
the afternoon.

By Wednesday evening, another weak shortwave/perturbation
embedded in the cyclonic flow aloft will support convective
development in Oklahoma and adjacent areas of North Texas
spreading down to the I-20 corridor early Thursday morning. Though
models usually have notoriously poor handling of low pressure
systems cutoff from the prevailing westerly flow, the current
signal amongst available guidance is that the low will be located
over the Ozarks by early Thursday transitioning (briefly) back
into an open trough. Cold temperatures aloft combined with
shallow/residual low-level moisture and daytime heating may
provide modest destabilization both Thursday and Friday afternoon
as the boundary layer becomes well mixed. Thunderstorm activity is
possible across the region during peak heating before diminishing
as instability wanes shortly after sunset. The risk for severe
weather during this period remains low due to weak vertical shear.

By late Friday, the shortwave trough is projected to deepen back
into a closed low over the Lower Mississippi Valley, aided by a
secondary upper low currently developing on the backside of the
parent system. Though we will remain in close proximity to the
upper-level low through the weekend, we will be located on the
subsident flank, with the better moisture and forcing well to the
east-southeast. This should preclude additional rain chances
across North and Central Texas through early next week.
Temperatures through the end of the period will remain cooler
than normal for early-mid May, a detail I think none of us will be
complaining about!

12

&&

.AVIATION... /NEW/
/12Z TAFs/

Thunderstorms will increase in coverage over the next several
hours at all TAF sites, with peak coverage (and highest
probability for direct impacts) being in the 14Z to 18Z time
frame. Precipitation will end by 21Z, and will be followed by a
combination of low ceilings and reduced visibilities tonight.
Otherwise, east winds today will decrease in speed while backing
to the northeast tonight.

30

&&

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
Spotter activation is not likely through tomorrow, but any reports
of hazardous weather submitted to the National Weather Service
are appreciated.

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
Dallas-Ft. Worth    71  62  79  61  77 /  90  20  10  20  30
Waco                77  62  81  62  77 /  90  10  10  10  20
Paris               65  60  76  58  74 / 100  50  10  20  40
Denton              69  57  77  56  75 /  90  20  10  30  30
McKinney            67  60  77  59  75 /  90  30  10  20  30
Dallas              71  62  80  61  77 /  90  20  10  20  30
Terrell             70  62  79  61  77 /  90  30  10  20  30
Corsicana           75  65  81  63  79 /  90  20  10  20  30
Temple              81  62  83  63  80 /  90  10  20  10  20
Mineral Wells       76  57  80  56  77 /  90  10  10  20  20

&&

.FWD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
Flood Watch through late tonight for TXZ091>095-100>107-115>123-
134-135-146>148-161-162-175.

Severe Thunderstorm Watch until 10 AM CDT this morning for
TXZ115-116-129-130-141>143-156>158.

&&

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 6, 10:31 AM CDT, 2 hours 55 minutes before

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Fort Worth TX
1031 AM CDT Tue May 6 2025

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1028 AM     Hail             Garland                 32.91N 96.63W
05/06/2025  E1.00 Inch       Dallas             TX   Public

            Spotter reports 1 inch hail in Garland.

&&

JH

Local storm report, May 6, 10:47 AM CDT, 2 hours 39 minutes before

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Fort Worth TX
1047 AM CDT Tue May 6 2025

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1045 AM     Hail             1 W Sachse              32.98N 96.60W
05/06/2025  E1.00 Inch       Dallas             TX   Public

            1 inch hail in Sachse.

1040 AM     Hail             2 N Garland             32.93N 96.63W
05/06/2025  E1.00 Inch       Dallas             TX   Public

            Report from mPING: Quarter (1.00 in.).

&&

Local storm report, May 6, 10:50 AM CDT, 2 hours 36 minutes before

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Fort Worth TX
1050 AM CDT Tue May 6 2025

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1046 AM     Hail             1 E Murphy              33.01N 96.59W
05/06/2025  E1.25 Inch       Collin             TX   Public

            Report from mPING: Half Dollar (1.25 in.).

&&

Local storm report, May 6, 10:52 AM CDT, 2 hours 34 minutes before

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Fort Worth TX
1052 AM CDT Tue May 6 2025

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1049 AM     Hail             1 NW Sachse             32.99N 96.60W
05/06/2025  E1.50 Inch       Collin             TX   Public

            Report from mPING: Ping Pong Ball (1.50
            in.).

&&

Local storm report, May 6, 11:05 AM CDT, 2 hours 21 minutes before

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Fort Worth TX
1105 AM CDT Tue May 6 2025

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1035 AM     Hail             Garland                 32.91N 96.63W
05/06/2025  M1.25 Inch       Dallas             TX   Public

            Social media picture of half dollar sized
            hail in North Garland.

&&

Prater

Local storm report, May 6, 11:11 AM CDT, 2 hours 15 minutes before

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Fort Worth TX
1111 AM CDT Tue May 6 2025

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1036 AM     Hail             1 W Sachse              32.98N 96.59W
05/06/2025  M1.50 Inch       Dallas             TX   Public

            Social media report of 1.5 inch hail around
            HWY 78 and 5th street in Sachse. Time
            estimated by radar.

&&

Prater

The air that afternoon

The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.

Shreveport, LA (KSHV), 12:00Z

6.4 hours before the tornado, 170 km from the path. May 6, 2025.

Skew-T log-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.

Hodograph

The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.

Mixed-layer CAPE: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -9317 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1586 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 46 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 17 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 104 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 203 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0
0-3 km lapse rate: 4.6 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Shreveport, LA (KSHV), 00:00Z

5.6 hours after it, 170 km from the path. May 7, 2025.

Skew-T log-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.

Hodograph

Mixed-layer CAPE: 1 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -539 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1069 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 62 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 47 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 250 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 207 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0
0-3 km lapse rate: 3.6 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Jacksonville (JSO), 33 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)	Temp (°F)	Dew point (°F)	Wind	Gust (kt)	Pressure (mb)	Weather
16:35 UTC	66.6	66.6	100° 7 kt		1008.1
16:55 UTC	67.3	67.3	120° 8 kt	16	1007.8
17:15 UTC	68.7	68.4	120° 12 kt	18	1006.4
17:35 UTC	68.7	68.5	140° 8 kt	16	1006.4	TSRA BR
17:55 UTC	68	68	140° 10 kt	21	1006.4	-RA BR VCTS
18:15 UTC	69	69	150° 10 kt	17	1006.4	VCTS
18:35 UTC	69	69	160° 9 kt	19	1007.1	-TSRA BR
18:55 UTC	69.4	69.4	160° 8 kt		1007.8	BR VCTS
19:15 UTC	68.4	68.4	300° 19 kt	25	1010.8	-TSRA BR
19:35 UTC	64	63.5	220° 5 kt		1010.2	+TSRA BR
19:55 UTC	63.5	63.5	0° 0 kt		1009.5	TSRA BR
20:15 UTC	63.3	63.3	0° 0 kt		1008.8	-RA BR VCTS

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

The radar

The Shreveport radar (KSHV), 161 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 18:24 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track

Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.

What was reported nearby

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

Time (UTC)	Report	Where	County	Remark
17:45 UTC	HAIL 1	4 Se Noonday	Smith, TX	Report of quarter sized hail in Flint, TX.
17:52 UTC	HAIL 1	3 Ese Noonday	Smith, TX	Report of quarter sized hail in Gresham, TX.
18:26 UTC	TORNADO	2 W Frankston	Anderson, TX	* 1 INJ * An EF-0 tornado started west of the town of Frankston, close to Hwy 175 and Anderson CR 303. Initially the tornado damaged trees at a few homes along Hwy 175. As the tornado moved into town, it continued to
18:28 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	Frankston	Anderson, TX	Emergency manager reports trees on homes and powerlines down in Frankston. Time estimated by radar.
18:41 UTC	TORNADO	2 Wnw Bullard	Smith, TX	NWS Storm Survey across southern Smith County, Texas determined that damage was consistent with that of an EF-1 Tornado with peak winds near 93 mph. The tornado uprooted and/or snapped several trees along its near eastwa
18:44 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	1 E Bullard	Smith, TX	Report of multiple trees down on FM 344.
18:48 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	1 E Bullard	Smith, TX	Corrects previous flash flood report from 1 E Bullard. Report of multiple trees down on a house in the area of Pecan Valley Drive.
18:48 UTC	FLASH FLOOD	1 E Bullard	Smith, TX	Report of multiple trees down on a house in the area of Pecan Valley Drive.
18:51 UTC	FLASH FLOOD	1 Sse Athens	Henderson, TX	Social media video showed significant flash flooding around the Piggly Wiggly in Athens.
18:57 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	7 Ssw Poynor	Anderson, TX	Several trees down on FM 837 blocking the road between Hwy 19 and Hwy 155. Reported via VFD.
20:00 UTC	FLASH FLOOD	5 Ne Lindale	Smith, TX	Report of FM 2710 flooded with cars stranded.
20:02 UTC	FLASH FLOOD	2 S Lindale	Smith, TX	Report of flooding on CR 472.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.

This ground now

The live radar over the track Every 2025 tornado in Texas Every tornado in Texas since 1950 Warnings in force in Texas now The forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of May 6, 2025

10 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
May 6	12:15 PM CDT	EF0	Milam, TX	9.3	250	$20,000
May 6	12:57 PM CDT	EF0	Robertson, TX	2.9	100	$10,000
May 6	1:11 PM CDT	EF1	Leon, TX	3.5	480	$100,000
May 6	1:20 PM CDT	EF1	Leon, TX	6.0	100	$10,000
May 6	1:41 PM CDT	EF1	Smith, TX	4.9	600	$25,000
May 6	3:47 PM EDT	EF1	Northampton, PA	1.5	100	$20,000
May 6	2:05 PM MDT	Unrated	Chaves, NM	1.2	15
May 6	3:26 PM CDT	EF1	Caddo Parish, LA	12.7	810	$775,000
May 6	3:54 PM CDT	EF0	Bossier Parish, LA	2.3	340
May 6	4:40 PM MST	EF0	Yavapai, AZ	0.1	30

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.