EF2 tornado, Bridgeport Muni Arpt to Lake Bridgeport, Texas, April 25, 2026

1. EF065 to 85 mph

   Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

2. EF186 to 110 mph

   Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

3. EF2111 to 135 mphthis tornado

   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.

4. 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.

5. EF4166 to 200 mph

   Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

6. 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.

7. 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.

Rating, as surveyed

EF2, preliminary

Date

April 25, 2026

Touchdown

9:03 PM CDT (02:03 UTC)

Lifted

9:07 PM CDT (02:07 UTC)

On the ground

4 minutes

Path length

1.7 miles (2.7 km)

Path width

650 yards (594 m)

Deaths

1

Injuries

0

County

Wise County

Touchdown point

33.163, -97.884

Lift-off point

33.165, -97.912

Highest wind the damage implies

130 mph

Surveyed by

NWS FWD

Survey last edited

May 31, 2026

Record number

None yet. SPC numbers 2026 in the spring of 2027.

A team from the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Fort Worth conducted a damage survey in Runaway Bay, Texas following a severe thunderstorm event which impacted Wise County the evening of April 25th, 2026. The survey team determined that an EF-2 tornado occurred on the southwest side of Runaway Bay with peak winds estimated to be 130 mph.

This tornado formed just south of Highway 380 near Port O Call Drive and Pinto Court where a narrow swath of EF-0 tree damage was observed. The tornado then continued towards the west, uprooting some trees and snapping large branches as it approached Cimmarron Trail. By this time, the tornado was nearly a quarter of a mile wide, causing substantial tree damage and minor roof damage before moving into a residential area between Cimmarron Trail and Jasper Creek Road. Most homes in this neighborhood sustained high-end EF-0 and EF-1 damage with heavily damaged manufactured homes, broken windows, failed garage doors, uprooted trees, and substantial roof damage to single family homes.

Within the broader area of EF-0/EF-1 damage, small vortices embedded in the tornado produced narrow corridors of EF-2 damage. The first instance was a two-floor residence on the northeast corner of the Cactus Canyon Drive and Brookview Drive intersection. Here, the home lost a substantial amount of roofing along with some exterior walls on the second floor. Two single-wide manufactured homes in the vicinity of this house were completely destroyed with debris displaced away from their original location. A second home in the northeast side of the neighborhood on Cactus Canyon Drive lost nearly all of its roofing. Wind estimates of this damage ranged from 120-125 mph. The tornado was also at its maximum width at this time, around a third of a mile wide.

The most intense damage was observed with a double-wide manufactured home near the intersection of Overland Trail and Cumberland Trail. The metal frame was found 100 yards downwind of the original home site, with additional debris several hundred yards to the west. Severe tree damage was also noted just on the west side of Jasper Creek Road. This damage was consistent with a high-end EF-2 intensity tornado containing estimated wind speeds of up to 130 mph. A fatality occurred in this destroyed residence.

The tornado continued into a forested area dissipating approximately 600 yards west of Jasper Creek Road, completing its 1.4 mile long path.

Written by NWS FWD in the NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit. A survey is revised as better evidence arrives.

100 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS FWD, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF2. The highest wind the damage implies is 130 mph.

• Mostly tree limbs down and a few uprooted trees in wet soil
• Single wide next door blew into the house on its side.
• Estimated end of the track. No discernable damage beyond this point.

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

From April 24 to April 27, daily thunderstorms developed during the late afternoon and evening, triggered by a dryline and a meandering frontal boundary. These long-lasting supercells were fueled by a highly unstable and sheared environment, resulting in several tornadoes, damaging winds, and very large hail. Two fatalities occurred on April 25th.

An EF-2 tornado occurred on the southwest side of Runaway Bay with peak winds estimated at 130 mph. This tornado formed just south of Highway 380 near Port O Call Drive and Pinto Court where a 100 to 200 yard wide swath of EF-0 tree damage was observed. The tornado then continued towards the west, uprooting some trees and snapping large branches as it approached Cimmarron Trail. By this time the tornado was nearly a third of a mile wide, causing substantial tree damage and minor roof damage before moving into a residential area between Cimmarron Trail and Jasper Creek Road. Most homes in this neighborhood sustained high-end EF-0 and EF-1 damage with heavily damaged manufactured homes, broken windows, failed garage doors, uprooted trees, and substantial roof damage to single family homes. Within the broader area of EF-0/EF-1 damage, small vortices embedded in the tornado produced narrow corridors of EF-2 damage. The first instance was a two-floor residence on the northeast corner of the Cactus Canyon Drive and Brookview Drive intersection. Here, the home lost a substantial amount of roofing along with some exterior walls on the second floor. Two single-wide manufactured homes in the vicinity of this house were completely destroyed with debris displaced away from their original location. A second home in the northeast side of the neighborhood on Cactus Canyon Drive lost nearly all of its roofing. Wind estimates of this damage ranged from 120-125 mph. The most intense damage was observed with a double-wide manufactured home near the intersection of Overland Trail and Cumberland Trail. The metal frame was found 100 yards downwind of the original home site, with additional debris several hundred yards to the west. Severe tree damage was also noted just on the west side of Jasper Creek Road. This damage was consistent with a high-end EF-2 intensity tornado containing estimated wind speeds of up to 130 mph. A fatality occurred in this destroyed residence. The tornado was also at its peak width during this time, just over half a mile wide. The tornado continued into a forested area dissipating approximately 600 yards west of Jasper Creek Road, completing its 1.4 mile long path.

The deaths

1 direct deaths are recorded for this tornado, each with what Storm Data knows of it.

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

28 minutes of warning. NWS FWD issued a tornado warning for this county at 01:35 UTC, 28 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 02:15 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 20:52 UTC and running to 03:45 UTC.

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 Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Enhanced Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 01:00 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.

NWS Fort Worth, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Apr 25, 6:34 PM CDT, 2 hours 29 minutes earlier. Its key messages:

• Severe weather is possible across parts of North Texas through this evening with areas along and north of I-20 having the highest chances for storms. Very large hail, damaging winds, and tornadoes will all be possible.
• An unsettled pattern will continue through next week with additional storm chances expected across the region, particularly Tuesday through Friday.

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Fort Worth TX
634 PM CDT Sat Apr 25 2026

...New AVIATION...

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Severe weather is possible across parts of North Texas through
  this evening with areas along and north of I-20 having the
  highest chances for storms. Very large hail, damaging winds, and
  tornadoes will all be possible.

- An unsettled pattern will continue through next week with
  additional storm chances expected across the region,
  particularly Tuesday through Friday.

&&

.SHORT TERM...
(This evening through Sunday Night)
Issued at 225 PM CDT Sat Apr 25 2026

The primary forecast challenge through the short-term period
continues to be the convective initiation potential versus
expected storm intensity, though confidence in at least scattered
development has increased near the Red River.

A quasi-stationary boundary across North Texas will gradually
lift northward through the afternoon. Meanwhile, a surface low
will deepen across northwest Texas with a dryline extended
southward through Central Texas. This will result in a favorable
triple point configuration near the Red River by late afternoon.

Strong to locally extreme instability is expected to develop
across the region with MLCAPE values of 2500-4000 J/kg and steep
mid-level lapse rates. While large-scale ascent remains modest at
best, the approach of a shortwave trough and associated mid-level
speed max will provide sufficient forcing for thunderstorm
initiation, especially near the Red River (triple point).

The Storm Prediction Center continues to highlight areas along and
north of the Red River in a Moderate Risk, with far North Texas
residing along the southern fringe of this higher-end threat.
Widely scattered thunderstorms are now expected to develop this
afternoon into early evening, with the highest coverage near the
Red River.

Given 40-50 kts of effective bulk shear, storms will quickly
organize into intense supercells capable of producing very large
hail, damaging winds, and tornadoes. The tornado threat will be
maximized near the warm front where locally enhanced low-level
shear and backed surface winds will exist.

Farther south, storm chances remain more conditional due to
lingering capping along the dryline. However, the environment
remains highly favorable, and any isolated storm that develops
will have the potential to rapidly become severe.

Through the evening hours, storms are expected to track east-
southeast along and south of the Red River. With time, some
upscale growth into clusters is expected, resulting in an
increasing threat for damaging winds as the cluster of
thunderstorms moves from northwest to southeast. Storm chances
will linger in the east through the night thanks to a slow-
moving outflow boundary that will keep ascent over our eastern-
most counties.

The surface low responsible for the development of the triple
point will linger into Sunday, once again sharpening the dryline
in the afternoon. Abundant low-level moisture will be in place,
however, a lack of forcing for ascent will keep the chance of
storm initiation low. Some CAMs hint at a few convective attempts
across Central Texas in the afternoon, however, the capping
inversion will likely prevent the updrafts from rapid growth. For
now, we'll maintain storm chances across Central Texas at 10-15%.
The odds favor a precipitation-free day for North and Central
Texas tomorrow afternoon and evening. With a dryline persisting
through the night and a shortwave moving overhead, a few isolated
storms cannot be ruled out Sunday night into Monday morning.

&&

.LONG TERM...
(Monday through next Friday)
Issued at 225 PM CDT Sat Apr 25 2026

The active weather pattern will persist going into next week as
large-scale troughing continues to impact the western United
States. This will keep south to southwesterly flow in the lower-
levels, supplying continued moisture into North and Central
Texas. The dryline will once again be draped from north to south
across the region, keeping the threat of isolated thunderstorms
alive in the afternoon.

Rain chances will increase on Tuesday as a slow-moving cold front
slides south of of Oklahoma. This front will supply strong forcing
for ascent and a blossoming of showers and storms is becoming
more probable Tuesday afternoon. Instability values above 3000
J/kg and strong effective shear will increase the potential for
strong to severe storms. Exact location and timing is unclear
this far out but areas east of I-35 may have the greatest threat.

The cold front is expected to continue sliding southward by the
middle of the week, ushering in cooler temperatures areawide. High
temperatures on Wednesday will be in the upper 70s to mid 80s,
with 60s and 70s to finish out next week. Passing shortwaves will
lead to periodic rain chances each day, with an overall low severe
weather threat.

&&

.AVIATION...
(00Z TAFS)
Issued at 603 PM CDT Sat Apr 25 2026

Main concern through the near-term is potential thunderstorm
activity near the TAF sites mainly between 01-04z this evening.
While convection struggled to develop farther south on the dryline
late this afternoon, thunderstorms are underway near a triple
point in Northwest Texas and southern Oklahoma which should have a
tendency to advance ESE with time. While the potential for
thunderstorms immediately at the TAF sites remains rather low this
evening at about 10-20%, impacts due to thunderstorms nearby are
possible as one or more convective clusters is likely to encroach
on areas just north of the TAF sites at a minimum. While a brief
wind shift due to nearby outflows is possible, this scenario is
too low of a probability to formally include in the TAFs at this
point. Storms may continue to impact arrivals/departures for
eastern parts of D10 beyond 04z as convective activity advances
into East Texas tonight.

Otherwise, another round of MVFR cigs can be expected tomorrow
morning before scattering to VFR occurs by midday. Outside of any
convectively induced wind shifts at the TAF sites, a southerly
wind at 10-15 kts will prevail with a few gusts over 20 kts.

&&

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
Spotter activation may be requested across North Texas this
evening. Even if activation is not locally requested, any reports
of hazardous weather to the National Weather Service are
appreciated.

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
Dallas-Ft. Worth    71  91  73  93 /  20  10  10  10
Waco                71  90  71  90 /  10  10  10  10
Paris               64  85  69  87 /  80  30  20  20
Denton              67  90  71  93 /  30  10  10  10
McKinney            68  89  72  92 /  40  10  10  10
Dallas              71  93  73  93 /  30  10  10  10
Terrell             70  88  71  91 /  30  10  10  20
Corsicana           72  91  74  93 /  20  10  10  20
Temple              70  91  71  91 /  10  10  10  10
Mineral Wells       67  95  70  94 /  10   0  10  10

&&

.FWD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
None.
&&

SHORT TERM...Hernandez
LONG TERM....Hernandez
AVIATION...Stalley

In the hours before

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Fort Worth TX
825 PM CDT Sat Apr 25 2026

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

0822 PM     Hail             8 NE Jacksboro          33.31N 98.05W
04/25/2026  M1.00 Inch       Jack               TX   Emergency Mngr

&&

MSS

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Fort Worth TX
833 PM CDT Sat Apr 25 2026

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

0826 PM     Hail             2 W Runaway Bay         33.16N 97.90W
04/25/2026  E1.25 Inch       Wise               TX   Public

            Report from mPING.

&&

MSS

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Fort Worth TX
843 PM CDT Sat Apr 25 2026

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

0836 PM     Hail             1 SW Runaway Bay        33.17N 97.88W
04/25/2026  E1.50 Inch       Wise               TX   Public

            Report from mPING.

&&

MSS

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Fort Worth TX
844 PM CDT Sat Apr 25 2026

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

0843 PM     Hail             Runaway Bay             33.17N 97.89W
04/25/2026  M2.00 Inch       Wise               TX   Broadcast Media

&&

MSS

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Fort Worth TX
851 PM CDT Sat Apr 25 2026

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

0849 PM     Hail             2 WNW Bridgeport        33.22N 97.78W
04/25/2026  E1.00 Inch       Wise               TX   Amateur Radio

&&

MSS

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Fort Worth TX
858 PM CDT Sat Apr 25 2026

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

0847 PM     Hail             Runaway Bay             33.17N 97.87W
04/25/2026  M2.75 Inch       Wise               TX   Amateur Radio

&&

MSS

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.

The Dallas/Ft Worth radar (KFWS), 86 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 02:03 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.

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

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

The live radar over the trackEvery 2026 tornado in TexasEvery tornado in Texas since 1950Warnings in force in Texas nowThe forecast where you are

14 more have been surveyed in the United States that day, so far.

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. A survey can be revised, so the rating, the path and the casualties can all still change.

NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit, the record the survey teams file from the damage, and NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports. Neither is the official database for 2026, which SPC publishes in the spring of 2027.