EF1 tornado, Lindale, Texas, April 4, 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 mphthis tornado

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

3. 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.

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

EF1, preliminary

Date

April 4, 2026

Touchdown

10:20 AM CDT (15:20 UTC)

Lifted

10:28 AM CDT (15:28 UTC)

On the ground

8 minutes

Path length

2.6 miles (4.2 km)

Path width

32 yards (29 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

County

Smith County

Touchdown point

32.513, -95.384

Lift-off point

32.543, -95.361

Highest wind the damage implies

97 mph

Surveyed by

NWS SHV

The office's name for it

E of Lindale, TX

Survey last edited

July 15, 2026

Record number

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

A mini-supercell developed and produced a short-lived, small, but intense EF1 east and northeast of Lindale, TX. The tornado began in a field just south of FM 16 W downing some small tree limbs and snapping the trunk of a pecan tree. At this same location, significant roof damage, consisting of shingle and roof decking loss, occurred to a single-family residence, resulting in a rating of EF1. The tornado downed a few more tree limbs before crossing FM 16 W. A couple of homes in the Woodcrest subdivision sustained minor shingle damage. Home security cameras in this subdivision recorded the tornado's passage.

The tornado continued northeast and crossed Legion Hills Road. In this location, a second single-family home sustained significant roof damage corresponding to a rating of EF1. A large oak tree was also uprooted on this property. The tornado continued northeast sporadically downing large tree limbs. A few more tree limbs were downed before the tornado lifted near the intersection of FM 2710 and County Road 4107.

This tornado was initially confirmed via multiple videos posted to social media by members of the public. Many thanks go to the Texas Department of Emergency Management and the Smith County Office of Emergency Management for their assistance locating damage.

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

12 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS SHV, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 97 mph.

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

Despite considerable cloud cover across East Texas ahead of a cold front, relatively modest surface heating was ongoing by late morning on April 4th. A very moist air mass characterized by dew points in the upper 60s to lower 70s preceded the front. This environment supported scattered thunderstorm development along and ahead of the cold front, further aided by being on the southern fringe of the stronger mid-level winds helping propel the front. Additionally, MLCAPE values increasing to 1500+ J/kg and 25-35 knots of effective shear supported marginally organized storms capable of wind damage, flash flooding, and isolated tornadoes. However, poor mid-level lapse rates and a linear mode limited hail potential. As a result, one severe thunderstorm with quasi-supercell structure produced a brief tornado near Lindale in Smith County while a separate cluster of thunderstorms led to isolated flash flooding in Longview in Gregg County.

A mini-supercell developed and produced a short-lived, small, but intense EF1 tornado east and northeast of Lindale, TX. The tornado began in a field just south of FM Road 16 West, downing some small tree limbs and snapping the trunk of a pecan tree. At this same location, significant roof damage, consisting of shingle and roof decking loss, occurred to a single-family residence, resulting in a rating of EF1. The tornado downed a few more tree limbs before crossing FM Road 16 West. A couple of homes in the Woodcrest subdivision sustained minor shingle damage. Home security cameras in this|subdivision recorded the tornado's passage. The tornado continued northeast and crossed Legion Hills Road. In this location, a second single-family home sustained significant roof damage corresponding to a rating of EF1. A large oak tree was also uprooted on this property. The tornado continued northeast sporadically downing large tree limbs. A few more tree limbs were downed before the tornado lifted near the intersection of FM Road 2710 and County Road 4107. The tornado had estimated maximum wind speeds of 97 mph, a path length of approximately 2.5 miles, and a path width of 32 yards.

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

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down. One was issued for the county at another hour that day.

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 Marginal Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 12:40 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.

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.

Tyler/Pounds Field (TYR), 20 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

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

The Shreveport radar (KSHV), 144 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 15:18 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

3 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.