NWS Confirms 5 Tornadoes Touched Down in North Texas Monday Night

The National Weather Service confirms five tornadoes touched down in North Texas Monday night, including two powerful EF-2s.

The NWS' storm survey team determined Tuesday morning that an EF-2 tornado with estimated winds of 130 mph touched down near Blum in far northwestern Hill County at about 7:18 p.m. It stayed on the ground for about 11 minutes, leaving a track about 3.36 miles long.

In Collin County, the NWS said spotter videos and radar data helped them confirm a brief EF-0 tornado that touched down at about 7:41 p.m. two miles south of Weston. The tornado was on the ground for only about two minutes and caused only minor damage restricted to trees and some powerlines.

Using radar and spotter videos, the NWS said a brief EF-0 tornado touched down at about 8 p.m. in far southeastern Johnson County east of Grandview. No significant damage was reported to have occurred from this tornado.

An EF-2 tornado with winds up to 120 mph touched down in Ellis County at 8:44 p.m. The tornado was on the ground until about 8:57 p.m. and tracked 5.2 miles from Waxahachie to Forreston where it crossed Interstate 35E. It was there that several tractor-trailers were toppled, eight people were hospitalized and dozens of structures were damaged. At its maximum, the tornado in Ellis County was 659 yards wide.

NWS Warning Coordination Meteorologist Jennifer Dunn said that there were some homes that suffered significant damage by the Ellis County tornado.

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A fifth tornado, a brief EF-0, also occurred in the eastern part of Granbury in Hood County at about 6:03 p.m. The tornado left only minor damage to some trees and a carport along Davis Road as it traveled north-northwest, the NWS said late Tuesday.

With some warnings coming 40 minutes before the tornadoes arrived, Dunn reminded North Texans to prepare to receive alerts from multiple sources to make sure they are informed of severe weather.

"It is early May, we're still in peak severe weather season. it usually goes through the end of May into the early part of June. We want all North Texans to be aware of severe weather when it occurs in the area. Make sure you have multiple ways to receive the warnings."

"It's a true testament to the radar technology and the experience of our forecasters, and being able to analyze and detect that and issue that information ahead of time," Dunn said.

There have been no known fatalities reported from Monday night's storm.