NWS confirms EF-1 tornado in Smith, Henderson counties, details path and damage (2024)

The National Weather Service of Shreveport has released its finalized damage survey after a confirmed tornado in East Texas.

The May 23-24 weather event included an EF-1 tornado in eastern Henderson and southwest Smith County.

Peak wind speeds were about 105 mph. The tornado’s path reached 4.34 miles and the path was 480 yards wide, according to NWS.

There were no deaths, but six injuries were reported.

The tornado started at 7:06 p.m. Thursday and lasted about four minutes. It started in west southwest Coffee City in Henderson County and ended in northeast Coffee City of Smith County.

The EF-1 tornado touched down near an inlet area of Lake Palestine west of Boles Road just southwest of Coffee City. This tornado largely stayed over the water as a waterspout and it briefly came ashore across the Lake Palestine Resort just west of Highway 155, the report states.

Numerous trees were snapped and uprooted at the resort, with several RVs flipped over, and multiple metal canopies at the marina completely collapsed.

“This tornado then moved back over water as a waterspout again as it shifted north-northeast, before moving ashore again across a small neighborhood behind the Lake Palestine Motor Inn,” the report states.

Numerous trees were snapped and uprooted, with at least one large hardwood tree having fallen onto a two-story home.

The tornado then crossed FM 3506 and into the Briarwood Bay subdivision, where numerous trees were snapped and uprooted. This is where the tornado was strongest and widest, before weakening and narrowing as it moved across the northern end of the subdivision along the lake, NWS reported.

The tornado then moved back over water again as a waterspout, crossing into Smith County before coming ashore a third time near a home adjacent to Highway 155 in Dogwood City.

One tree was uprooted here, and multiple large branches were snapped as it crossed Highway 155. Only minor damage was noted farther northeast across County Road 1170, where several large limbs were snapped and a power pole was partially broken.

The tornado lifted near an inlet over Lake Palestine northeast of County Road 1287.

Sporadic wind damage, with estimated winds of 75-95 mph, was found farther east-northeast near Emerald Bay, with additional pockets of concentrated wind damage noted near and just east of Teaselville in extreme southern Smith County.

Of the six injuries resulted from this tornado, four were treated on scene, and two others were transported to a local hospital.

The NWS team expressed thanks to the Henderson County Office of Emergency Management, as well as the Texas Division of Emergency Management Region 3 District 6, for their assistance in locating damage for this survey.

— Santana can be reached at santana@mrobertsmedia.com.