Dallas Area Tornado Damage Photos From NWS Surveys

By Meghan Evans, Meteorologist
4/5/2012 11:30:22 AM

Several tornadoes ripped across northern Texas on April 3, 2012, causing serious damage to homes, vehicles and businesses. Fourteen tornadoes have been confirmed so far by the NWS Survey Teams.

So far, the tally of twisters is eight EF-0s, one EF-1, three EF-2s, one EF-3 and one more area that still needs to be assessed.

"Here's a photo of the other tornado in Forney. Two tornados touched down #PrayForForney," tweeted Dana P.

The EF-3 tornado struck near Forney, causing significant damage.

"Preliminary ratings of damage in the Diamond Creek Subdivision in Forney, TX suggest damage up to EF-3 occurred. Wind speeds are estimated to be up to 150 mph. Several homes in the subdivision were destroyed and many other homes were badly damaged," according to NWS Survey Teams.

An EF-2 tornado tore through 4.6 miles of Kennedale and Arlington with a path width of 150 yards.

Lancaster and Dallas were hit by and EF-2 tornado that touched down for 7.1 miles with a width of 200 miles.

"The tornado in Lancaster was a high end EF-2 with maximum wind speeds of 125 to 130 mph. 300 homes were damaged in Lancaster. Most of them were single-family 1 or 2 story residences. The survey team will be headed into the city of Dallas soon to continue the assessment," according to NWS Survey Teams.

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Yet another EF-2 tornado ripped through Royse City, staying on the ground for 3.1 miles. The twister had a very large path width of 400 miles.

Southeast of Joshua, Texas, an EF-1 tornado touched down for 1.1 miles. Communities that were impacted by EF-0 tornadoes include: Greenville, Cumby, Sulphur Springs and Winnsboro, Grand Prairie and Irving, Texas.

An second tornado hit Dallas, causing EF-0 damage near Skyline High School.

The NWS Survey Team posted this damage photo taken on April 4, 2012 on the NWS Fort Worth Facebook Page. This is a photo of EF-3 damage near the intersection of Ridgecrest and FM-548 in Forney, Texas. All of the walls of a single family residence collapsed. This is tornado damage from the Forney Tornado that occurred Monday afternoon April 3, 2012.

This is a picture of EF-3 damage of a residence in the Diamond Creek Subdivision in Forney, Texas, taken on the morning of April 4, 2012. The damage occurred during the afternoon on April 3, 2012.

This photo was taken by a NWS Storm Survey team in Lancaster, Texas, on April 4, 2012. It shows EF-2 tornado damage that occurred in parts of Lancaster on April 3, 2012.

A picture from the NWS Survey Team shows the scope of tornado damage south of Royse City in Rockwall County. This damage has been rated as a high end EF-2, likely caused by tornado wind speeds of 130 to 135 mph.

This is an aerial photograph of a tornado damaged area in Arlington, Texas, taken by a NWS Storm Survey team. The damage from the tornado that affected Kennedale and Arlington on April 3, 2012 has been given a preliminary rating of EF-2. The photo was taken on Wednesday, April 4, looking to the east.

This residential structure is located along FM-3048 east of Hwy 174, or 3 miles south southeast of Joshua in northern Johnson County. This EF-1 damage is near the beginning of the tornado's path, according to the NWS Survey Teams.

The NWS Storm Survey teams have documented another tornado in the metroplex from April 3, 2012. A brief EF-0 tornado occurred in the northern sections of Grand Prairie. This photo shows partial loss of a roof on a commercial building just southeast of the intersection of Highway 360 and Avenue K in Grand Prairie, Texas.

NWS Storm Survey team has documented tornado #13 from April 3, 2012. An EF-0 tornado occurred in the city of Irving. This photo was taken this morning near North Belt Line Road and Rochelle Road. Part of the roof of a small professional building was damaged/blown off by the tornado.