Event narrative (NOAA)
This tornado began nearly as the last tornado dissipated to the south and west. The parent supercell cycled another tornado about a mile to the east and northeast of the previous storm. This tornado quickly grew to a large tornado, becoming slightly less than one mile wide at its widest point. The tornado was at the strongest near Interstate 20 and FM 17 just north of Canton. The survey crews found continuous damage between Canton and Fruitvale, and then additional damage as far north as Emory, |and Lake Fork. Several homes, businesses, and farm buildings were damaged or destroyed in the 40 mile continuous damage path. This tornado occurred for over an hour, and spanned most of Van Zandt, and nearly all of Rains Counties during the 80 minute track.
Other notable tornado events in Texas
Source: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database. Deaths and injuries are those NOAA classifies as direct. Damage is the reporting office's estimate at the time and is not inflation-adjusted. This is a catalogue record, not a forecast.