Mount Vernon Optic-Herald

This oak tree which shaded the play area at Rainbow Day Care, south of the Methodist Church in Mount Vernon, could not hold its mass in the 75 mph winds that swept the area in the pre-dawn hours of Saturday, April 24. Trees all across Mount Vernon and Franklin County were damaged or uprooted during the Friday night storms that swept through the area. The National Weather Service’s official weather station in Mount Vernon recorded 1.7 inches of rain before 7 a.m. Saturday. Repeated rain events softened the ground and left large trees with no secure roots to brace them against high spring winds. Trees all across Mount Vernon and Franklin County were plucked from the ground, where roots tore away from the soil.
The National Weather Service conducted storm surveys and concluded there were four EF0 tornados across central east Texas Friday night and early Saturday morning. The closest of these was along the Wood and Franklin county line. The zero tornado is believed to have lasted about four minutes with winds of up to 75 miles per hour. Its damage began  around 2:45 a.m. along a 5.5 mile long and 70 yard wide path. The route went from about 1.5 miles south of Winnsboro to about two miles southwest of Scroggins. See the April 29 edition of the Optic-Herald for more information.