A 75-year-old took a bathtub ride to survival during ETX tornado

(KSLA) - Stories of survival continue to emerge from the night a half dozen tornadoes raked across the ArkLaTex.

One of the most remarkable is Charlesetta Williams and the bathtub the 75-year-old rode to survival.

National Weather Service surveyors found evidence Jan. 23 that 2 more tornadoes had raked across East Texas.

One of those tossed Williams and the bathtub in which she had sought refuge. It also slung a party barge 200 yards into a grove of trees.

That tornado didn't leave the ground until it neared Rodessa, La.

The Weather Service previously had confirmed that a strong tornado, an EF-2 with estimated peak winds of 120 mph, had cut a 7-mile path up to 230 yards wide near Scottsville in Harrison County, Texas.

Now surveyors say another weaker tornado hit near Jefferson in Marion County, Texas, about the same time as the Scottsville tornado.

About a half hour later, another EF-2 touched down near Smithland, also in Marion County.

It was that tornado that crossed Marion County Road 3300 then took the roof off a house, the Weather Service reports.

"A woman inside took shelter in a bathtub," says the storm damage survey team's report. "The tornado lifted the tub out of the home and deposited it in the woods with the woman still in the tub."

The woman was not injured.

At 130 mph, the Smithland tornado had the fastest peak winds the Weather Service has reported thus far from storms that also spawned tornadoes at Plain Dealing and Natchez in neighboring Louisiana.

Following is the synopsis of Weather Service surveys of the East Texas tornadoes.

Tornado 1 near Scottsville in Harrison County, Texas
Rating: EF-2
Estimated peak wind: 120 mph
Path length: 7 miles
Maximum path width: 230 yards 
Fatalities: 0
Injuries: 0
Start: 4:18 p.m. 0.35 of a mile west-northwest of Scottsville
End: 4:35 p.m. 5.27 miles north-northeast of Scottsville
Survey summary: A survey team determined that damage near and to the north of Scottsville, Texas, was consistent with EF2 tornado damage. 
Damage consisted of numerous trees snapped and/or uprooted. Numerous power lines were also downed along the storm's path.
The tornado first touched down along U.S. Highway 80 a mile west of FM 2199 and continued northeast, crossing FM 1998. 
The tornado then did its most destructive damage on Tramel Lane, where trees were downed on several homes. One home had its roof removed. 
The tornado continued north-northeast along Harkins Lane, where more trees were uprooted. It finally lifted on Cowpen Road.

Tornado 2 near Jefferson in Marion County, Texas
Rating: EF-1
Estimated peak wind: 100 mph
Path length: 0.8 of a mile
Maximum path width: 100 yards 
Fatalities: 0
Injuries: 0
Start: 4:19 p.m. 3.7 miles west-northwest of Jefferson
End: 4:23 p.m. 3.77 miles north-northeast of Scottsville, Texas
Survey summary: A survey team determined that damage just west of Jefferson, Texas, was consistent with EF1 tornado damage.
Damage consisted of numerous trees snapped and/or uprooted. Numerous power lines also were downed along the storm's path. 
The short-tracked tornado did most of its damage on Kellyville Cutoff Road just south of FM 729 and lifted near Highway 49 in the Kellyville community. The tornado removed the roof off a single-wide mobile home. A large tree fell on an outbuilding near Highway 49.
The tornado lifted before reaching the Berea community.

Tornado 3 near Smithland in Marion County, Texas
Rating: EF-2
Estimated peak wind: 130 mph
Path length: 13.3 miles
Maximum path width: 800 yards 
Fatalities: 0
Injuries: 0
Start: 4:50 p.m. 1.33 miles west-southwest of Smithland
End: 5:28 p.m. 3.14 miles southwest of Rodessa, La.
Survey summary: A survey team determined that damage near Smithland and across eastern Marion County, Texas, as well as just southwest of Rodessa, La., was consistent with EF-2 tornado damage. 
Damage consisted of numerous trees snapped and/or uprooted. Numerous power lines also were downed along the storm's path. The tornado first touched down just west of Smithland, Texas, near Highway 43 and intensified near Highway 49. 
It moved several vehicles and deposited a party barge 200 yards into a grove of trees. Trees were downed on several homes. And the tornado flipped over a travel trailer. 
It then continued northeast, crossing County Road 3300, at which point it removed the roof of a home. A woman inside took shelter in a bathtub. The tornado lifted the tub out of the home and deposited it in the woods with the woman still in the tub. But the woman was not injured. 
The storm then moved along County Road 3306 before entering far southeast Cass County, Texas, along County Road 4455. It then crossed over State Line Road and moved into Northwest Louisiana northeast of Vivian in Caddo Parish and southwest of Rodessa, where it removed the roof of a cinder-block storage building and shifted a single-wide mobile home several feet off its foundation. 
The tornado lifted on Old Atlanta Road just south of Myrtis Texas Line Road.

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