1stMonday.com Canton First Monday Trade Days Blog

Twister Skips across First Monday Trade Days Grounds
Friday Morning about 8:15AM CST May 2nd 2008

Friday morning just after the Vendors had opened up and the crowds started arriving a Tornado decided to visit First Monday Trade Days In what appears to be a very fortunate set of circumstances, First Monday Trade Days and all the people there were spared the wrath of mother nature for the most part.

The May event is one of the busiest of the year for the Canton Trade Days, bringing in as many as 7,000 to 7,500 Vendors and upwards of 300,000 to 400,000 Visitors some years. This year it also brought a sudden and unexpected visitor in the form of a springtime Texas Twister.

The Tornado touched down in two areas of the Trade Days Park luckily missing the main shopping areas and sparing the crowds and structures for the most part. The Tornado first touched down in a parking area on the southwest side of the grounds. Snapping trees and telephone poles as well as trapping one person in their vehicle under a tree. The vehicles occupant was freed shortly after the Tornado moved on.

Thankfully the Tornado then lifted back up into the air instead of traveling on the ground through the park. It hopped across the main Pavilions area and missed the main shopping areas where most vendors and visitors usually gather to get out of the rain and Thunderstorm. We are very grateful that the storm decided to skip over these areas as this could have been a tragic day yet has instead left us all feeling a sense of wonder at being spared the worst.

There have only been a few confirmed injuries, no deaths and only a small amount of structural damage (see the damage on a slide show from a channel 5 helicopter flyover). The majority of damage was done to the trees and power poles with some damage to a few vendors’ products after the tents or tarps they used to cover their lots were torn away.

There was at least one RV overturned, one vehicle wound up upside down on Highway 19 and one vehicle was overturned on Interstate 20. The Thunderstorm that produced the First Monday Tornado also was reported to have produced as many as 8 to 10 Tornadoes during its swift rampage across East Texas.

It started as a small Thunderstorm that rapidly grew in intensity and seriousness from a small rain storm to a Supercell Thunderstorm towering well over 50,000 feet tall and spawning Tornadoes, high winds, hail and torrential downpours.

There were reports, some unconfirmed of Tornadoes touching down in Canton, Ben Wheeler, Lindale and several other towns in the area. The north end of the storm was producing straight line winds up to 70 and 80 miles an hour. The storm was moving eastward at somewhere near to 40 or 45 miles per hour giving people in its path little warning between seeing it and the weather turning seriously dangerous.

Canton emergency personnel responded rapidly and were assisted by by many of the agencies in the area. The City of Canton employees, helped by volunteers began the clean up almost immediately. Thanks to the great response from all involved and to the fortunate turn of events that left most unscathed, First Monday was back in full swing Friday afternoon and will be open for its regular schedule with no missed weekends.

Once again I want to say how thankful we all are that this Tornado spared so much and so many by hopping over us. The weather over the last 6 to 8 weeks in East Texas as well as North Central Texas has been producing many of these storms and quite a few Tornadoes. It seemed it was only a matter of time until one hit close to home and now it has. Yet we have weathered the storm and are ready for business at the:
World Famous First Monday Trade Days In Canton Texas, Over 160 years old!