Forecasters first identified the threat on October 16 as a large upper-level trough was expected to combine with an unstable atmosphere across Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas particularly.

In the upper levels of the atmosphere, an upper-level trough was expected to amplify as it progressed eastward into the U.S. Plains, providing increasing wind shear throughout the region.

Simultaneously, a low-pressure area and associated cold front were anticipated to shift eastward across an unstable environment, leading to the formation of severe thunderstorms.

[7] By the late afternoon hours of October 20, thunderstorms began to develop across eastern Oklahoma within a rapidly moistening environment.

[10] A pair of long-tracked supercells developed across Tarrant and Johnson counties, intersecting a very unstable regime and producing significant tornadoes as a result.

[11] A squall line formed along the cold front farther west, producing a wide swath of damaging winds and additional tornadoes as it tracked across the South-Central United States.

[12][13] At 8:58 p.m. CDT on October 20, a tornado began in Dallas County, Texas, near the interaction of Spur 348 and Luna Road, snapping large tree limbs.

Along Walnut Hill Lane, a multi-story apartment complex and a commercial building had their roofs ripped off, and also sustained loss of some exterior walls.

The most intense pocket of damage occurred along Northaven Road, where one well-built brick home had its roof torn off, and sustained collapse of most exterior walls.