Monday, April 27, 2015

Severe Storms Pummel Texas: Multiple Tornadoes Confirmed in Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex

Sean Breslin
Published: April 27,2015




 
Severe storms ramped up in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex Sunday night and into Monday morning, spawning a large tornado that caused damage and power outages.
As of Monday evening, ten twisters have been confirmed by the National Weather Service. Eight were rated EF0, while one near Lake Brownwood was an EF1, as was one near Kenner, Louisiana, the lowest levels on the Enhanced Fujita Scale.
The entire town of Rio Vista, Texas, was without power Monday morning following the severe storm, according to NBC DFW. Some of the damage has yet to be assessed, as crews wanted to wait until sunrise to view the damaged areas, the report added. Schools in Rio Vista, Maypearl and Italy will be delayed by 2 hours Monday morning.
"A surface low developed just west of the Texas panhandle, pulling warm, moist air into much of central and eastern Texas. To the west, very dry air flowed into western Texas," said weather.com meteorologist Chrissy Warrilow. "Along this boundary, called a dry line, severe thunderstorms developed that produced large hail and tornadoes from the Abilene area east into the western and southern regions of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex."
(FORECAST: Severe Weather Tracker | Live Updates)
The tornado spotted in the Dallas-Forth Worth metroplex caused heavy damage, including toppled semi trucks and a canopy from an abandoned gas station that was blown 50 feet, according to CBS DFW. No injuries have been reported so far, the report added.
More than 30,000 Texans lost power during the storms, according to NBC News.
In total, there were at least 20 tornado reports Sunday night and Monday morning in Texas, according to NOAA's Storm Prediction Center. However, survey crews may later find that not all of these tornado reports were from separate tornadoes, and some of the reports may turn out to be damage from straight-line winds, not a twister.


Horse barn damaged & trailer overturned in Rio Vista. A look from Sky 4:

Strong thunderstorm winds also downed trees near Brazos Point, Texas, Sunday night, according to local storm reports.
The Gainesville, Texas, Fire Department reported a structural fire that was caused by a lightning strike, local storm reports said. The blaze was confined to a wall and extinguished.
Flooding was also a major concern as these storms rolled through the Lone Star State. Highway 67 in Cleburne, Texas, was flooded with 3 feet of water early Monday morning, according to local reports.
And because several of the supercells carrying those reported tornadoes were moving at a slow rate of speed, torrential downpours associated with the storms led to serious flooding in many of the same areas threatened by twisters and large hail.


Heavy flooding at Davis Ct and CR 1206 in Rio Vista. Reports of house on this street with 4 ft water. @NBCDFWWeather

Baseball-sized hail was reported near Stephenville, about 70 miles southwest of Fort Worth, and motorists were reporting damage to vehicles, according to the Associated Press. Stephenville police say shelters have opened at the city library and other locations.

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