Tornadoes in Texas happen “from time to time … but it’s certainly not something that happens regularly,” according to area meteorologist Matt Bishop.
A nearly 40-mile stretch from 20 miles south of Dallas to northeast of the city is in utter ruin because of tornadoes in Texas, specifically in the Dallas area.
Police Lt. Pedro Barineau from Garland, a suburb of Dallas, said on Sunday morning that the tornadoes in Texas left 11 dead and 15 injured. The death toll from the storms has gone up by three since then.
He said, “This is a huge impact on our community and we’re all suffering.”
He added, “Driving around the area, you can see that it’s total devastation.”
Here is some amazing amateur video of the tornado that struck Dallas (some language NSFW):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCyCOaOMcAs
At least 600 structures, mostly single family homes, were damaged by the tornadoes in Texas.
In Rowlett, another suburb near Garland, Dale Vermurlen suffered only minor damage to his home, but some of his neighbors lost everything.
He described the furor of the tornadoes in Texas, saying, “I grabbed both dogs by the collars and held on to the toilet. I said ‘OK this could be it boys.’”
The tornadoes in Texas are just one of the strange and extreme weather phenomena that are hammering the state.
On Sunday, tornadoes in Texas give way to news of blizzards across west Texas which are expected to drop up to 16 inches of snow and cause hazardous driving conditions for holiday travelers heading home across the state.
According to CTV news, “Police in Albuquerque, New Mexico, said the snow caused 178 weather-related accidents by Saturday night, with about 58 involving people with injuries. Officials also shut down a stretch of Interstate 40 leading to the Texas border because of hazardous driving conditions. The National Weather Service said snow drifts more than 7 feet high have been reported.”
Were you affected by the tornadoes in Texas?