Large tornadoes in Dallas and Fort Worth area
Posted Apr 3, 2012 2:26 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
DALLAS (AP/ROGERS RADIO) – Several reported tornadoes tore through the Dallas area on Tuesday, tossing semis in the air and leaving crumpled tractor trailers strewn along highways and in truck stop parking lots.
The National Weather Service reported at least two separate “large and extremely dangerous” tornadoes south of Dallas and Fort Worth. Dallas Police spokeswoman Sherri Jeffrey said an apparent twister touched down and caused damage within the city’s southern limits.
Officials had no immediate information about injuries.
We have been talking with Angela in Carrollton, Texas. She says it doesn’t look good outside, “The sky is getting brighter now, but about 30 minutes ago, it was dark…almost like night time. The rain was pouring down and we had golf ball size hail. [It’s] very windy but no debris or anything near us.. just some flooding in our backyard.”
Angela adds there’s nowhere for many people to take shelter,”The best we have is a bathroom in the middle of our house with no windows. It’s very rare that tornadoes touch down right in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, it’s more common in the outlying areas…but because of the hard clay in Texas, its pretty much not possible to have a basement.”
Meanwhile, airport spokesman David Magana told CNN that people in the airport’s passenger terminals had been herded away from windows in waiting areas.
“We have all kinds of shelters. We use all the available space we have including stairwells, store rooms and restrooms, that we can use,” Magana said. “We’re not shy about moving people around.”
Local television footage showed a large, dark funnel cloud moving on the ground not far from a major interstate early Tuesday afternoon. Crumpled orange tractor trailers were later visible in a Dallas County parking lot, as well as flattened trailers along the sides of highways and access roads.
The weather service said “considerable damage” also was reported near Cleburne, south of Fort Worth, and Lancaster, south of Dallas.
