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At Least 4 Tornadoes Confirmed in North Texas Storms: NWS

The National Weather Service confirms at least four tornadoes touched down Sunday in North Texas, and that number could climb with additional storm surveys this week.

The four confirmed tornadoes — including two EF-1 tornadoes, an EF-0 and one other that is yet to be rated — were spawned from a single long-track super cell thunderstorm that moved across Coryell, Bosque, Hill and Tarrant counties, according to the NWS.

Storm assessments are expected Tuesday in Limestone County and Dallas County, where damage from additional tornadoes may be confirmed.

Tornadoes rated as EF-1 on the Enhanced Fujita scale have winds between 86 and 110 miles per hour.

The storms that began Sunday afternoon and continued through the evening across North Texas caused power flashes to light up the sky and flash flooding to cover the ground in many places.

An entire neighborhood in Frisco suffered significant damage. Fences were completely leveled, windows shattered and flying debris narrowly missed some residents.

Severe storms that moved through North Texas Sunday spawned several tornadoes. Power outages and flash flooding were also reported across the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Travelers at D/FW International Airport were told to take cover in storm shelter areas, but the severe weather alert there has expired. Flights were delayed an average of almost three hours at DFW, according to an airport alert. [[410792925,C]]

A tornado warning after Green Bay's victory over Dallas in an NFC divisional playoff kept some fans, the entire Packers contingent and a few Cowboys players inside AT&T Stadium for more than two hours after the game Sunday night before officials gave the all-clear.

Authorities said at least 30 homes were damaged by the storm, and about 33,000 customers were without power Sunday night, according to Oncor.

"Right over here we found shingles inside of the house that came from a roof," said Frisco resident Shawn Prendergast.

He was in the living room when even more dangerous debris came barreling through the yard.

"You can see it's not a board, it's a post. The wind was so strong that it picked it up and flew it to within three feet from the living room window from where I was sitting," he said.

Emergency responders spent Monday assessing the damage and assisting families with clean-up efforts.

Amazingly, no injuries were reported.

"Most people have gotten really smart. Technology is really better about alerting folks about when to seek shelter and make sure they're out of harm's way, and the damage was mostly cosmetic," said Frisco Fire Department Capt. Kevin Haines.

One home that suffered the brunt of the damage was about seven miles north in Prosper. The home, which was under construction, was completely leveled. It certainly made for some terrifying moments for people who live nearby.

"Wild, it's amazing what straight line winds can do," said Tyrone Patterson.

Prendergast says he's just relieved he and his bulldog, Decker, made it out safely.

"I just feel like God's blanket was over us at the house and took care of us," he said.

The Associated Press and NBC 5's Cory Minderhout and Ashleigh Barry contributed to this report.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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