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Two EF-1 Tornadoes Confirmed in Denton County; Trees Fall Into Homes, Streets

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The National Weather Service office in Fort Worth confirmed Wednesday that two EF-1 tornadoes touched down in Denton County Tuesday evening.

The storm damage in Denton was caused by a brief EF-1 tornado, the NWS said. Another EF-1 tornado was confirmed east of Justin with maximum winds of 90 mph. Damage was confined to trees, the National Weather Service said.

The tornado in Denton had max winds of 90 mph and first touched down near the campus of Texas Women's University, NWS said. From there it traveled northeast to the Denton Independent School District's natatorium near Loop 228.

Many people in Denton spent most of Wednesday covering rooftops and clearing debris.

Denton resident Joe Davis did the best he could to shield his car from Wednesday night's rain by putting a tarp over the broken glass caused by yesterday’s storm.

He described the how quickly everything happened.

"For about ten seconds it came. You could feel the pressure inside my house from it, and it was gone," said Davis.

An initial survey of the area showed mostly tree damage on several streets in a north Denton neighborhood.  Trees fell on several houses and damaged several cars.

"It was bad, said Cassie Younger, whose home was damaged when a tree fell onto the roof.  "It happened quick.  It was scary.

Joe Cole was at his parents home when a tree crushed his father's brand new pickup truck, and fell onto the house next door.  Despite the damage, no one was injured.

"That's the main thing, no one was hurt," said Cole.  "Just a lot of restoration, and get it back to normal."

About 3,700 Denton Municipal Electric customers lost power during the storm.  All power was restored by Wednesday morning, city officials said.

The NWS teams found wind damage at Eagle Mountain but didn't find evidence of a tornado.

Denton County Emergency Management will keep an eye on rainfall amounts in counties north and northwest of Denton to determine the impact on rivers, creeks and streams.

On Wednesday morning, Denton County residents woke up to assess the damage from the night before, which included a number of broken and fallen trees -- one of which landed on a man's home. Some of the trees were more than 50 years old.

For some, the clean-up began the night before as residents worked to remove broken limbs and damaged fences. One woman said her porch swing was picked up and moved several feet while another said it seemed as though the tops of her trees were twisted off (a good sign of rotation and a possible tornado). 

A large mature tree fell across U.S. Highway 380, blocking the eastbound lanes between Frame Street and Bell Avenue for a couple of hours. 

Neighbors said it seemed as though all of the damage happened in about a minute's time. 

The National Weather Service office in Fort Worth has confirmed there was a brief tornado in Denton on Tuesday.

"All of a sudden the wind picked up and the trees started swishing, and it was hitting. You could see the wind coming from every direction," Kathy Blagg said.

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