Major clean-up is underway in Ellis County from severe storms Thursday morning.
Trees fell on homes and thousands of people were without power much of the day.
John Rowell was one of them.
He says he was watching TV in his living room when the storm quickly intensified.
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“There was some claps of thunder and all the sudden the house just shook,” Rowell said.
A tree that's stood in his backyard for decades crushed his chimney and punched holes in his roof.
He spent the day in and out of his SUV trying to stay cool and keep his cell phone charged.
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It was an example of what homeowners throughout his neighborhood experienced.
Trees are toppled in yards, some on vehicles, and roots appear flipped like pop tops after what some believe were strong straight-line winds.
“I don't think people realize how beat up we were,” said Greg Walling, whose home was damaged by a fallen tree.
Thursday night, trees were being chopped and shredded as some rushed to clean up during a break in what’s been 100+ degree heat for days.
“It went from that to this, and I'm sure it’s in the 90s but it’s a pleasant day and you know what I thank God that it isn't as hot as it has been,” said homeowner Angela Earl.
An ONCOR representative said the cause of the outages were strong winds and thunderstorms, adding crews were pre-positioned before the storm to respond to what became thousands of customers who lost power.
As of 6 p.m., the ONCOR representative said 3,500 customers remained without power in Dallas and Ellis Counties.
