Millions of North Texas residents experienced heavy rain and tornadoes as a strong storm system blew through the area on Tuesday.
The National Weather Service warned of the potential for severe storms well before dawn, issuing a Tornado Watch for dozens of North Texas counties from about 4 a.m. to 11 a.m. The watch included the counties of Archer, Brown, Clay, Collin, Comanche, Cooke, Dallas, Denton, Eastland, Ellis, Erath, Fannin, Grayson, Hood, Hunt, Jack, Johnson, Kaufman, Montague, Palo Pinto, Parker, Rockwall, Somervell, Stephens, Tarrant, Wise, and Young.
As the storm passed through North Texas, tornado warnings and severe thunderstorm warnings were issued for numerous counties in its path.
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There were reports of a tornado in Grapevine that caused damage to local homes and buildings. Tornado damage was also reported in parts of Palo Pinto County and Jack County where emergency responders were dispatched to help with downed power lines and damaged barns.
The storms and tornado warnings caused multiple school cancellations and flight delays throughout North Texas.
Both Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Dallas Love Field saw numerous delays and cancellations. DFW Airport also issued a "shelter in place" warning shortly before 9 a.m., asking travelers to seek safety inside and away from windows.
Tuesday's severe weather was part of a larger storm system that impacted a large portion of the United States, causing tornado chances for those in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi as well as blizzard alerts for residents in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas.
TORNADO WARNING HISTORY FOR DEC. 13, 2022
- The first Tornado Warning of the day was issued in Jacksboro and Vinyard at 5:09 a.m. as severe thunderstorms moved northeast across North Texas Tuesday morning. At 5:31 a.m., a Tornado Warning was issued in Palo Pinto County for Mineral Wells and Cool as the storms pushed east.
- Four minutes later, at 5:35 a.m., another Tornado Warning was issued for Huckabay. At 5:58 a.m. the NWS urged anyone in the path of the tornado warned storm in Eastland and Erath counties to seek shelter.
- At 6:09 a.m. the fourth Tornado Warning was issued, this time for De Leon, Duster and Rucker in Comanche County.
- At 6:13 a.m. a Tornado Warning was issued for Parker and Wise counties including Springtown, Paradise and Agnes. At 6:36 a.m., as the storms pushed northeast, the sixth warning of the morning was issued and included Weatherford, Willow Park and Hudson Oaks.
- Just before 7 a.m. a Tornado Warning was issued for Decatur, Krum and Ponder and included a shelter warning.
- At 7:21 a.m., a Tornado Warning was issued for Slidell in Wise County and at 7:32 a.m. a Tornado Warning was issued in Cooke and Grayson counties including Gainesville, Preston and Sherwood Shores. Just two minutes later, a Tornado Warning was also issued in Hood County for Granbury, Pecan Plantation and Oak Trail Shores.
- Severe storms began pushing into the Metroplex at about 7:30 a.m., with the first Tornado Warning in Tarrant County being issued at 7:35 a.m. for Keller, Saginaw and Azle. The NWS said at 7:40 a.m. that the storm, with embedded tornadic circulations, continued pushing northeast.
- At 8:11 a.m. Tornado Warnings were issued in Fort Worth, Arlington and North Richland Hills. NWS said four minutes later that a radar-confirmed tornado was spotted with debris in Sansom Park and River Oaks, moving northeast.
- At 8:17 a.m. the storm continued moving through Tarrant County and people in Saginaw, Blue Mound, Haltom City, and North Fort Worth were all warned to take shelter.
- At 8:48 a.m. a Tornado Warning was issued for Tarrant and Denton counties that included Grapevine, Flower Mound and Lewisville. Video reports later showed a tornado crossing Texas 114 near Texas 26 and there were several reports of damaged businesses, homes and vehicles.
- As the storm moved northeast toward Collin County, a Tornado Warning was issued at 9:12 a.m. for McKinney, Frisco and Allen with the NWS tracking the storm along Texas 121 from South Frisco to North Plano.
- As the line of storms moved into East Texas, a Tornado Warning was issued for Fannin County including Bonham, Leonard and Honey Grove at 10:06 a.m. At 10:20 a.m. the warning was expanded to include Honey grove, Roxton and Ladonia.
- In Lamar County, a Tornado Warning was issued at 10:52 a.m. for Toco and along the Red River for Arthur City and Powderly.
CONTINUING WEATHER COVERAGE
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