Severe Storm hits Texas

Thousands of customers remained without power Thursday morning as severe storms swept through North Texas the night before, damaging about two dozen homes near Crowley.

Several of the damaged homes were on Sharondale Drive in unincorporated Tarrant County near Crowley, authorities said. Two minor injuries were reported.

Most of the damage appeared to be wind-related, Tarrant County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Terry Grisham said.

In Tarrant County this morning, scattered debris and missing roofs could be seen in the hard hit areas.

The American Red Cross said its crews had found six families whose homes were badly damaged in around Crowley. More teams were heading to the area to assess damage and provide assistance to affected residents.

The National Weather Service in Fort Worth said survey teams would be heading to Johnson, Hood, Erath, Palo Pinto and Tarrant counties Thursday to confirm whether tornadoes had touched down.

Wind estimates of about 60 mph swept through the region, said Jessica Schultz, a weather service meterologist. The strongest wind, 67 mph, was recorded in Granbury.

The winds knocked down trees in Collin and Denton counties and along the Erath-Palo Pinto line. But it was the heavy rains that appeared to do more widespread damage.

“In the metroplex, there’s more flooding than anything else,” said Vick Corbelli, a weather service meterologist.

Eight inches of rain fell on State Highway 174 in Burleson, and 1 1/2 inches of rain poured down at Alliance Airport within 15 to 20 minutes. Dallas received an inch of rain within 15 minutes.

Flooding was also reported in Tarrant and Denton counties. Flash flooding also was reported in Palo Pinto County.

About 55 flights were delayed and some cancelled at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, WFAA-TV (Channel 8) reported.

As of 6:30 a.m., about 24,000 customers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area remained without power, according to Oncor.

Hood County emergency management official Roger Deeds said some homes and a fire station were damaged as the storm moved through the region southwest of Fort Worth.

The thunderstorm also brought quarter-size to baseball-size hail to Stephens, Eastland, Erath, Palo Pinto, Hood and Parker counties, according to weather service reports.

Today’s weather is expected to be partly to mostly sunny with temperatures reaching 86 degrees.

The next chances for rain and possible severe storms are Friday and then again Saturday night into Sunday.