Tornadoes Kill at Least Seven in Dallas Area

At least eight people have been killed during a tornado in Texas, reports say, bringing the number of deaths from severe storms that have lashed the US’s south in recent days to 25.

According to the Weather Service, a tornado hit the south of Dallas in Ellis County, where Emergency Management Coordinator Stephanie Parker said, “We have destroyed and damaged homes”.

The storms also knocked out power to thousands.

Nathan Moore/RecycledSpoons via YouTube A storm chaser spotted one of the tornadoes east of Dallas on Saturday night, where it killed at least four people and destroyed several buildings.

Collin County is about 45 miles northeast of Dallas.

At 7 a.m., officials in both Garland and Rowlett will hold press conferences updating the situation in each of those cities. Three of the people in the Suburban were seriously injured in the crash, the Minneapolis station said. Authorities recovered the body of a 5-year-old boy who drowned after the auto he was riding in was submerged by floodwaters the day before, Coffee County Coroner Robert Preachers said. Brown said that, according to estimates, more than 100 structures appear to have water damage.

Widespread rain has prompted flash flood watches in eastern Texas, eastern Oklahoma, most of Arkansas, central and southern Missouri and IL and central Indiana.

Travellers at Dallas Love Field airport were warned to stay away from windows, and videos broadcast on Twitter showed theatergoers being evacuated from an AMC movie complex at NorthPark Center, a prominent mall. The Dallas Mavericks NBA game was delayed about half an hour because of the storm.

“Heavy snowfall amounts of 10 to 18 inches are forecast through Sunday evening across much of western/northwestern Texas, with 18 to 24 inches forecast across portions of New Mexico”. Forecasters expected 3 to 8 inches of rain, with the lower totals farther north. Five deaths were reported from Garland, two from Copeville and one from Blue Ridge.

Flash flooding closed roads across Alabama and trapped motorists in rapidly rising waters. Cars that had been in driveways ended up inside homes after the tornado barreled through, witnesses said.

Two families were barricaded in their homes and first responders were trying to get them out.

An official with the Dallas County Sheriff’s office says deputies are responding to damages caused by a tornado east of Dallas, including a trailer park ablaze.

“Five deaths have been confirmed”, read the Garland statement. Severe storms were forecast for Sunday night through Monday as a strong cold front pushes through. Tornadoes are possible, and residents are asked to remain alert. Four inches of rain walloped Mobile, Ala., on Wednesday – smashing the previous record of 2.2 inches set in 1990.

Significant storm damage has been reported near Rowlett and Waxahachie.

Over the week, at least 26 people have died from tornadoes that also hit the southeastern states of Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas and Alabama.

One bit of good news for the battered Southeast was a forecast for calmer weather on Sunday.