Twister kills 4 close to Dallas, Texas: US media

Mollie Rivas, the emergency management coordinator for the city of Garland, said at least five homes in that city sustained major damage from the latter tornado. At least 40 homes have been destroyed, officials from the Ellis County Emergency Management Agency said.

“At first, on our street it was confusion, like, we couldn’t really tell any damage and is everybody ok?” “Please do not get out on the roads if you do not have to”.

Glinda Lewis, owner of the Plantation Place RV Park, which was hit by a tornado, said a number of residents there were injured and taken to hospitals.

Local authorities did confirm that it was the weather that was responsible for the deaths that took place outside of Dallas – tornados have been the culprit, but is also possible that heavy winds may have blown the vehicles off the road.

NWS meteorologist Steve Fano said roughly eight tornadoes may have touched down across seven counties, though preliminary reports could not be confirmed until the morning.

In DeSoto, several homes and other structures were damaged by the “tornadic activity”, the city said in a statement. The Red Cross was also responding to the scene, and trees were down.

At 7:15 p.m., the weather service reported strong circulation in a storm moving to the north between Farmersville and Princeton in Collin County. Security at other areas, such as the NorthPark Center, told people to shelter in place.

The blizzard could blanket parts of Oklahoma and Texas with 9 to 18 inches of snow as gusty, freezing winds whip through the region.

“There’s been quite an impact in damage and potentially injuries and death”, said Rich Thompson, lead forecaster with the National Weather Service’s storm prediction centre in Norman, Oklahoma.

The death toll from tornadoes this week in the southern United States has climbed by two to 17, officials said on Saturday, as the nation braced for more stormy weather during the busy post-holiday travel weekend.

Continue to check back to this article for an updated death toll of the Dallas Texas tornados and extreme storms.

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley will tour areas in his state damaged by floods a day after declaring a state of emergency in all counties affected by excessive rain.

Flash flooding closed roads across Alabama and trapped motorists in rapidly rising waters. At least a foot of snow is expected and a blizzard warning is in effect for the Panhandle until noon Monday.

Damage caused by a tornado is seen in a neighborhood in Birmingham, Alabama, December 26, 2015.

Many say the storm happened quickly.