Wave after wave of storms battered North Texas Tuesday afternoon, smashing homes and apartment complexes, toppling trees, tossing vehicles and forcing thousands of students to seek shelter inside their schools.
The National Weather Service reported at least a dozen tornadoes in the Dallas-Fort Worth area — including two in Dallas and as many as four in Hunt County.
Amazingly, given the ferocity of the storms, officials reported no deaths and surprisingly few injuries, though there will certainly be many millions of dollars worth of property damage.
“This tornado seemed to land about 10 times, and we didn’t have to take anybody to the hospital,” said Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, who toured damaged parts of Oak Cliff.
“This is heartbreaking, but the great news is that everybody’s alive,” he said. “I think we’re looking at a miracle here.”
Forney, 20 miles east of Dallas, was among the hardest-hit. Seven people were reported injured, and three were taken to hospitals.
Also hard-hit: south Arlington and adjacent Kennedale. Four minor injuries were treated in the emergency room at Arlington Memorial Hospital, and one man checked in to Methodist Hospital in Mansfield for help with his oxygen supply after losing electricity.
A spokeswoman for Parkland Hospital said no weather related patients had been reported.
Airlines canceled more than 400 departures from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, and another 40 incoming flights were diverted during the height of the storm.
D/FW International Airport spokesman David Magaña said that airlines reported more than more than 110 aircraft sustained varying degrees of hail damage during the storm.
Source: Dallas Morning News | DAVID TARRANT – dtarrant@dallasnews.com
