Following a weekend when deadly tornadoes touched down in North Texas, Tuesday morning brought warning sirens, large hail, high winds and a tremendous amount of property damage to neighborhoods throughout Dallas-Fort Worth.
Evan Andrews of Fox 4 reported just before 9 a.m. on Tuesday that some “high water rescues have been reported,” while some “18-wheelers have been knocked over by the high winds.”
“Oncor reports more than half a million homes and businesses in North Texas are without power this morning,” Andrews also reported.
At 9:54 a.m. Tuesday, Oncor faced 10,171 outages affecting 614,547 customers.
Under Texas law, a local disaster declaration would permit the county to activate its emergency response plan and control access to stricken areas for up to seven days unless the governor grants an extension.As the current estimate is that this will be a multi day power outage for a significant number of @oncor customers, I have instructed the civil @Dallas_DA to prepare a declaration of disaster for my signature.
— Clay Lewis Jenkins (@JudgeClayJ) May 28, 2024
The National Weather Service of Fort Worth predicts that the possibility of rough weather isn’t over.
“Showers and thunderstorms will roll through the I-20 corridor this morning, a few of which may be strong to marginally severe,” the NWS website read at 9:30 a.m. “Additional storms will enter from the west this evening, some of which may be severe with large hail and damaging winds. A tornado or two cannot be ruled out. Heavy rain may also cause flooding in some areas.”
North Texas weather guru Pete Delkus of WFAA tweeted his immediate forecast that also suggests residents be on guard.
“9am Tuesday - Flash Flood Warning for the DFW area has been extended to 11am because of ongoing heavy rain and lingering flooding," Delkus' post stated. “Heavy rain will push out of DFW over the next 1-2hrs. Storms will continue west and south of DFW thru midday.”
9am Tuesday - Flash Flood Warning for the DFW area has been extended to 11am because of ongoing heavy rain and lingering flooding. Heavy rain will push out of DFW over the next 1-2hrs. Storms will continue west and south of DFW thru midday. #wfaaweather pic.twitter.com/ysvf0HTV7T
— Pete Delkus (@wfaaweather) May 28, 2024
Widespread damage to trees and fences have been documented across North Texas, and many neighborhoods are still without power after several hours. According to journalist Doug Lewin, who follows the Texas power and energy beat, the Dallas area in particular was hit hard with reported power outages.
“And here we go again: 750,000 Texas households and businesses, ~2 million people, are without power, this time in and near Dallas,” Lewin wrote on X. “The counties to the east, particularly Rockwall and Kaufman, were hit hardest; over 50% in those counties are without power.”
Looking at the week ahead, the forecast looks to keep North Texas rather wet for some time, with thunderstorms likely in Dallas on Thursday and Friday, keeping temperatures in the high 80s.
