A storm system moved through East Texas on Sunday, getting stronger into the night.
Smith County experienced heavy rainfall, strong winds and severe thunderstorms. Hundreds in the Tyler area were still without power as of Monday afternoon.
In Tyler, a fast food restaurant — Dairy Queen on South Broadway in the Village at Cumberland — was struck by lightning, causing a fire, according to CBS19 via Tyler Police Department.
Over in Cherokee County, Sheriff Brent Dickson on Sunday night told our news partners at CBS19 that a storm chaser called in to say they spotted what looked like a tornado on Highway 21 east of Alto. Dickson believes it was possibly near the Cherokee and Nacogdoches County lines. However, on Monday, that report had not been confirmed as a tornado and investigation was still underway.
He said there had been no reports of injuries as of Sunday evening. The sheriff’s office has heard that trees down in the roadways across the county, including between Jacksonville and Rusk on US Highway 69. Trees are also down in the areas of FM 22, US Highway 84 and Highway 110.
Power had been restored to thousands in Angelina County, most heavily impacted by power outages at their peak. Still, hundreds remained in the dark. At 3:20 p.m. Monday, 634 Angelina County Oncor customers were still experiencing outages with no estimated restoration time. 419 Anderson County Oncor customers were out of power; 712 in Cherokee; and 389 in Smith County were still without power as of 3:20 p.m. Monday afternoon.
“Oncor teams are working to assess damages, make repairs and restore outages following the recent storm systems. We appreciate your patience as restoration continues as quickly and safely as possible,” the utility company stated Friday.
To report an outage, text OUT to 66267, use the MyOncor app, or select “Report an Outage” located above the map.