Ferocious winds and heavy rain swept through North Texas early Tuesday, flooding roads, downing trees and power lines and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of people.
Many in the Dallas area woke to the wail of tornado sirens when the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning.
“Take cover now!” the weather service in Fort Worth said at 6:13 a.m. on X. The storm packed 70-mph winds, golf ball-sized hail and threat of flash floods.
Dallas County Judge Clay Lewis Jenkins issued an emergency declaration, and warned some residents will be without power for days. At a press conference Tuesday, Jenkins said the extent of the damage and number of people affected make this storm unusual, and he urged patience in coming days.
“I’ve been doing this for 14 years and I don’t remember ever having a multi-day event quite like this one,” he said.
The storm comes just days after a tornado tore through North Texas, killing seven and injuring more than 100 people around Valley View, 60 miles northwest of Dallas.
On Tuesday, crews were assessing damage across Dallas, even as more smaller storms are likely throughout the day. Much of the destruction was caused by straight-line wind, which reached 77 mph at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, according to the weather service.
Thousands without power
Hours after the storm, thousands remained without power across the region, including those in Dallas, Collin, Tarrant and Denton counties, according to Oncor’s outage map. As of 9:30 a.m., more than 580,000 homes in eight North Texas counties were without power. The bulk came from Dallas County, where more than 356,000 lost power.
Estimates for restoration were not available by late Tuesday morning.
In Dallas, the most prevalent damage was on the east side of the city, and some libraries and recreation centers were without power, said Travis Houston, Dallas’ emergency management director. People should call 911 if they see downed power lines and avoid the area. If possible, residents should stay home.
“Check on your neighbors and if you can avoid being out and about today, that would be a good idea,” Houston said.
Dallas police and fire-rescue officers responded to some 200 calls Tuesday morning, including major accidents, people stranded in high water and downed utility lines and trees falling on vehicles and homes. The extent of any injuries was not yet known.
Closures and delays
Severe weather caused numerous closures and delays, including Tuesday’s primary runoff election.
Dallas County opened several polling locations late, and numerous polling locations in Collin, Rockwall and Denton were without power. Kaufman County will keep polls open an extra hour, until 8 p.m.
The Dallas Zoo said that it took a “significant hit” from the storms and would close Tuesday while staff assesses damage and clears downed trees and limbs. Also closed were the Dallas Arboretum, which suffered tree damage, and the Mexican Consulate in Dallas.
Dallas Area Rapid Transit said it was experiencing delays because of fallen tree limbs across tracks, power outages and other issues related to the inclement weather.
Delays and cancellations were piling up at area airports. As of 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, 17% of flights leaving Dallas Love Field and 13% of flights leaving DFW International Airport were canceled, according to FlightAware. Nearly one-third of flights were delayed at both airports.
‘All hell broke loose’
Dallas residents said the rain hit with seemingly little warning. Quran Coleman, a security supervisor for the Republic Center in downtown Dallas, was walking to work as the storm hit.
”It was like someone poured water on my head,” Coleman said. “Literally in like two minutes, it went from nothing to all hell broke loose … I’ve never seen anything happen that fast.”
In northwest Dallas, steady rain drenched piles of broken styrofoam that coated the parking lot of Rainbow Hardware. The roof of the store in the 10700 block of Harry Hines Boulevard “blew off,” owner Manny Singh said, scattering the insulation, in addition to cracked planks of wood, scraps of metal, wiring and shards of glass from lighting fixtures.
Singh was still assessing the damage as of 9:45 a.m., but said there were several holes in the roof, and in some places, about six inches of water inside.
“The inventory is all damaged,” he said. “And the rain is not stopping.”
Near downtown Dallas, some road signs bent at nearly a 90-degree angle. Tree branches were down and several traffic lights flashed red.
Rose Garcia, a barista at Starbucks on Commerce Street in downtown Dallas, said hail, high gusts of wind and sheets of rain made it nearly impossible to walk outside.
“It looked as if we were on a cruise ship with the high wind,” Garcia said.
In the Vickery Meadow neighborhood, numerous tree branches smashed into cars. Several small businesses, including Torteria Insurgentes and El Centro Super Market Center, were without power Tuesday, but workers still arrived at 8 a.m. to begin their shifts.
Employees said they navigated car accidents and tree branches, which blocked the roads, while driving to work.
“We have no option but to come to work. But without power, there is nothing we can do,” said Jonathan Campo, who works at El Centro Super Market Center.
“We are going to stay here until power comes back,” said Delia Gonzalez, who manages Torteria Insurgentes.
Dallas’ outdoor warning system, made up of 178 sirens, was initially activated in Far North, northeast and southeast Dallas for a tornado warning, the City of Dallas Office of Emergency Management said about 6:10 a.m. Minutes later, the agency said the warning system was activated citywide for 2.5-inch hail and 70 mph winds.
Here is the latest KXAS-TV (NBC5) weather forecast:
TUESDAY: Partly cloudy and very warm with a 30% chance of a storm. Low: 72. High: 89. Wind: SE 10-15 mph.
WEDNESDAY: Partly to mostly cloudy and warm with a 40% chance of a storm. Low: 69. High: 85. Wind: SE 10-15 mph.
THURSDAY: Partly to mostly cloudy and warm with a 40% chance of a storm. Low: 70. High: 85. Wind: SE 10-15 mph.
FRIDAY: Partly to mostly cloudy and warm with a 40% chance of a storm. Low: 72. High: 85. Wind: SE 10-15 mph.
SATURDAY (JUNE BEGINS): Partly to mostly cloudy and warm with a 30% chance of a storm. Low: 72. High: 87. Wind: SE 10-15 mph.
Contributing to this report were staff writers Everton Bailey Jr., Sofia Barnett, Devyani Chhetri, Hojun Choi, Amber Gaudet, Julia James, Aria Jones, Lilly Kersh, Jamie Landers, Arcelia Martin, María Ramos Pacheco, Marcela Rodrigues, Chase Rogers, Kelli Smith, Alexandra Skores and Marin Wolf.