Tornadoes reported in Texas and Louisiana as storms lash the South
A satellite image of thunderstorms hitting the Southern Plains and Mississippi Valley on Thursday evening, with white dots showing lightning detected by satellite. Image: CIRA/RAMMB
Tornadoes were reported in Texas and Louisiana as an intense line of storms slammed over Thursday night, bringing damaging winds of up to 75 mph.
The big picture: Tornado watches were issued for some 3.8 million people in Texas and across the South Thursday night, as the storm system caused widespread power outages in Texas and hundreds of flights into and out of Dallas Fort-Worth Airport were canceled.
- Threats of heavy rains, flash floods and severe thunderstorms stretched across the Southern Plains, Lower Arkansas Valley, Lower Mississippi Valley, Tennessee Valley, Ohio Valley and Southeast from late Thursday into Friday.
Zoom in: Police in Weatherford said a tornado struck the Texas city that's just east of Dallas Wednesday evening and at least one tornado was confirmed in Louisiana as tornado alerts were issued in Arkansas and Oklahoma.
- Hail as large as three inches as well as an isolated embedded tornado were possible in North and Central Texas Thursday evening, the National Weather Service's Fort Worth office warned.
- Residents in the Fort Worth area were told that if they get phone alerts and hear sirens, it's for wind speeds as strong as a weak tornado and they should seek shelter.
Meanwhile, in the McKinney suburb of Dallas, four tractor-trailers were overturned on a highway, police said. Minor injuries were reported.
By the numbers: More than 156,000 people were without power in Texas as of 2:30am Friday ET, per Poweroutage.us.
Zoom out: The storm line comes days after a severe storm system unleashed powerful winds and triggered tornado warnings for Texas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.
Editor's note: This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.