Breaking News Alerts

FORT WORTH (CBS 11 News/AP) ― A series of powerful storms packing heavy rains and frequent lightning strikes grounded dozens of flights, left nearly 150,000 North Texans without power and made for a chaotic Thursday morning rush-hour commute through flooded streets without working traffic lights.

No deaths or injuries were reported from the storms, which began whipping the DFW area with winds up to 70 mph Wednesday night and continued the next day.

Thunderstorms were forecast to continue moving through the DFW area into East Texas on Thursday, said Daniel Huckaby, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Electric linemen were being brought in from Oklahoma and Houston to help restore power to tens of thousands of North Texans left in the dark. Forecasters expect flash-flooding in Dallas County on Thursday as strong thunderstorms continue to rumble through the area.

About 50 flights were canceled Thursday morning at DFW International Airport and more delays and cancellations were expected throughout the day. Ground workers were brought in from outside because of lightning in the area, said airport spokesman David Magana.

Travelers trying to fly out of Dallas Love Field, where Southwest Airlines is based, were also enduring delays and cancellations. Some 30 to 40 Southwest flights have been delayed so far, according to spokeswoman Brandy King.

Vivid lightning was suspected in at least one fire that destroyed a large, two-story house in the town of Heath on Lake Ray Hubbard near Dallas.

The NWS reports up to 6 inches of rain in Dallas County by the morning rush hour. Dime-sized hail fell over Fort Worth and DFW Aiport recorded wind gusts of 46 mph, Huckaby said.

Winds swept the area overnight, causing widespread damage. The worst appeared to be in the northern suburbs of Dallas and Fort Worth, where trees, fences and chimneys toppled.

At least 14 families in Euless are being forced to relocate after strong storms caused severe roof damage to two separate apartment complexes. A spokesperson with the Red Cross said that eight units from one complex, and six from the other, are now uninhabitable.

In Garland, there was a swift-water rescue late Wednesday night. Crews pulled a 12-year-old from a rain-swollen Duck Creek. Dallas County emergency officials assisted with more water rescues again Thursday morning.

Traffic lights throughout the region were dim for Thursday morning rush hour, leading to bumper-to-bumper traffic on highways and residential streets. Drive-thru employees had to turn away customers since some coffee shops and fast food outlets were without power.

Power outages at the University of North Texas Dallas campus have forced the school to cancel morning and afternoon classes for Thursday. Students taking evening classes are advised to check the school's website about further cancellations.

Michelle Levitsky, of Frisco, just north of Dallas, says the winds bewildered her farm animals. "When the storm hit, they started running around, running into each other. The goats were being knocked over and tumbling. The chickens -- we had their wings clipped -- they were in the air, just being picked up by the wind," she said. All animals survived.

In Springtown, high winds ripped some trees out of the ground as 200 children rode out the storm at a local church's vacation bible school event. Six-inch tree limbs were reported down in the area.

Limbs ripped from trees caused many of the power outages to more than 260,000 homes and businesses overnight. Power had been restored to all but 145,000 DFW area customers by daybreak Thursday, Dallas-based Oncor Electric Delivery spokeswoman Jeamy Molina.

Repair crews were being brought in from outside the area, but each storm has forced the crews to suspend their work.

Oncor senior vice president Charles Jenkins said in an early morning statement that the company is bringing in 550 contract linemen, 1,100 extra tree trimmers. It's also borrowing 60 workers each from Oklahoma Gas & Electric and Houston-based CenterPoint.

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

Popular Slideshows On CBS11TV.COM

• Recent Celebrity Deaths
• Michael Jackson Remembered
• Celebrities Turning 40 In 2009
• Paul McCartney Plays Broadway
• AskMen's Top 99 Women Of 2009
• In To Be Out: Gay Celebrities
• Primetime Emmy Nominations 2009
• Cowboys Stadium Construction
• 'One Giant Leap' 40 Years Later
• Collection Of Strange Photos