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Apr 24, 2008 5:08 pm US/Central
NWS: Tornado Causes Extensive Damage In Crowley
FORT WORTH (CBS 11 News) ―
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Red Cross Damage Assessment teams on the ground in the overnight hours found six families who had sustained serious damage to their homes during the late night hours of April 23, 2008, officials said.
KTVT / KTXA
Officials at the National Weather Service say an EF2 tornado, with winds at least 100-mph caused most of the damage in the City of Crowley. According to an NWS employee, the destruction's path is approximately a quarter-mile long and about 100 yards wide. More than 20 homes were damaged.
Thursday's decision comes after teams with the National Weather Service surveyed the damage. CBS 11 Storm Team Meteorologist Larry Mowry had a chance to tour the destruction with them.
Along with Gary Woodall, the Warning Coordination Meteorologist for the NWS, Larry looked for damage patterns and how structures were affected by winds. "When wind goes into a structure, wind has to go out of a structure," Woodall said.
Woodall and his team poured over pictures from the scene, data from their analysis of the radar and eyewitness accounts, to determine a tornado did in fact touch down.
A more detailed report on the storm that hit the area is expected to be released later on Thursday afternoon.
Roofs ripped off homes, debris -- including tree limbs and power lines scattered in the backyards and streets – and damaged vehicles were apparent along at least a one-mile track in Crowley.
As residents across North Texas woke up and assessed the damage, Chopper 11 flew over Crowley as the sun rose and had a different perspective. You can take a look at the footage from the tour CBS 11 meteorologist Mike Burger took by clicking here. You also can click here to see an aerial slideshow view of the damage.
Most of the damage was apparent right on the Tarrant/Johnson County lines -- along and south of Highway 1187.
Officials believe the lightning and strong winds contributed to widespread power outages. At the height of the storm more than 20,000 customers were without power.
The heavy rainfall also created small rivers on many roadways causing problems for motorists.
An elderly driver became stuck in high water on Oak Grove Road in Fort Worth. The driver clung onto a tree until rescuers could reach him. He was not injured.
Thursday, most of North Texas will remain rain-free today providing a much needed chance to dry out and clean up last night's storm damage. It will be windy, warm and humid with high temps in the mid to upper 80s and a south wind up to 30 mph this afternoon.
Meteorologist Jeff Jamison reminds the storm fatigued that it's not done yet.
There is a slight chance of storms Thursday -- less than 20 percent coverage -- especially west of Dallas/Fort Worth and possibly in northeast Texas along old boundaries there.
"We still have a rather unstable atmosphere, but not expecting a many storms as what happened yesterday," Jamison explains. "Any storm that does form today will be severe -- large hail and damaging wind are the big dangers."
A better chance of storms comes Friday afternoon. A cold front is on the way and should be moving through the area by midday. As this happens, scattered thunderstorms will develop along the front, Jamison said.
"Again, we still will have an unstable atmosphere to work with this cold front. Areas from DFW to the south and east are under a Slight Risk For Severe Weather."
The stronger storms tomorrow afternoon again could produce strong wind and large hail, forecasters add.
Most of the storms we do expect to be along and south of Interstate 20. The storms should move into central and east Texas by Friday night.
Things should be fairly quiet on Saturday in the wake of the cold front. The air will be slightly drier and more stable and with daytime heating, we one or two storms may pop up.
The best chance of rain and thunderstorms will be late Saturday night as another cold front is expected. The storms will cover most of North Texas and the motion should be southeastward. Pockets of severe weather again appear likely with this event. Rain should end by midday Sunday, leaving behind a cooler and sunny afternoon.
Stay with CBS11 and TXA21 for the latest on more storms.
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