BubbaSaenz | Twitter
Without warning, a violent tornado touched down in Dallas, Texas last night. Bringing with it 111 miles per hour winds and leveling an unbelievable amount of damage in its path, residents were caught completely by surprise.
As of this time, there is just one reported fatality, but rescuers are still cleaning up debris and evaluating the damage, which is expected to be in the millions. It is very possible that they will find more trapped within the wreckage.
Residents say that they were caught completely off guard by the twister, and they had experienced a sunny and pleasant weekend.
The twister touched down near the Love Field Airport just before 9 pm on Sunday evening and made its way 17 miles northeast. Residents of Ellis and Dallas countries were both warned to take shelter as this powerful storm moved through.
Winds were recorded as high as 111 mph, with hail the size of baseballs being reported by those in the storm’s path. Police apparently received several calls from people injured by broken glass after a monster hailstone crashed through a window or skylight.
Trailers were torn from foundations, roofs were ripped off of buildings, and full stores – like a Home Depot or Forest and 75 in Dallas – were completely decimated.
Forest and 75 @HomeDepot in wake of the #DallasTornado. 🤯 #Tornado @wfaaweather @wfaa @dallasnews #dallasweather pic.twitter.com/GMZQ2vXoMN
— Matthew Smith (@mattasmith) October 21, 2019
According to a reply to this tweet, which shows the staggering damage done to this home improvement store, the manager knew what was coming and was able to get all customers and employees out of the store before the tornado touched down.
Just a half an hour after everyone evacuated the store, this happened.
The storm continued its path even after the tornado was no more, and took the life of one Arkansas resident after a tree fell through his home.
The local power company Oncor says that they are working as quickly and as safely as they can to restore power to as many as possible, but it is going to take time. The tornado ripped power lines down and pulled poles straight from the ground.
More than 175,000 Oncor customers lost power Sunday night, including 60,000 Dallas residents, and at least 100,000 are still without power this morning.
Oncor warns residents to stay away from downed power lines, as they could be active.
This got me twisted #DallasTornado pic.twitter.com/uqAWtRG2U2
— 👻spooky dust👻 (@DustInTheHouse_) October 21, 2019
Rescuers are continuing their efforts today, going door-to-door to check on homes and sifting through the debris of destroyed businesses to find anyone who may have been injured or trapped.
