Reports: Over 200,000 without power following severe weather in central Texas
As of 6:27 a.m. CDT Wednesday, this reports story will no longer be updated.
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Severe thunderstorms have returned to the south-central United States, threatening portions of Texas and Oklahoma.
Hail larger than tennis balls, wind gusts over 60 mph and damaging tornadoes will all be possible into Wednesday morning as storms track across Texas and Oklahoma.
These thunderstorms could interrupt traffic on major highways across the region, including portions of I-10, I-20, I-35 and I-40.
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Floodwaters have closed I-235 northbound between 36th street and I-44 around Oklahoma City as of 5:40 a.m. CDT Wednesday, according to the Oklahoma Highway patrol.
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The number of customers without power in the Dallas-Fort Worth area has reached about 190,000 people, as of 4 a.m. CDT Wednesday. Across the state, the total has reached over 212,000.
Storms currently rolling through Texas will taper off through the morning, which will make for a wet and gusty morning commute before exiting the area.
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As of 3 a.m. CDT Wednesday, the number of people without power across Texas has jumped to over 130,000. About 125,000 of them are in the Dallas-Fort Worth area alone.
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As of 2:45 a.m. CDT Wednesday, over 60,000 people are without power across central Texas. Over 53,000 of them live in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
A severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for the Dallas area until 3:15 a.m. CDT.
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About 7,000 customers of AEP and Oncor are affected by power outages in Texas, as of about 2 a.m. CDT Wednesday.
A tornado warning has been issued for Fort Worth, North Richland Hills, and Bedford, Texas, until 2:30 a.m. CDT. A second warning is in place for Flower Mound, Keller and Trophy Club, Texas, until 2:45 a.m. CDT.
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A tornado warning has been issued for Granbury, Pecan Plantatio and Oak Trail Shores Texas, just west of Dallas. The storm is approaching Fort Worth as of 1:45 a.m. CDT Wednesday.
The warning is in effect until 2 a.m.
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About 3,500 customers are without power in Texas at about 11:45 p.m. CDT Tuesday, according to Oncor and AEP Texas. Storms are beginning to weaken west of the Dallas area.
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As of 10:45 p.m. CDT Tuesday, severe thunderstorm watches are in place for much of central Texas, including Abilene and San Angelo. Damaging winds and hail up to 2 inches in diameter are possible, along with the potential for tornadoes.
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At 8:50 p.m. CDT Tuesday, a powerful line of thunderstorms was tracking across western Texas and was making its way toward San Angelo. The primary threat is damaging wind, although a few tornadoes may spin up in stronger areas of the line of storms.
Motorists in the area, including those traveling along I-10 and I-20, should expect heavy downpours which will limit visibility.
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A 74-mph wind gust was recorded near Seymour, Texas, at 7:45 p.m. CDT Tuesday, according to Mesonet. There were also many reports of hail in the area, including tennis ball-sized hail.
<center><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">2.7" hail a few moments ago in Seymour, TX <a href="https://twitter.com/NWSNorman">@NWSNorman</a> <a href="https://t.co/V8rksE9jEN">pic.twitter.com/V8rksE9jEN</a></p>— Ben Holcomb (@oklahomachaser) <a href="https://twitter.com/oklahomachaser/status/846890536040566784">March 29, 2017</a></blockquote>
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While only a few thunderstorms have produced tornadoes across Texas on Tuesday, many thunderstorms produced large hail. So much hail fell in Petersburg, Texas, that it covered the roads, making it look like they were covered in snow all around town.
Hail-covered roads in Petersburg, Texas. (Photo/Twitter user @BekkiRGermany)
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A new area of severe thunderstorms has developed in western Texas around the town of Odessa.
These thunderstorms have already produced hail as large as ping pong balls and could become strong enough to produce tornadoes. Some of these thunderstorms may hit areas that experienced severe thunderstorms earlier this afternoon, including the town of Big Spring.
A severe, slow-moving thunderstorm also tracked near Del Rio, Texas, producing heavy rain and penny-sized hail. This thunderstorm originated over Mexico, but gradually tracked to the east and crossed the border into Texas.
<center><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Three-body scatter spike signature showing up on radar, indicating large hail within the storm north of Del Rio. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/txwx?src=hash">#txwx</a> <a href="https://t.co/upa5aKCYYb">pic.twitter.com/upa5aKCYYb</a></p>— NWS San Antonio (@NWSSanAntonio) <a href="https://twitter.com/NWSSanAntonio/status/846881967949930498">March 29, 2017</a></blockquote>
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At 6:15 p.m. CDT Tuesday, a confirmed tornado was located near Stamford, Texas, and was tracking to the north.
AccuWeather Extreme Meteorologist Reed Timmer was chasing the storm and captured video of the tornado:
<center><blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">BREAKING: Large tornado over Arledge field, TX! Time 605 pm <a href="https://twitter.com/breakingweather">@breakingweather</a> <a href="https://t.co/nOHJG51Si7">pic.twitter.com/nOHJG51Si7</a></p>— Reed Timmer (@ReedTimmerAccu) <a href="https://twitter.com/ReedTimmerAccu/status/846863596390899713">March 28, 2017</a></blockquote>
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A tornado just south of Stamford, Texas. (Photo/Twitter user @RumblinMatt)
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The same thunderstorm that produced a tornado near Abilene, Texas, just produced another tornado near the town of Funston. Hail as large as golf balls accompanied the twister with the storm heading in the direction of Avoca.
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A tornado touched down just west of Guthrie, Texas, around 4:50 p.m. CDT, a National Weather Service employee reported. The storm and associated tornado is tracking to the northeast in the direction of Paducah.
A tornado that touched down west of Guthrie, Texas. (Photo/Twitter user @dljuly3)
<center><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Tornado damage just west of Guthrie, TX <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/txwx?src=hash">#txwx</a> <a href="https://t.co/1dzUe3HbQZ">pic.twitter.com/1dzUe3HbQZ</a></p>— James Burch (@jamesburch93) <a href="https://twitter.com/jamesburch93/status/846843035673657344">March 28, 2017</a></blockquote>
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A severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located near Happy Valley, Texas, at 4:10 p.m. CDT and was heading northeast toward Abilene. People in the path of the storm should seek shelter immediately.
This thunderstorm also has a history of producing hail as large as golf balls.
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At 2:40 p.m. CDT Tuesday, there were two thunderstorms capable of producing tornadoes in Texas. One was located near the town of Dickens and the other was headed toward Whiteflat.
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A tornado has touched down near Crosby, Texas, according to an National Weather Service employee. The tornado was reported at 2:38 p.m. CDT Tuesday and was the first tornado reported across the area.
<center><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Tornado 2SE Crosbyton TX just before 230pm. <a href="https://twitter.com/NWSLubbock">@NWSLubbock</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/txwx?src=hash">#txwx</a> <a href="https://t.co/86cc3eQIzJ">pic.twitter.com/86cc3eQIzJ</a></p>— Matt Ziebell (@Matt_Ziebell) <a href="https://twitter.com/Matt_Ziebell/status/846816453550592001">March 28, 2017</a></blockquote>
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