Severe Storms Move Through North Texas

May 3, 2007
Waves of strong storms moved across Texas for the third straight day Wednesday.

FORT WORTH, Texas --

Waves of strong storms moved across Texas for the third straight day Wednesday, knocking out power to at least 300,000 homes and businesses, downing trees and stranding motorists in high waters.

A line of storms moved through the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area about 6 p.m. Wednesday, bringing with it winds of up to 85 mph and heavy rains. Water gushed from manholes. People planning to enjoy an evening baseball game between the Texas Rangers and New York Yankees huddled in the concourse as the storms moved through. Water stood in the outfield before the game was postponed.

Carol Peters, a spokeswoman for Oncor Electric Delivery, said 200,000 customers were without power Wednesday night in Dallas and 100,000 in Fort Worth.

"We have trees in lines, wires down across our system," she said. Peters said all available crews were brought in to help with repairs. The company was working to assess the damage. It wasn't immediately known how long it would take to make repairs.

"As the storm moved through, we got several reports of high winds of 75 miles per hour in some areas, and up to 85 miles per hour," said Juan Ortiz, emergency management coordinator for the city of Fort Worth and Tarrant County.

Sirens sounded in southern Tarrant County.

The storm caused minor damage to some commercial buildings, and Ortiz received reports that fewer than 10 homes had water inside. The wind apparently blew out the front door of a community center.

Multiple vehicles stalled out in high water, and trees and power lines were down. No major injuries or deaths were reported.

NBC 5 viewers also reported funnel clouds, downed trees and at least one possible tornado in Cleburne.

Chopper 5 video showed that a small plane had flipped over at Arlington airport.

High winds also caused problems in other North Texas cities.

Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport received high winds, heavy rain and had zero visibility, forcing a halt to departures and arrivals for more than an hour with heavy lightning in the area.

Through 8:45 p.m., 40 cancellations and a dozen diversions were reported. Delays were more than an hour and a half long.

Officials reported a lightning strike to a runway that caused a small hole. The strike caused no additional safety concerns and did not impact flights, airport spokesman Ken Capps said.

"This is the third time in three weeks we have experienced winds well over tropical storm force and we've been able to effectively deal with every time," Capps said. "Things slow down or stop for a while, but everyone stays safe. "

Edna Ruano, a spokeswoman for Southwest Airlines, said 12 flights were grounded and one diverted at the height of the storm in Dallas. Operations were to resume about 8 p.m. but flights were expected to be delayed about an hour to an hour and a half, she said.

The National Weather Service said it had reports of wind gusts of up to 100 mph in Terrell in Kaufman County, just to the east of Dallas.

The stormy weather is expected to continue through Thursday. By Friday, storms will be out of North Texas and warmer temperatures will arrive, with highs reaching the upper 80s by the weekend.

Texas Storms Claim Second Victim

One woman died when her car became submerged in southwest Bexar County, officials said.

Bexar County officials were rescuing people from another car underwater at the same crossing when they noticed a second vehicle. When a firefighter broke out the rear window of the vehicle, they discovered the body of a woman in her 40s. She was not immediately identified.

On Tuesday, an angler was killed when he was struck by lightning in the Central Texas town of Cameron.

Ronald Jake Ingram, 23, of Cameron, was fishing in a stock tank with two others when a severe storm blew in and the fishermen decided to leave. Ingram was struck by lightning as he reeled in his fishing line and worked to untangle it from another man's line.

Meanwhile, torrential rain fell in parts of West Texas, flooding at least two homes and briefly knocking out Odessa's emergency phone system, officials said.

It marked the third day in a row for warnings and watches for the National Weather Service, which monitored storms that fired up frequently across the state.

In Odessa, school administrators took precautions when a storm struck Wednesday morning. At LBJ Elementary, students were moved to the school's hallways from portables and classrooms. First-graders sat in rows holding open books above their heads.

About 11 inches of water filled the basement of the Ector County Library during the storm but there was no major damage.

"Water came down Sam Houston so fast it went over the sidewalk and just poured down the air intake. It was a mass of water," Jeaux White, head of technical services at the Ector County Library, said in a story for Thursday's Odessa American. "It's a recurring problem."

Rocks and leaves washed onto roadways, vehicles stalled and trash bins floated away. No major injuries or deaths were reported.

Numerous streets and all underpasses were closed in Odessa because of the heavy rainfall, said Dale Childers, Odessa's assistant fire chief. Some streets were covered with as much as 4 feet of water, he said.

"We had a tremendous amount of rain in a short period of time," he said, adding that two homes flooded and more could be reported. "It's not raining anymore, but we're anticipating a redevelopment this afternoon. That's what I'm afraid of."

The county's emergency management office issued a flash flood warning late Wednesday morning urging Odessa residents to stay inside and not drive.

Pat Vesper, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Midland, said radar estimates indicated parts of Ector County, which includes Odessa, received as many as 5 inches. Radar indicated as much as 7 inches of rain in counties to the west, he said.

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