PHOTOS: Monstrous Tornado Sweeps Through Texas Killing 11, Injuring 38 – Snow Next

by Terresa Monroe-Hamilton | December 27, 2015 11:08 am

A huge tornado took aim at Garland, Texas yesterday[1] and left sheer devastation in its wake. 11 are dead this morning and at least 38 are injured after the twister swept through the region. It hit a busy highway on Saturday there. There was a massive lightning storm and rain of biblical proportions as well. They say that Texas and Oklahoma may now get hit with a blizzard. Looks like winter just roared to life in these parts.

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From the Daily Mail:

Eleven people were killed and another 38 were injured in Texas the day after Christmas when raging storms and tornadoes blew through the area, according to reports.

Meteorologists say, however, that the worst of the storms has passed, and that snow could be on its way, as temperatures are cooling down across the nation.

Eight of the fatalities came when a destructive tornado hit Garland, where 15 others were also injured.

Garland Police Lt Pedro Barineau said in a morning news conference that the death toll rose by three people since Saturday night, when a tornado struck.

Barineau said at least three people who died were found in vehicles, adding that some cars appeared to be thrown from Interstate 30 and George Bush Turnpike when the tornado hit about 6.45pm on Saturday. It wasn’t known whether that was the case for the people found in the vehicles.

About 600 structures were damaged, the majority of which were single-family homes. Barineau said that it’s ‘total devastation’

‘It looks like a war zone,’ Zach Thompson, Dallas County Health and Human Services Director, told Fox 4[3] of Garland.

Meanwhile, two people died in Copeville and one person in Blue Ridge, an unincorporated town in Collin County, next to Lake Levon. Another person also died in the deadly Texas storms.

In Rowlett, 23 people were injured and ‘huge amounts of damage’ from a tornado is widespread but concentrated in southern part of the city, Rowlett City Manager Brian Funderburk said.

Rowlett has a 24-hour curfew in the affected areas, which Thunderberg says took a direct hit from the tornado. It isn’t known the strength of the tornado’s winds.

The extent of the injuries are not known, and officials said there are no reports of missing people.
Rowlett is about 20 miles northeast of Dallas.

Officials also say there were reports of looting overnight.

Some places look like literal war zones and there is looting taking place. This is just devastating right after Christmas. Here in Oklahoma, the downpour continues. We had a tornado watch close to us last night, but nothing like Texas got hit with. Tomorrow will bring rain, wind and snow. But I think the blizzard will be far away from us in the panhandle of the state. About 50,000 people are without power across the Dallas-Fort Worth area, mainly in the eastern cities. The National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Bishop says that there will be rain and thunderstorms in the area through Sunday and Monday, but the worst has passed. Maybe for Texas, but Oklahoma is still getting nailed as I write this. Pray for all those families affected by these storms and for the ones lost to them. Winter is going to be something else this year I fear.

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