Tornado outbreak – Destructive tornadoes hit Texas and Oklahoma, leaving more than 100 000 customers without power
Severe storms moving through the south-central U.S. on Friday, November 4, 2022, produced strong winds, heavy rain and tornadoes in parts of Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma, leaving damage and injuring people. The threat of tornadoes, some intense, continues across the ArkLaTex region overnight on November 5 as the cold front passes through the southern Plains.
The NWS Storm Prediction Center issued a Level 4 risk for the ArkLaTex region through Friday evening – a forecast issued about a dozen times per year.
By 07:55 UTC on November 5, the center received 18 tornado reports, most of them from NE Texas.
More than 112 000 customers were without power as of 07:30 UTC on November 5 – 68 000 in Texas, 25 000 in Arkansas, and 24 000 in Louisiana.
A confirmed tornado hit Lamar County in northern Texas, located about 128 km (80 miles) NE of Dallas-Fort Worth, injuring 10 people and damaging or destroying 50 homes, according to the sheriff’s office.
Law enforcement officials said two of the 10 people injured were in critical, but stable condition at Paris Regional Medical Center.
Trees and power lines were downed across the region, leaving tens of thousands without power and forcing Dallas area airports to cancel hundreds of flights.
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport recorded 76.45 mm (3.01 inches) of rainfall on November 4, breaking the previous daily rainfall record of 44.95 mm (1.77 inches) set in 1956.
A violent wedge tornado touched down near Clarksville – a city and county seat of Red River County, Texas.
A large and destructive tornado moved across I-30 in New Boston, Texas, slinging debris and causing numerous power explosions. This aerial video shows the tornado coming into the southwest side of town with ground showing it cross I-30 at close range.
Damage assessments are in progress in Hopkins County, Texas where at least 4 homes sustained heavy damage.
A confirmed large and extremely dangerous tornado was reported near Cumby, Texas – located about 12.8 km (8 miles) SW of Sulphur Springs.
Significant damage was reported inside the city limits of Hughes Springs where a tornado moved through the area at 19:39 LT.
Tornado damage was also reported in Athens, Henderson County, TX.
Another tornado hit the Oklahoma Mesonet site at Idabel, Oklahoma. The site recorded a maximum wind gust of 174 km/h (108 mph) at approximately 18:50 UTC.
A frontal system continues to move across the central U.S. early this morning while gradually approaching the eastern United States, NWS forecaster Dolan noted at 08:02 UTC on November 5.3
Severe thunderstorms will continue to be possible across the Southern Plains and lower Mississippi Valley early this morning, but severe potential will gradually decrease throughout the day today.
This system is forecast to continue slowly moving east while weakening through early next week.
Showers and thunderstorms will be possible ahead of and along the cold front, and rain chances associated with this system are forecast to steadily decrease through Monday.
References:
1 Tornado Damage, Injuries Reported In Parts Of Texas, Oklahoma – TWC – November 5, 2022
2 LIVE: Tornadoes confirmed in Texas as severe storms pummel region, cause damage – AccuWeather – November 5, 2022
3 Short Range Forecast Discussion – NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD – 402 AM EDT Sat Nov 05 2022
Featured image credit: NOAA/GOES-East, RAMMB/CIRA, The Watchers. Acquired at 22:40 UTC on November 4, 2022
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