host posted on April 25, 2008 09:44
DALLAS — Meteorologists determined Thursday that a severe storm that destroyed homes and knocked down trees in suburban Fort Worth a day earlier was a tornado packing winds of up to 115 mph.
The tornado hit Crowley Wednesday night, leaving a path of damage and debris that was about 0.3 miles long and 100 yards wide, according to the National Weather Service.
Four other tornadoes were confirmed Thursday from the storms that swept across West and North Texas on Wednesday.
A weak tornado touched down in Erath and Palo Pinto counties and strong winds caused damage in Hood, Johnson and Tarrant counties, officials said.
Most of the damage in Snyder in West Texas was from straightline winds, but it appears that a tornado also briefly touched down, said David Henning, a senior forecaster with the National Weather Service in Midland.
In southern Dawson County between Patricia and Ackerly, two tornadoes touched down in "the middle of nowhere," he said.
Aerial video of the Crowley area 12 miles south of Fort Worth showed the roofs of homes stripped of shingles and decking and cars buried beneath the debris of what had once been garages.
"All in all, just your regular Texas spring thunderstorm with possible tornadoes and golfball-size hail," said Tarrant County spokesman Mark Flake. (source: chron.com)
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