A sprawling weather mass has brought crippling blizzard conditions to the upper Midwest and violent storms across several southern states. A massive storm blowing across the country Tuesday spawned several tornadoes that wrecked buildings and injured a handful of people in Oklahoma and Texas, left two people missing in Louisiana and saw much of the central United States bracing for blizzard-like conditions.
Sherriff's deputies, firefighters, volunteers and dog teams were searching the debris after a tornado touched down about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from Shreveport, Louisiana, the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office said. Two people were missing, one was hurt and several buildings were destroyed, Sgt. Casey Jones said.
“I think we’re focused on searching for people. There’s no rain. The weather is gone,” he said a few hours after the tornado swept through Four Forts. “I’m hoping they’re with family somewhere,” Jones said. There were no immediate reports of deaths.
Far to the northwest, an area stretching from Montana into western Nebraska and Colorado was under blizzard warnings, and the National Weather Service said as much as 2 feet (61 centimeters) of snow was possible in some areas of western South Dakota and northwestern Nebraska. Ice and sleet were expected in the eastern Great Plains.
Forecasters expect the storm system to hobble the upper Midwest with ice, rain and snow for days, as well as move into the Northeast and central Appalachians. Residents from West Virginia to Vermont were told to watch out for a possible significant mix of snow, ice and sleet, and the National Weather Service issued a winter storm watch from Wednesday night through Friday afternoon, depending on the timing of the storm.
The severe weather threat also continues into Wednesday for Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle, according to the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma.
In the South, a line of thunderstorms brought tornadoes, damaging winds, hail and heavy rain across North Texas and Oklahoma in the early morning hours, said National Weather Service meteorologist Tom Bradshaw. Authorities on Tuesday reported dozens of damaged homes and businesses and several people injured in the suburbs and counties stretching north of the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
The weather service examined about a dozen different areas across North Texas to determine if Tuesday's damage was caused by high winds or tornadoes.
A tornado warning prompted the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport to issue a “shelter in place” order Tuesday morning, asking passengers to move away from windows, the airport announced via Twitter.
More than 1,000 flights into and out of area airports were delayed, and over 100 were canceled, according to the tracking service FlightAware.
In the Fort Worth suburbs, about 20 local homes and businesses were damaged, according to the North Richland Hills police department.
In nearby Grapevine, police spokesperson Amanda McNew reported five confirmed injuries.
“The main thing is that we’ve got everyone in a safe place,” McNew said just after noon. “We’re starting the process of going through the city looking at damage to property, to businesses, homes and then roads.”
A possible tornado blew the roof off the city’s service center — a municipal facility — and left pieces of the roof hanging from powerlines, said Trent Kelley, deputy director of Grapevine Parks and Recreation. Tuesday was also trash day, so the storm picked up and scattered garbage all over, he said.
Photos sent by the city showed downed power lines on rain-soaked streets, as well as toppled trees, damaged buildings and a semitrailer that appeared to have been tossed around a parking lot.
Meanwhile, a tornado damaged the Oklahoma town of Wayne shortly after 5 a.m. Tuesday. There was widespread damage but no deaths or injuries, McClain County Sheriff’s Capt. Bryan Murrell said.
“We’ve got multiple family structures with significant damage ... barns, power lines down,” Murrell said. The town is about 45 miles (72 kilometers) south of Oklahoma City.
National Weather Service meteorologist Doug Speheger said wind speeds reached 111-135 mph (179-211 kph) and the tornado was rated EF-2. It was likely on the ground for about two to four minutes, according to the weather service.
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