Slick roads, lighter rain for Wednesday morning commute in North Texas
DALLAS - Overnight thunderstorms lightened up as drivers hit the road for the Wednesday morning rush hour, but roads remained slick for commuters.
Dallas police responded to 48 crashes between midnight and 8:30 a.m.
Officials said the weather contributed to an 18-wheeler crash in south Dallas that left a FedEx truck stuck in the middle of I-45 near I-20. No one was injured in that crash.
A second 18-wheeler also crashed a short time later on eastbound I-20 right before 175.
In northwest Dallas, a single car spun out and struck the wall on southbound I-35 merging onto the eastbound lanes of the LBJ Freeway.
In Fort Worth, a car rolled over on northbound I-35W at the 121 split.
Morning commuters across north Texas faced steady rain throughout Wednesday morning with the heaviest downpours over the southern and eastern parts of the Metroplex.
Early Wednesday morning, Navarro County Office of Emergency Management reported flooding in the southern end of the county, with 5-7 inches of water on U.S. 287 at TX 309. FM 667 north of Frost also flooded. County officials reported at least one car stuck in a flooded roadway, though the driver did get out safely. Most of those roadways cleared by 8 a.m.
Hundreds of homes were without power across north Texas, but most should expect electricity to be restored by this morning.
More than 100 people in Stephenville remained in temporary shelters Wednesday morning provided by the American Red Cross after severe storms and a tornado hit the town Tuesday morning.
The National Weather Service reported three EF-1 tornadoes Tuesday in Stephenville and Tolar. The service also confirmed an EF-1 hit the community of Cool on Monday evening, for a total of three tornadoes in 24 hours.
The Tolar tornado was captured on video by Jared Morris when he was at work on Tuesday morning. The video shows the funnel cloud, debris flying through the air and power flashes.
About a dozen mobile were damaged or destroyed in Tolar and two people suffered non-life threatening injuries. Sheriff's officials in Hood County said winds of 60-70 MPH also hit the area.
Jack Fisk, owner of the mobile home park, survived the storm. But he was still reeling from seeing his two neighbors, a husband and wife, who were tossed and injured in the tornado.
"We found Glinda in the middle of it, she could still walk. Johnny was blown out the back end of it. He was up against the yellow trailer next-door,” Fisk said.
The same storm moved through Stephenville and damaged parts of Tarleton State University and a foster home.
An apartment complex that houses many students off-campus was the hardest hit, with the roof ripped off half of the building. Officials said university students were on Spring Break, which likely prevented numerous injuries.
The Fosters Home for Children had to be evacuated due to heavy damage. More than 40 foster children have been relocated for at least two days. None of the children were injured in the storm.
There were also reports of roof damage and fences down near Granbury from high winds.
Three homes in The Colony are being considered “a loss,” according to the city’s public information office, due to the severe weather that hit the city shortly after 9 a.m. Tuesday Multiple other homes have roof damage and have fences knocked down.
Officials said winds on Tuesday in The Colony were as high as 67 MPH.
A building at the northwest campus of Tarrant County College had bricks ripped off the side due to high winds. Classes resumed on Tuesday evening at the campus.