December 29, 2015

Monster storm system spawns tornadoes, blizzards, flooding

By Melissa Gray and Tony Marco , CNN
Updated 9:01 PM ET, Sun December 27, 2015

The National Weather Service on Sunday confirmed three tornadoes were part of the storms that ripped through the Dallas area a day earlier, killing 11 people and damaging hundreds of buildings.

The governor declared a disaster in four Dallas-area counties Sunday, urging caution as a new wave of severe weather began to hit Texas in the afternoon.

An EF-4 tornado, which typically has wind gusts of between 166 and 200 mph, was responsible for the destruction in hard-hit Garland, the National Weather Service in Dallas-Fort Worth said. Eight of the 11 reported deaths happened there, Garland Police Lt. Pedro Barineu said, and 600 structures were damaged.

The damage in nearby Rowlett was from an EF-3 tornado, which has typical gusts of between 136 and 165 mph.

Three deaths were reported in Collin County, said Lt. Chris Harvey, a spokesman for the sheriff's office. CNN affilate KTVT said they included two deaths in Copeville , where the National Weather Service confirmed an EF-2 tornado, and the death of an infant in Blue Ridge.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in Austin declared a disaster in Dallas County, which covers Garland; Rockwall County, which covers Rowlett; and Collin and Ellis counties.

The Fort Worth office of the National Weather Service said there was an unconfirmed report of a tornado in eastern Ellis.

More extreme weather to come

Parts of Texas were experiencing extreme swings in the weather. Dallas had a high of 82 degrees Saturday and was down to 41 on Sunday, with freezing temperatures forecast for Monday, according to CNN meteorologist Rachel Aissen.

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http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/27/us/severe-weather/