Friday, March 31, 2017

Severe Storms Rake Southern Plains; Major Damage Reported in Rockwall, Texas; Truck Driver Dies in Oklahoma

Sean Breslin
Published: March 29,2017

Tuesday night was a long one for the southern Plains.
More than a dozen tornadoes were reported across Texas Tuesday night, where one severe storm left major damage to homes in a town northeast of Dallas. Meanwhile, in Oklahoma, strong winds were blamed for the death of a truck driver.
Residents in Rockwall, Texas, a town of about 40,000 located 25 miles northeast of Dallas, cleaned up damage Wednesday in an area hit especially hard by Tuesday's storms. According to WFAA.com, one injury was reported in the Dalton Ranch neighborhood, where a row of homes suffered severe damage in the storms.
(MORE: Where Severe Weather Could Strike Next)
Several homes in Rockwall, Texas, were damaged by a severe storm on Tuesday, March 28, 2017.
(Saul Garza/KDFW-TV)









































The National Weather Service surveyed the damage in Rockwall Wednesday and determined it was caused by straight-line winds as high as 95 mph, not a tornado.
"It's quite devastating to see some of the damage that was done," Rockwall Mayor Jim Pruitt told NBC DFW.
In the Dallas metro area, more than 250,000 homes and businesses were without power Wednesday morning, according to CBS DFW. North of Fort Worth, an 83-mph wind gust was reported to the NWS early Wednesday morning.
Severe storms also pounded parts of Oklahoma Tuesday night. Near El Reno, a 95-mph gust was reported just after 9 p.m. local time, and hail as big as golf balls fell in Elmer.
According to the Associated Press, a truck driver was killed in El Reno when his semitrailer was pushed off the highway and overturned by strong winds. KOKH-TV said the accident occurred in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 40, and the driver was declared dead at the scene. His identity has not been released.
MORE: Tornadoes Strike the Midwest

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