Tornado touches down in east Texas(Reports of damage)

It appears from early calls in to police in east Texas that a tornado has touched down and seems to have caused quite a bit of damage and injuries,
Its to early to tell whats happened but im sure this will be news soon,

I hope all our members in the area are ok and my thoughts are with all the people in the affected area..

More news will follow...

[edit on 20-1-2010 by asala]

Ok the area it is thought to have hit is near Waskom TX,

UPDATE:

Tornado reported in Waskom

Heavy damage has been reported in the Waskom area during a reported tornado. Emergency officials are treating injuries.

According to the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office, several businesses and homes near Interstate Highway 20 mile marker 628 has been reported. Individuals may be trapped in structures. Emergency personnel are on the scene.

A tank battery reportedly exploded near Waskom after a lightning strike. Fire officials are on the scene near State Highway 134 and Farm-to-Market Road 1998.

Local link

Gosh seems like there are alot of warnings out for tornados over there this evening,

Damage reported from tornado near Texas/Louisiana border, buildings and cars damaged by possible twister in Dallas suburb of Canton

is this abnormal for texas in janurary?
i know it isnt for texas but in the winter months?

More reports that some people may be trapped in buildings, Hopefully the weather holds up,

News agency's are on there way, so we should get a clearer picture of whats gone on pretty soon..

reply to post by TheCoffinman


I'm not sure? I know some areas in the US tonight are getting some rare tornado warnings tonight like santa clara county, It may not be to rare for Texas but i would assume hitting a residential area may be? LA and loads of other areas have a warning right now,

Maybe a US member who knows a bit about this could chime in,

It is always very scary news to hear of these types of storms in the winter months, they are not as common as in spring and fall, but yes they do happen and generally are very strong and unexpected.

I am going to check out the link provided as we are at the other end of Texas as you know...

I live not too far (ok, its more like an hour away) from where this happened. From what I've seen on the news, the main problem was downed power lines, but I haven't heard too much about injuries (but it still is kind of early). I'm hoping, but what was shown on the news, that all that really results of this is some damage to some buildings.

I've lived here my entire life, so as to tornadoes in January...I wouldn't say that it is completely abnormal, but I also wouldn't say that it is normal. It really does depend on what the weather decides to do. The temperature just started to heat up again (60s-70s now), so I'm not THAT surprised. A couple of years ago it was 70+ on Christmas, but this year it snowed several inches (which is abnormal for the main Dallas/Fort Worth area). So just about anything could happen, and I don't think I would be that surprised.

I hope everyone there is ok.

Some links to keep an eye on if you are in any possible areas that have these this evening,


www.spc.noaa.gov...

Storm prediction areas, www.spc.noaa.gov...

Weather. Org
weather.org...

Looks like it all headed east of them now, we look to be in the clear with just a few mild showers, wheuu, I hate those winter storms!

Hope everyone stays safe tonight that are in the path of this unpredictable front.

I'm not far from there. My wife works within a mile of where it touched in Canton.

Thankfully, no loss of life and minimal damage in this area. It was supposed to be headed northerly to either Edgewood or Grande Saline.

Tornados are not too uncommon around here. Little early in the year though.