Tornadoes ripped through Texas and crossed an interstate highway, causing damage and injuries as scattered severe storms moved through Texas and Oklahoma Saturday night.
Forecasters issued tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings for parts of both states as several heatwave records were broken during the day in South Texas and residents received triple-digit temperature warnings over the holiday weekend.
A tornado ripped through northern Denton County, Texas, late Saturday, overturning a tractor-trailer and shutting down traffic on Interstate 35, Denton County Community Relations Director Dawn Cobb said in a statement.
The tornado was spotted near Valley View and was moving east at 40 mph, Cobb said, and the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for northern Denton County.
The storm damaged homes, overturned campers and downed power lines and trees throughout the area, including Sanger, Pilot Point, Lake Ray Roberts and Isle DuBois State Park, Cobb said, adding that the number of injuries in the county was not immediately known.
The fire department in Denton, Texas, about 37 miles north of Fort Worth, posted on X that emergency crews were responding to a marina with “multiple reported victims, some trapped.”
Early Saturday night, the National Weather Service office in Norman, Oklahoma, announced via social platform X that warnings had been issued for northern Noble County and southern Kay County, north of Oklahoma City. “If you’re in the path of this storm, evacuate now!” the agency said.
A subsequent post at 10:05 p.m. warned that the storm had left the area, but that storms moving across North Texas could affect parts of South Central Texas. Oklahoma.
At 10:24 p.m., the Fort Worth National Weather Service posted a message warning residents of Ella and Valley View that they were in the direct path of the tornado and should evacuate immediately. The Fort Worth weather service continued posting storm tracking notices and evacuation warnings until late into the night, and issued a separate severe thunderstorm watch with the possibility of “golf-ball-sized hail.”
The National Weather Service in Tulsa, Oklahoma, warned that dangerous storms would move across the northeastern part of the state by 2 a.m. and issued severe thunderstorm watches for Hugo, Boswell, Fort Towson, Graynola, Foraker and Heard areas.
Norman’s office described the situation on Saturday as ” A pile of weeds soaked in gasolineForecasters said the storm could bring large hail, dangerous winds and tornadoes.
“Most games are unlikely to be boring and we’re only seeing a few storms today. Still, it’s not a game I want to play. It only takes one storm to make an impact,” he said on Facebook.
Unusually hot, especially for May. The danger was in South Texas, where heat indexes were forecast to approach 120 degrees in some places over the weekend. While actual temperatures will be lower, they will still be in the triple-digit range and with high humidity, it will feel even hotter.
Zach Taylor, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said the area is on the northern edge of a heat dome that stretches from Mexico into South America.
Taylor said Sunday is shaping up to be the hottest day of the year, with Austin, Brownsville, Dallas and San Antonio expected to set late May records for high temperatures.
Brownsville and Harlingen, near the Texas-Mexico border, already set new records on Saturday, May 25 (99 degrees and 100 degrees Fahrenheit, respectively), according to the weather service.
Red flag fire warnings were also issued for parts of West Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arizona and Colorado. Humidity was very low, below 10%, and wind gusts of up to 60 mph were recorded.
“Very dry air, warm temperatures and strong winds are creating increased fire danger over a wide area. Fires could spread quickly or get out of control,” Taylor said.
Meanwhile, Rolla, North Dakota, about 10 miles from the Canadian border, saw several inches of snow fall between Friday and early Saturday morning.
April and May were busy months for tornadoes, especially in the Midwest. Climate Change Storms around the world are becoming more intense.
In April, the U.S. Second most frequent tornado outbreaks It would be the most powerful on record. So far, the nation is on track for 25% more tornadoes than average through 2024, according to the Storm Prediction Center in Norman.
Iowa was hit by deadly tornadoes this week, causing extensive damage. Destroyed GreenfieldOther storms also caused flooding and high wind damage in other parts of the state.
The severe weather storm is expected to move east as the Memorial Day weekend continues, dumping rain that could postpone the Indianapolis 500 race in Indiana on Sunday and bringing more severe storms to Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Kentucky.
Forecasters said the risk of severe weather will move into North Carolina and Virginia on Monday.
