Tornado reported in North Texas

NORTH TEXAS – For the first time in three hours, at 1 a.m. Sunday, tornado warnings expired in North Texas.

The warnings had been in effect for a number of counties, including Collin, Hunt and Fannin counties.

A large tornado was confirmed, according to CBS News Texas meteorologist Jeff Ray. Multiple rotations were spotted in the impacted areas.

Storm damage was reported across North Texas. Overturned semi-trucks were reported on I-35. There were reports of injuries throughout the night.  

The towns and cities of Anna, Melissa, Lane, Celeste, Hogeye, Kingston, Midway, White Rock, Wolfe City, Jacobia, Aberfoyle and South Sulphur appeared to have been in or were near its path.

Debris from the tornado was shown at 5,200 feet, Ray said.

Meanwhile, the tornado watch was allowed to expire at 9 p.m. for our western counties.

Storms mostly stayed out of the Metroplex on Saturday. 

On Saturday, the dewpoint at DFW Airport hit 79°, which might have broken a record for the month of May. That is just unbelievable humid air. Those dewpoints will start dropping Sunday morning.

On Sunday, the dryline will move the east of the Metroplex. Most of us will be in some very dry air so the heat index will stay very close to the actual temperature. The problem is that the actual temperature will be close to a record high. DFW is expected to hit 98°, our hottest day of the year so far.

Not ALL of North Texas will escape the humidity. There is a HEAT ADVISORY for our southern counties Sunday (it continues from today).  Feel-like temperatures will hover near 105 by afternoon. Be careful in that kind of heat, make sure to take frequent breaks from being outside and drink plenty of water all day. 

ORIGINAL STORY

The threat of tornadoes continues to exist in counties west of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

A tornado was reported in Windthorst in Archer County near Wichita Falls, according to CBS News Texas storm chaser Jason McLaughlin. 

Other counties to the west of DFW continue to face threats of tornadoes.

In Dallas-Fort Worth, a severe weather threat still exists.

The atmosphere is loaded with moisture. The heat index was over 100 degrees despite it being only in the low 90s. The dewpoint is in the upper 70s. That is about as high as it gets.

Tornado watches went out a couple of hours ago for our western counties. By 3:40 p.m., we were having tornado warnings out west. Every storm that has developed has turned into a severe storm. 

We expect the dryline to continue to push these storms east toward the Metroplex as we close the day. They should lessen in their tornado threat, but the hail and damaging wind threat will continue to be very high. Heads up to all those out at the Colonial.

 We could get another round of non-severe storms overnight from development down in our southwest.

We are expecting a DRY Sunday and Memorial Day. The hottest day of year so far is expected tomorrow, within one degree of a tying a record high. The dryline will push very dry air into most of North Texas. We won’t have to worry about triple-digit heat index by afternoon. It’ll be cooler with the dry air on Memorial Day. The nicest day of the holiday weekend!

Sunday and Monday look to be the ONLY storm-free days in the week ahead. The unsettled Spring weather of 2024 goes to the very end of Spring and first day of summer.

Jeff Ray

Jeff joined CBS 11 and TXA 21 in December 2010 as a staff Meteorologist. An avid gardener, you can catch his weekly Gardening 101 series on Fridays on CBS 11. Born in Lubbock, Jeff received his bachelor’s degree in broadcast meteorology from Mississippi State University. He also holds a master’s degree in science education from the University of Missouri at Kansas City. Jeff’s broadcast career spans over 35 years.