By ESON FELLERS
@EsonFellersETC
Ten tornados tore across North Texas after dark Sunday night, leaving severe damage in their wake but causing no deaths, according to the National Weather Service.
An EF-3 tornado touched down near Love Field and streaked east on a path south of Interstate 635 before crossing the highway into Richardson. An Ef-2 hit Garland, while an EF-1 battered Rowlett, Rockwall, Kaufman and Midlothian, and an EF-0 hit Allen, Wills Point, Ferris and Kaufman.
The EF rating scale ranks tornadoes from weakest to strongest, ranging from zero to five. The tornado watch lasted until 4:52 a.m.
Dallas County Community College District’s Richland campus is near the path of the Dallas funnel.
The college and its LeCroy Center were closed Monday because they had no electricity.
Power was restored Monday night, and normal operations resumed Tuesday.
DCCCD Chancellor Joe May said in an email to employees Monday that the district is assessing the needs of students and employees who may have been impacted by the storm.
Dallas police urged residents in the affected areas to remain indoors from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. through Thursday.
We have found evidence of another tornado in Allen in Collin County, on the west side of town. The tornado will be rated EF-0 with 80 mph winds. This brings the total tornado count up to 10 tornadoes for 10/20/19. More information on this tornado will be provided later #dfwwx
— NWS Fort Worth (@NWSFortWorth) October 24, 2019
Full report for the 9 tornadoes across North Texas: https://t.co/E9bsrfoCKY #dfwwx pic.twitter.com/lgTvNNcxQD
— NWS Fort Worth (@NWSFortWorth) October 23, 2019
About 130,000 people across North Texas were without power as of 4:40 a.m. Monday, according to Oncor Electric Delivery. About 40,000 remained in the dark Monday night.
The Richland Oaks neighborhood in Richardson received heavy damages from the storm on Oct. 20, with many houses in the area being condemned.
Jane Murrell, a renter in the neighborhood, was staying over at a friend’s house on Sunday night when her roof collapsed into her living room.
She has been working to get her belongings out of the house before the expected rain on Thursday, but she’s been having asthma problems from the mildew inside her home.
“It’s horrible inside the homes,” she said. “Everything is wet, but we have to rush to get things out of the home.”
The National Weather Service reports there’s a 60 percent chance of rain on Thursday.
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said the Bachman Recreation Center has been opened as a shelter by the American Red Cross.
“Considering the path the storm took, it went across a pretty densely populated part of our city,” Johnson said in a news conference on Monday. “We should consider ourselves very fortunate we didn’t lose any lives.”
At the intersection of Pimberton Drive and Tibbs Street in Dallas, houses suffered from roof and window damage, with at least one car flipping over onto its side.
Trees and utility poles snapped due to strong winds.
—Anthony Lazon
contributed to this report
