Derecho Slams North Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana; Power Knocked Out for Thousands | The Weather Channel
The Weather Channel

The latest on the impacts from a derecho that barelled through Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana Thursday night.

October 3, 2014



A derecho, or long-lived severe weather system with damaging straight-line winds, moved through Arkansas, North Texas and Louisiana on Thursday, tearing roofs off of houses, downing huge trees and knocking out power for hundreds of thousands. At least one tornado was confirmed near Lake City, Arkansas. Power was out for over 275,000 people in Texas by Thursday night.

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"A warm, moist airmass set up throughout Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas on Thursday. Temperatures were in the upper 80s for much of the region, and dewpoints were even in the 70s" said weather.com meteorologist Chrissy Warrilow. "This warm, moist air served as the 'fuel' that enhanced and sustained the thunderstorms that developed along a plunging cold front."

Winds reportedly reached speeds of 83 mph near Wills Point east of Dallas, according to the National Weather Service. At least one person was struck by lightning in Texas, KXII reports.


Twitter photo from WilkoTravels shows damage at the Fort Worth Stockyards.

(Twitter/WilkoTravels)


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Here are the storms' impacts by state: 

Texas

Strong storms that barreled through Dallas and Fort Worth left behind damage to buildings and vehicles, knocked out power for hundreds of thousands and at injured at least two people.  

A teacher was sent to the hospital after reportedly being struck by lightning outside of Lamar Elementary in Denison, Texas, but is not seriously hurt, according to KXII. Another person suffered minor injuries after a roof blew off at Arlington Baptist College, the Arlington Police Department reports.

Images on Twitter showed major damage to the Fort Worth Stockyards, a popular tourist attraction with restaurants and clubs. A wall appears to have collapsed and piles of bricks were crushing several vehicles. A revolving door was destroyed by high winds at the University of North Texas Health Science Center, according to National Weather Service storm reports. 

The University of Texas at Arlington classes on Friday because of power outages and Arlington ISD shut down all afterschool activities due to severe weather.

Two apartment complexes suffered structural damage from storms in Arlington, TX

At least 60 flights were canceled at DFW International Airport as a result of the storms. Dallas Love Field delayed incoming and outgoing flights by approximately an hour.

NBC DFW reports that power lines were down on Interstate 20 - stopping traffic. 

Earlier, the Dallas Area Rapid Transit suspended rail service due to severe weather, but normal operations resumed in less than an hour.

Arkansas 

At least one tornado was confirmed near Lake City as the derecho moved over Arkansas. Early reports indicate that cars have crashed into trees blown down by the storms on Interstate 30, according to the National Weather Service. Over 50,000 are without power in Arkansas, according to Entergy and SWEPCO. 

Louisiana

Numerous trees and power lines are down in north Bossier Parish, LA, authorities said. At least 14,000 customers were without power on Thursday night, according to SWEPCO and Entergy. 

According to the National Weather Service in Shreveport, trees had fallen on cars. 


Dallas, TX
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Dallas, TX

Huge tree down in Dallas, TX. (Photo: Twitter/@bkallday010 )