Tornadoes and severe storms tore through the Dallas area Saturday, leaving at least 11 people dead, as a major storm system threatened to bring more tornadoes, blizzard conditions and flash flooding to the central part of the U.S.
Five tornadoes were reported in the Dallas area Saturday, causing widespread damage to homes and buildings and sending dozens to the hospital.
In Garland, a suburb of Dallas, eight people died when an EF-4 tornado touched down, said the National Weather Service Fort Worth survey team. EF-4 tornados bring winds over 165 mph.
Three others died in Collin County, police said.
The same tornado that struck Garland hit the neighboring town of Rowlett, where it weakened to an EF-3 — meaning its winds were over 135 mph, said the NWS Fort Worth survey team. Twenty-three people were injured.
Severe weather could hit Texas again as there was a risk of dangerous storms, including a likely strong tornadic episode in the eastern part of the state as well as western Louisiana. Flash flooding was expected from Oklahoma to Illinois and more than a foot of snow may fall from Roswell, New Mexico, to the Texas panhandle.
The storms also knocked out power to thousands.
Amid Saturday’s destruction in Texas, the death toll from severe storms earlier this week in Mississippi, Tennessee, and Arkansas rose to 17. Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant issued a declaration of disaster after 10 died in his state.
-abcnews