Dallas Tornado: Destructive Storm Odd For October, Not Unheard Of

One of last night's Dallas-area tornadoes
lit up by lightning. Photo by Billy Frank Watkins Jr.

A tornado struck the Dallas, Texas area last night, and apparently it was a very serious one.

Details were still somewhat sketchy early this morning, but news reports and social media videos showed a debris-strewn Interstate 35 with battered cars, a demolished Home Depot and dramatic video of what looked like a big tornado lit up by lightning and power flashes.

The tornado or tornadoes hit shortly after 9 p.m. last night in the northern sections of Dallas, near Love Field.

It was terrible timing for a tornado.  It was dark, so a lot of people would not be able to see it coming. (People seem to always want a visual cue of a tornado. They look for it at night, but then it's on top of them before they can see it and take shelter).

Plus, it was early enough that people were still out and about, perhaps driving home from dinner, a movie or a visit with friends.

As of this writing, there were several reports of injuries but so far no deaths.  Which is surprising. Traffic was heavy on freeways hit by the tornado.  The tornado's path took it through heavily developed neighborhoods consisting of large commercial buildings, apartments and densely packed single family houses.

Spring and early summer are the peak times annually for tornadoes, especially in Texas, but twisters can of course happen any time of year.

Sometimes, as is the case here, a potent storm can overwhelm the relative lack of heat and instability this time of year  to produce dangerous weather. In North Texas for instance, there is a big peak in tornados in the spring, followed by a lull during mid to late summer.

As autumn arrives, storm systems get stronger, leading to a secondary peak in severe weather in parts of the country, including Texas. There aren't nearly as many tornadoes this time of year as in the spring but there is a slight upticik.

This particular system contributed to severe thunderstorms in Idaho Saturday. It moved on to cause widespread strong storms Sunday, not only near Dallas, but also through large sections of Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri.

Tornado watches and warnings continued this morning in western Tennessee. Terminals were evacuated at Memphis International Airport this morning amid tornado warnings and strong winds. People who were in the terminal reported damage, but the airport said the damage was relatively minor.

But the mess wasn't. Everyone had to go back through security to get to their flights. Long delays and cancellations were going on at the Memphis airport this morning.

A good chunk of the South is at risk for severe storms and possible tornadoes as we go through the day today.

This is also at least the third time this year that a heavily populated area has been hit by an especially dangerous nighttime tornado. Tornadoes caused a lot of destruction in the dark earlier this year in Jefferson City, Missouri and Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Here's a video of the large gornado near Love Field:



 A motorist stunned by the tornado afternmath on this Dallas-area freeway last night: