Severe Storms Move Through the Area

EAST TEXAS (AP-STAFF) � Amid powerful thunderstorms that produced tornadoes and funnel clouds, emergency sirens wailed Tuesday night and residents took cover from mother nature�s fury. Authorities arranged an aerial survey of parts of rural East Texas where at least one tornado damaged homes, knocked down power lines, and caused at least one injury.

The National Weather Service says a moderate tornado that carried winds of 90-100 miles an hour roared through an area between Ben Wheeler and Edom. The agency says more than 100 structures were damaged, and three structures were destroyed. That included the mobile home of a woman who was hospitalized after the storm rolled her home and turned it into a pile of debris. Van Zandt County emergency management spokesman Chuck Allen described a damage track one mile wide and eight miles long extending from Edom to the north. The storm passed through the area about 6:00 p.m.

In Mabank, widespread roof damage was reported after a series of tornadoes struck. Police Chief Kyle McAfee reports widespread tree damage and damage to shingles and other roof features from the Tuesday afternoon twisters. No injuries had been reported, though. There were reports of shoppers at the Brookshire’s supermarket in Mabank seeking shelter in a walk-in freezer until the danger passed.

The storms brought torrential rains and high winds to Tyler. Flooded intersections and power outages were reported. A funnel cloud was reported in the vicinity of the University of Texas at Tyler. Among the storm reports received Tuesday night:
*Several trees and power lines were reported down on County Road 3123 and Morningside Drive near Tyler�s northeast loop. A tree was reported down on a house in the 2600 block of Cecil.
*Shortly before 6:30 a funnel cloud was observed by the Department of Public Safety south of Lindale just south of Interstate Highway 20 near County Road 420.
*Shortly before 6:30 Tuesday night, over 3 inch size hail was reported in the Lindale area.
*Numerous tree limbs were reported down on the campus of Tyler Junior College.
*Home destroyed on Blocker Road, four miles Southeast of Marshall, in Harrison County.
*Four miles south southeast of Marshall, a home was damaged along Farm Road 2625 and Taylor Road.
*Four miles south of Marshall, cars were off the road and trees snapped along U.S. Highway 59.
*One mile north of Tatum in Rusk County, trees were down, and a shed destroyed on County Road 2214. Damage was also reported to a house on County Road 2187.
*West of Tatum, trees snapped, home damaged and a barn was destroyed on County Road 149 and County Road 2187.
*In Wood County around 7:00 Tuesday night, a tornado briefly touched down about a mile north northeast of Hawkins and quickly went back up.
*Trees reported down along Highway 60 near Cuney in Cherokee County.
*Just before 5:00pm, golf ball size hail fell for some ten minutes on Farm Road 2138, about nine miles south of Jacksonville.