DEVASTATION IN MANY US AREAS:
Freak Christmas Weather Claims 42 More Lives:
Tornado Death Toll Rises and 7 are Killed in Alabama and Illinois Flooding.
>Now as Balmy Temperatures Finally Plummet, Here Comes The Snow...
- Flooding, tornadoes and severe thunderstorms 42 killed people in at seven states since Christmas
- Eleven were killed in Texas, including eight in Garland, two in Copeville and one in Blue Ridge in Collin County
- Another ten were killed in Mississippi, seven in Missouri six in Tennessee, five in Illinois, two in Alabama and one in Arkansas
- New Mexico's governor declared a state of emergency because of impassable roads and heavy snow drifts
- Unseasonably warm weather starting on Wednesday helped spawn torrential rain and deadly storms across the South
- Whiteout conditions and snow drifts have already closed some highways in the Texas Panhandle, while historic snowfall totals are expected in nearby New Mexico
- Parts of Interstate 40 west of Amarillo, Texas, and into Santa Rosa, New Mexico, were shut Sunday
Daily Mail UK, 27 December 2015
Freak weather has swept the Southern part of the United States this weekend, killing at least 42 people along the way.
Flooding, tornadoes and severe thunderstorms have killed people in seven states since Christmas.
Eleven were killed in Texas, ten in Mississippi, six in Tennessee, seven in Missouri, five in Illinois, two in Alabama and one in Arkansas.
Meteorologists say, however, that the worst of the storms has passed, and that snow is on its way, as temperatures are cooling down across the nation.
Texas Department of Transportation spokesman Paul Braun tells the Amarillo Globe-News that crews are doing what they can to plow the drifts, but that they 'go through and it blows it right back'.
Parts of Interstate 40 west of Amarillo, Texas, and into Santa Rosa, New Mexico, were shut Sunday.
Nearly 10,000 Excel Energy customers, most of them Amarillo, have been without power. High winds are blamed for knocking over utility poles and power lines.
The Texas Department of Public Safety in Amarillo is strongly discouraging all travel throughout the entire Texas Panhandle because blowing and drifting snow had made the roads impassable. That's a 26-county area covering nearly 26,000 square miles.
Trooper Cindy Barkley said more than 20 motorists have been stranded by eight- to ten-foot-high snow drifts along highways US 60 and US 70 in Parmer County. The county is about 80 miles southwest of Amarillo along the Texas-New Mexico state line.
She said crews are trying to plow the roads but the blowing snow is making the job difficult.
Authorities also say Interstate 40 west of Amarillo for about 50 miles to the New Mexico border will remain closed through the night.
New Mexico's governor declared a state of emergency because of impassable roads. Roswell received between 14 and 18 inches of snow since Saturday afternoon, and eight more inches were forecast.
An overhead view of the destruction that caused eleven deaths in Texas the day after Christmas when severe storms and tornadoes hit the state. Pictured above is a street in Garland, Texas
The remains and debris of storage units after Saturday's tornado were left scattered throughout the parking lot in Garland, Texas
Traffic backs up along I-30, right near a site of Saturday's tornado. Several motorists were stuck on the road during Saturday's tornado
Damage of home buildings is seen after Saturday's tornado in Garland, Texas, where about 600 structures were damaged, the majority of which were single-family homes
An apartment complex's roof was torn off and units were ripped apart during Sunday's horrific tornado and storms in Garland
People climb over boxes and debris as they assess the damage to a storage facility destroyed by Saturday's tornado in Garland, Texas, on Sunday
Debris piles up after an apartment complex next to Interstate 30 was damaged by a tornado last night in Garland, Texas after a tornado swept through the area
Cheryl Turek, of Nevada, Texas, right, hugs Evelyn Lindstrom in front of Lindstrom's destroyed home in Copeville, Texas, after heavy rain, high winds and tornados swept through North Texas
Evelyn Lindstrom looks for her cat that ran away as her home, seen behind her, was damaged by Saturday night's tornado in Copeville, Texas
Texas Gov Greg Abbott is warning that the number of victims from a deadly outbreak of storms and tornadoes in the Dallas area could still rise.
Abbott made disaster declarations for four counties on Sunday following the severe weather that killed at least 11 people. He said there have been reports of as many as a dozen tornadoes around North Texas, but meteorologists were still working to confirm how many touched down.
Abbott said the state was not yet committing to a total number of casualties because rescue crews were still searching through rubble and destroyed homes.
He declared disasters in Dallas, Collin, Rockwall and Ellis counties and warned that roads across Texas remain in 'perilous' condition because of plunging temperatures and continuing rainfall.
Eleven people were killed and another 38 were injured the day after Christmas when raging storms and tornadoes blew through the Dallas area, according to reports.
Eight of the fatalities came when a destructive tornado hit Garland, where 15 others were also injured.
Garland Police Lt Pedro Barineau said in a morning news conference that the death toll rose by three people since Saturday night, when a tornado struck.
Barineau said at least three people who died were found in vehicles, adding that some cars appeared to be thrown from Interstate 30 and George Bush Turnpike when the tornado hit about 6.45pm on Saturday. It wasn't known whether that was the case for the people found in the vehicles.
Witnesses say drivers appeared to abandon their cars along the Texas interstate, where authorities say a tornado thrashed an area of two square miles outside Dallas.
Zach Shirley said on Sunday that bumper-to-bumper traffic clogged Interstate 30 near an intersection where police say some cars appeared to be thrown from the road.
The 34-year-old said he spent nearly eight hours on the interstate, on which he got on after the tornado, and considered leaving his car and walking to his apartment. Shirley said he was humbled to find out that where he lived was spared.
About 600 structures were damaged, the majority of which were single-family homes. Barineau said that it's 'total devastation'
A Jeep Liberty sits destroyed on Shipman Street after Saturday's tornado in Rockwall, Texas on Sunday after a storm swept through the area
A house was crushed and its windows were blown out in Saturday's tornado in Rowlett, Texas. Debris was spread across the front lawn
Dusty Zachary, center, carries a photo away from her mother, Caprice Lioboe's, left, home on Shipman Street in Rowlett, Texas, on Sunday
A billboard and stripped trees are seen near an apartment complex next to Interstate 30 that was damaged by the tornado that hit Garland on Sunday
A man takes pictures of damage outside an apartment complex after Saturday's tornado in Garland that caused substantial damage and at least 11 people died either from the storm or related traffic accidents
Residents and emergency workers walk near stripped trees at an apartment complex damaged by Saturday's tornado in Garland
At least 11 people lost their lives as tornadoes tore through Texas, authorities said Sunday, as they searched home to home for possible more victims of the freak storms lashing the southern United States
A comfort chair is seen at the site of a residence whose wall was blown away by Saturday night's tornado in Copeville, Texas
Trees were uprooted during Saturday's horrific storms in the Dallas area. The rare December twisters flattened houses and caused chaos on highways
'It looks like a war zone,' Zach Thompson, Dallas County Health and Human Services Director said.
Garland Mayor Douglas Athas says on his official Facebook page that search teams are still looking through the rubble from an EF-4 tornado.
He said Sunday that search teams would work until they check every building and car. Utility crews were also working to restore power, and about 40 people remained in an emergency shelter.
Athas said he was proud of the city's 'preparedness' and its emergency personnel. He also thanked everyone who'd offered to volunteer and donate
Meanwhile, two people died in Copeville and one person in Blue Ridge, an unincorporated town in Collin County, next to Lake Levon.
In Rowlett, 23 people were injured and 'huge amounts of damage' from a tornado is widespread but concentrated in southern part of the city,
Rowlett City Manager Brian Funderburk said about 20 miles northeast of Dallas, has a 24-hour curfew in the affected areas, which Funderburk took a direct hit from the tornado. It isn't known the strength of the tornado's winds.
The extent of the injuries are not known, and officials said there are no reports of missing people.
Officials also say there were reports of looting overnight.
About 50,000 people are without power across the Dallas-Fort Worth area, mainly in the eastern cities, according to the outlet.
Forecasters said the two tornadoes that hit the Dallas area had winds up to more than 200 mph.
National Weather Service teams are still surveying damage and said that the tornado in the suburb of Garland has been rated an EF-4. That's the second-most powerful tornado on the damage scale used by meteorologists and is generally strong enough to level well-constructed homes and toss cars.
The weather service also said damage in nearby Rowlett indicated it was likely an EF-3 tornado, which has winds up to 165 mph.
In this photo provided by Kim Serrano, a pet German Shepherd walks in a neighborhood blanketed in snow in Edgewood, New Mexico, on Sunday
Albuquerque police officers respond to yet another rollover throughout the Albuquerque area after a snowstorm paralyzed the city with icy road conditions
A view of Interstate 40 looking eastbound along the Tijeras Canyon around 11pm on Saturday, just before officials decided to shut down the road from Albuquerque to the Texas border due to the snowstorm that paralyzed the city
An Albuquerque ambulance member responds to a rollover on the Western side the city along interstate I-40 on Saturday night
Stranded motorists comfort each other near the intersection of Paseo del Norte and Eagle Ranch Road on Saturday night after the latest snowstorm paralyzed the city due to icy conditions in Albuquerque, New Mexico
A man walks by a rollover on the Western side of Albuquerque, New Mexico, along interstate I-40 after snow hit on Saturday night
Emergency crews respond to a multi-vehicle accident in Albuquerque, New Mexico, after a flurry of snow began to blanket Albuquerque, Santa Fe and other cities
People stand by after a rollover accident along Interstate 25 northbound just south of Albuquerque after snow began to fall in the area
Snow covers roof tops in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Saturday as there are warnings of a record-setting blizzard being on the horizon
Debris lies on the ground near a home that was heavily damaged by a tornado in Rowlett, Texas, on Saturday after tornadoes swept through the Dallas area after dark
Downed trees and power lines litter the area as neighbors check a damaged pickup looking for the driver after reports of a tornado in Rowlett
Police car lights illuminate Debbie Spruell's heavily damaged car after a tornado hit in Rowlett on Saturday evening, causing significant damage to the area
Eleven people were killed in Garland, Texas, after fierce storms and tornadoes swept through the region Saturday (above)
Tornadoes raged across southern and eastern Texas on Saturday in the Dallas area - above, a tornado moves through Rowlett, Texas across Lake Ray Hubbard
MORE;
US Death Toll Hits 25 as Tornados/Storms Strike South
Daily Mail UK, 27 December 2015
Rare December tornados knocked cars off a highway and flattened homes in Texas, bringing the death toll to 25 in days of storms tearing across the southern United States.
The extreme weather, fueled by unseasonably warm air, is likely to continue for the next few days, the National Weather Service reported, snarling holiday travel across a large section of the country.
The late Saturday deaths in Texas came as millions of residents in the southern United States struggle to recover from fierce storms and heavy flooding, with more rain in the forecast.
At least eight people were killed as tornados struck parts of the densely populated Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, leaving much of the region in darkness, local officials and media reported late Saturday ©Tom Pennington (Getty/AFP/File)
At least 17 people were killed in storm-related incidents since Wednesday in Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas, local officials said.
At least eight people were killed as tornados touched down in parts of the densely populated Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, local officials and media reported.
A twister struck around 6:45 pm (0045 GMT Sunday) in Garland, Texas, city officials said in a statement.
"Five deaths have been confirmed," the statement said. "Extensive damage has been reported to vehicles, homes, and apartments in the same area."
The deaths are "believed to be related to vehicles struck by the tornado," it said, adding that there was also an unconfirmed number of injuries and that teams of rescuers are arriving to help scour damaged areas.
The tornados snapped power cables and knocked over pylons, leaving some 30,000 Garland residents in the dark, the city said.
The Garland fatalities were apparently "blown off the highway by high winds," Garland police spokesman Mike Hatfield told the Dallas Morning News.
"We’re dealing with darkness out here," Hatfield said. "All of the street lights and highway lights are out."
Three other people were killed in weather-related incidents in Collin County, just north of the metroplex, the newspaper said, citing local police.
Local TV weather reporters said that 11 twisters touched down in the region, a figure the NWS was unable to immediatley confirm.
- 'Dangerous Flooding' -
In Alabama, heavy flooding continued Sunday following several days of heavy rain that began on Thursday.
Governor Robert Bentley declared a state of emergency to deal with the flooding just before Christmas Day tornados uprooted trees and tore off rooftops.
One even touched down in Birmingham, the state's most populous city. There were no fatalities, but the twister damaged three homes, Birmingham Fire Department Chief Charles Gordon told CNN.
The NWS said Saturday in a preliminary report that the Birmingham twister packed winds of up to 130 miles (209 kilometers) per hour.
Near the state capital Montgomery, 336 inmates at the minimum-security Red Eagle Community Work Center were forced to evacuate due to flooding, local media reported.
And residents of the town of Elba are nervously eying a levee that protects them from water from the Pea River. The river is forecast to crest and possibly overflow the barrier, the AL.com news site reported.
In Mississippi, where Governor Phil Bryant declared a state of emergency to deal with flooding, "severe storms" are forecast for late Sunday through Monday, the state Emergency Management Agency said.
"Tornadoes are possible and residents are asked to remain weather aware," the EMA said.
Early EMA damage reports showed 241 homes destroyed or with major damage, and more than 400 total homes affected.
The EMA earlier said that 10 people were confirmed dead.
Six fatalities were confirmed in Tennessee, and another person was killed in Arkansas.
Georgia Governor Nathan Deal also declared states of emergency in counties affected by the weather.
"A variety of dangerous weather conditions will continue across the middle of the country through Sunday," the National Weather Service said.
It warned of "blizzard conditions" from west Texas into Kansas, and "hazardous ice accumulations" in Oklahoma.
"Dangerous flooding will extend from north Texas to central Illinois," it said.
Flood warnings and advisories also remained in effect in parts of Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky and other areas in the southeast.
Separately, a southern California brush fire that forced the closure of part of two major highways was mostly under control.
As of early Sunday the fire was 60 percent contained and evacuation orders were lifted, the Ventura County Fire Department said.
The fire scorched 1,200 acres (486 hectares), but there were no fatalities, and no structures were reported damaged, officials said.
Feeding on unseasonably warm air, the storms and tornados have left a trail of destruction in rural communities from Alabama to Illinois ©Ethan Miller (Getty Images/AFP/File)
AND MORE TO COME >
Incredible Video of Supercell Forming over Texas