DALLAS — Severe storms tore across much of North Texas Monday evening, with a tornado damaging a high school in Jack County, emergency crews launching a search-and-rescue effort in Montague County and The National Weather Service issuing several tornado watches and warnings from Fort Worth to Austin.
The weather service placed the entire Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex under a tornado watch Monday afternoon. That advisory was upgraded about 6:15 p.m. to a tornado warning for northeast Tarrant County, northwest Dallas County and parts of Collin and Denton counties. People were advised to take immediate shelter in a basement or interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building.
Severe thunderstorm warnings were also issued for much of the area, including Tarrant, Cooke, Parker, Johnson and Hood counties, with the main concern hail the size of a quarter and 60 mph winds.
Tornado sirens could be heard from Fort Worth to Richardson as the band of severe weather moved east into the area just after 6 p.m.
The weather service said people in Tarrant County — including parts of Arlington, Fort Worth, North Richland Hills, Bedford, Colleyville and Grapevine — should take shelter as the storm moved through about 5:50 p.m. The NWS also advised people near DFW Airport to take shelter after noting a new circulation about 6:10 p.m. near highways 121 and 114.
In Jack County, AccuWeather reported a radar-confirmed tornado about 7 miles east of the town of Bryson and headed toward Jacksboro about 4:05 p.m. The National Weather Service reported damage to mobile homes and trees about 5 miles southwest of Jacksboro.
Photos posted by KXAS-TV (NBC5) showed the roof of the Jacksboro High School gym almost completely destroyed. The station also reported that multiple structures and homes were flattened on the Salona Highway, north of Bowie, and that a gas plant south of the town, off Highway 59, was also damaged.
The National Weather Service also issued tornado warnings for parts of Cooke, Erath, Palo Pino and Parker counties. The warnings extended to the northwest portion of Denton County and up and down I-35 from Cooke County to Hays County, south of Austin.
About 5:20 p.m., the weather service said the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex would be “the next area to watch as storms are going to enter a more favorable environment for tornadoes.”
A tornado watch had been issued about 3:30 for almost all of North Texas, including Dallas, Collin and Tarrant counties, until 10 p.m. The NWS said conditions could lead to scattered damaging winds up to 75mph, along with isolated and very large hail.
A wind advisory is in effect from noon to 7 p.m. Monday for counties along and east of Interstate 35, including Tarrant and Dallas counties, the weather service said. Sustained winds of 20 to 25 mph and gusts up to 45 mph are possible, according to the forecast.
Some storms from Dallas-Fort Worth, to the south and to the east may be severe, producing flooding, damaging winds and large hail. Tornadoes may also be possible along and south of Interstate 20, according to the forecast.
The greatest threat for strong to severe storms will be between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m., the weather service said.
“You need to have an action plan in place, know what to do if there’s a tornado warning issued for your county, your area, especially this afternoon,” KXAS-TV (NBC5) meteorologist Grant Johnston said.
The weather service advised people to be alert to rapidly changing outlooks and have multiple ways — via phone, radio or TV — to get weather warnings.
The weather service cleared fire danger warnings Monday for many Central Texas counties ravaged by wildfires over the weekend. Johnston said the threat may return to the area with strong winds Tuesday and Wednesday.
Temperatures Monday will be in the low 70s but drop into the 50s overnight, the forecast says.
“The storms will clear out tonight and much cooler air moves in,” Johnston said.
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