2010-01-21 17:46:28 - Tornado - USA EDIS CODE: TO-20100121-24644-USA
Date & Time: 2010-01-21 17:46:28 [UTC]
Area: USA, State of Texas, Van Zandt County, Canton Damage level: Moderate (Level 2)
Not confirmed information! Description: At least seven homes near Canton in Van Zandt County were destroyed Wednesday by severe storms that raked Northeast Texas, a Red Cross spokeswoman said. A tornado may have caused the worst damage, so the National Weather Service office in Fort Worth sent assessment teams to the areas to determine if funnel clouds had indeed pounced there. No serious injuries were reported from the storms, but they were powerful enough to topple an 18-wheeler, snap power lines and tear up some roofs. Interstate 20 east of Dallas was shut down at 5:30 p.m. in Canton, according to the Department of Public Safety in Tyler. Traffic was being diverted onto other roads, a dispatcher said. The seven lost homes near Canton were counted by Red Cross officials, said Anita Foster, the agency's spokeswoman in Dallas. "That number could rise as we make our way around the area," said "Our teams are just getting out this morning." A Red Cross shelter was set up Wednesday night at the Van Zandt County Fairgrounds, but no one stayed there overnight, Foster said. Eric Martello, weather service meteorologist, said the assessment teams would also check reports of wind damage near Sulphur Springs in Hopkins County, southern Henderson County and northern Anderson County. The storms developed, Martello said, after southerly winds pumped the region with moist air from the Gulf of Mexico during the first part of the week. On Wednesday a strong upper level disturbance with powerful winds aloft rolled in and rattled the moist, unstable air. "It was a set up for severe weather," Martello said. Thursday, according to the weather service, will be sunny with a high near 66; the same holds for Friday, but it will be a little warmer, around 72 degrees. No severe storms are in the forecast through the end of the week, although a "quick" disturbance will make an appearance in North Texas after midnight Friday and bring a 30 percent chance for showers, according to the weather service. But the reason severe weather is not expected with latest disturbance is because there will be much less moisture in the region, the weather service said. The rain chances drop to 20 percent before noon Saturday, followed by gradual clearing through the rest of the afternoon and evening, and that will set the stage for sunny skies Sunday and Monday, with highs in the low 60s to high 50s.
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