Strong Winds Cause Damage In Kaufman
Follow CBSDFW.COM: Facebook | Twitter
KAUFMAN (CBSDFW.COM) - Strong winds on Monday night left parts of Kaufman badly damaged, and even more storm damage is being discovered on Tuesday morning.
Oncor said that more than 200 customers lost power in the storms and the Trinity Valley Electric Cooperative reported 600 of their customers without power. Those numbers have since come down significantly.
The straight-line winds reached 60 to 70 mph and caused the inside ceiling of a Chevrolet dealership's service entrance to drop down. Some panels fell onto a car that was parked underneath the overhang. Another building at the dealership was also damaged.
The powerful winds also broke out the windows at an AutoZone location in Kaufman, knocked over many healthy trees at the trunk, ripped roofs off of buildings and left several warehouses in need of repairs.
Kelli Walker was at home with her husband and kids at around 8:00 p.m. Monday night when she heard a gust of wind and then a loud boom -- as a tree fell on her roof. "I've got a dad and a husband that are going to come home today and start trying to get this off the roof and just see what's underneath," Walker said. "That's all we can do, and then call the insurance company, praying no serious damage."
Even a few big rig trailers were toppled like dominoes. Drivers stated that the strong winds, heavy rain and hail made it hard to travel.
The National Weather Service will likely come out to assess the situation and determine if it was, in fact, a tornado that ravaged the area.
The damage was not isolated to one location in Kaufman -- it's very widespread -- and more damage will likely be found and reported throughout Tuesday.