Tornado warnings issued as powerful storm hits Texas
A powerful storm descended on Texas on Thursday, knocking out power to several thousand customers and prompting tornado warnings in several areas.
The National Weather Service forecasted that "strong and severe" thunderstorms would hit both the north and central part of the state, extending from Lamar County, located northeast of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, all the way south to the Bell County area north of Austin.
The storm forced the Federal Aviation Administration to issue two ground stops at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport Thursday evening, according to CBS Texas, but those have since been lifted. According to FlightAware, 136 flights out of DFW were canceled Thursday, and another 372 were delayed.
Video captured lightning over downtown Dallas as tornado sirens sounded across the city. Tornado warnings were issued for several counties east of the metroplex, according to CBS Texas.
Cell phone video captured vehicles contending with a mix of rain and snow on a highway near the northwest Texas city of Amarillo.
In Austin, the Moody Amphitheatre was evacuated due to lightning. Several musicians had been slated to perform Thursday night, including rapper Yil Yachty, as part of the South by Southwest festival. However, all the evening's shows were canceled.
It was not immediately clear if there were any injuries or significant damage from the storm.
About 25,000 customers were without power in Texas as of Thursday evening, according to utility tracker PowerOutage.us.
