Watch CBS News

Residents Wake To Assess Damage After Tornado Hits Wise County

WISE COUNTY (CBSDFW.COM) - Cleanup is expected to begin this morning across parts of North Texas after a tornado touched down late Wednesday night.

The twister is known to have caused damage in Wise County, near the towns of Alvord and Chico - about 40 miles northwest of Denton. The National Weather service confirmed there was a twister in the area just before 9:30 p.m.

Some of the damage includes a destroyed storage shed that spread debris across US Highway 287 and several large trees uprooted near Chico.

So far there have been no reports of injuries.

Wise County Emergency Manager Cody Powell said a joint information center will be opened at the Chico High School to help coordinate emergency response.

At its peak there were more than 500 customers without electricity. Crews with Oncor Energy were out early trying to restore power. At last check, workers were estimating full power restoration by 6:00 p.m.

Graham tornado
(credit: Jason McLaughlin)

A tornado is also believed to have touched down in Graham -- 90 minutes northwest of Fort Worth. CBS 11 Storm Chaser Jason McLaughlin was in the area at the time and said he could hardly see anything, but the twister sounded like a train and he could hear the damage it was doing.

A second storm system is expected to move across parts of North Texas Thursday morning, but should bring no severe weather.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.