Large storm brings twisters, floods and it’s not over yet

Published 10:07 am Monday, December 28, 2015

GARLAND, Texas – As residents of North Texas surveyed the destruction from deadly weekend tornadoes, the storm system that spawned the twisters brought winter storm woes to the Midwest on Monday and amplified flooding that’s blamed for more than a dozen deaths.

At least 11 people died and dozens were injured in the tornadoes that swept through the Dallas area on Saturday and caused substantial damage. That, plus the flooding in Missouri and Illinois, was the latest in a succession of severe weather events across the country in the last week that led to at least 43 deaths.

A range of precipitation was forecast Monday for the country’s midsection, including heavy snow, ice and blustery winds in parts of 11 states and heavy rain in already-waterlogged parts of Missouri and Arkansas.

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In North Texas, local officials estimated as many as 1,450 homes were damaged or destroyed by at least nine tornadoes.

“This is a huge impact on our community and we’re all suffering,” Garland Police Lt. Pedro Barineau said of the suburb about 20 miles northeast of Dallas, where eight people died, 15 were injured and about 600 structures, mostly single-family homes, were damaged.