Several homes were destroyed and at least two people were hospitalized after severe storms rolled through Johnson County, Texas, early Tuesday morning.
The damaging storms rolled through the county, just south of Fort Worth, at about 3:40 a.m. CST, but the National Weather Service did not issue severe thunderstorm or tornado warnings. The worst of the damage was between Joshua and Godley, according to NBC Dallas-Fort Worth.
Chief James Woolard estimated as many as five homes were damaged by the storm, and neighbors were looking after the pets left behind as the two injured residents were taken to the hospital. The extent of their injuries wasn’t immediately disclosed.
“This is the most extensive damage we’ve seen,” he told NBCDFW.com.
The NWS would have to survey the damage to determine whether it was caused by a tornado or straight-line winds. If confirmed, it would be the second time in as many weeks that a twister caused damage in the United States without a tornado warning issued; an EF1 tornado hit Uniontown, Pennsylvania, Thursday evening, but that storm had a severe thunderstorm warning. Only a significant weather advisory was issued before Tuesday morning’s storm in Johnson County.
A significant weather advisory is issued by an NWS office for thunderstorms that can be impactful, but are not expected to reach severe thresholds, said weather.com senior meteorologist Jonathan Erdman.
The NWS issues severe thunderstorm warnings for those storms which are expected to produce wind gusts of at least 58 mph, wind damage or hail at least 1 inch in diameter, he said.
Additional damage was reported Tuesday morning in DeSoto, just south of Dallas.
by Sean Breslin
February 20, 2018
