Tornadoes Rip Off Roofs in Dallas-Ft. Worth Area

Tornadoes swept the Dallas-Ft. Worth area Monday, with about half a dozen confirmed touchdowns that ripped roofs off houses, damaged a hotel and blew an 18-wheel tractor-trailer onto a car driving in an adjoining lane.

A tornado near Lewisville, northwest of Dallas, shoved the tractor-trailer over onto the car, said Douglas Cain, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service.

The truck driver was injured but the driver of the car was not because she crouched down when she saw the truck coming her way.

Another tornado hit Arlington, between Dallas and Ft. Worth, and tore off the roof and part of the second story of a Ramada Inn, Cain said. One person was slightly hurt.

A third twister destroyed two brick buildings in Cleburne, south of Ft. Worth, Cain said.

Another tornado ripped some roofs off in Saginaw, northwest of Ft. Worth, the National Weather Service said.

Several other tornado touchdowns were also reported, Cain said.

“These tornadoes have been short-lived--developing, dropping and disappearing,” he said.

Several different weather systems meeting in the area created the turbulence.

So much rain fell in just 15 minutes at Denton that streets flooded up to the doors on some cars, said Lt. Jeff Davis of the University of North Texas’ Police Department.

Meanwhile, a storm that might have been a small tornado damaged a house, trees and power lines at Cumberland, Wis., the weather service said.

Hail as big as golf balls fell near Rhinelander, Wis.

Elsewhere, a cold front spread snow through the mountains in Montana and Wyoming and onto the Plains.

Cheyenne, Wyo., got 5.3 inches of snow; Buckley Air National Guard Base east of Denver got 3 inches, and Laramie, Wyo., got 1 inch.

In addition to snow, Cheyenne had a record low temperature for the date of 29.

Snow advisories were posted for the mountains of northern and central Colorado.

Advisories for freezing temperatures overnight were posted in parts of Colorado, Nebraska and the Dakotas.