Texas tornado kills one as severe weather hits nation

On a day severe weather hammered the central part of the nation, tornadoes struck northern Texas, leaving one person dead and others unaccounted for.

The Associated Press, quoting Eastland County Judge Rex Fields, reported Saturday night that a tornado left “five miles of destruction” as it tore through a rural area south of Cisco, about 100 miles west of Fort Worth.

It was one of at least two twisters in the Cisco area, the National Weather Service said. The tornadoes were accompanied by hail the size of oranges, the agency said.

Rough weather is expected in Oklahoma and other Great Plains states as well, including parts of southeast Colorado and southwest Arkansas, where there’s a chance of large hail, damaging winds and more tornadoes.

Parts of southwestern Oklahoma were hit with baseball-sized hail, the National Weather Service said, following thunderstorms and heavy rain that produced flash flooding.

“It’s closed roads, but not major highways,” said Daryl Williams, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Norman, Okla.

At least a dozen rivers have flooded after about 10 inches of rain fell over the last five days, Williams said. A tornado watch was issued from central Oklahoma to north Texas through Saturday night.

Winter storm warnings have been issued in Colorado, Wyoming and parts of Nebraska, as well as South and North Dakota, the National Weather Service said Saturday.

In South Dakota, the Black Hills could see up to 25 inches of snow, the weather service said.

“It’s been snowing since earlier this morning,” said Kyle Carstens, a meteorologist with the weather service in Rapid City, S.D. “This is kind of our wetter time of the year.... This storm is just a little bit colder.”

Rapid City, he said, could get between 12 to 14 inches of snow.

The National Weather Service predicts snow at elevations as low as 3,000 feet in parts of Wyoming. Southeastern Wyoming could see up to 12 inches of snow, said Chad Hahn, a meteorologist with the weather service in Cheyenne.

That type of weather is normal in May, Hahn said.

“The good part is we’ll be back into the 60s and 70s next week,” he said.

The weather service predicts 3 to 5 inches of snow in the Nebraska panhandle by Sunday night.

Meanwhile, the National Hurricane Center said parts of North and South Carolina could see up to 3 inches of rain Saturday, as the first tropical storm of the season churns toward those states.

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