Lucky North Texas escapes weather disaster again

By Mitch Mitchell

mitchmitchell@star-telegram.com

In addition to hail, lightning and rain, Tuesday's string of storms spawned nine small tornadoes, including one in Irving and two in Denton County, the National Weather Service reported late Wednesday.

The preliminary canvass found none in Tarrant County, but the surveyors are still checking, meteorologist Jennifer Dunn said.

"We have been pummeled by storm after storm after storm for the last three months," said Mark Hanna, spokesman for the Insurance Council of Texas. "But compared with what happened in Oklahoma, Alabama and Missouri, this area has been very fortunate indeed."

During Tuesday's storms -- they worked their way across the region in the evening hours -- fences were blown over in subdivisions in Haslet and Argyle, thousands of homes and cars were dinged by hail, power went out over a wide area, and Dallas authorities were trying to determine whether a man's death Tuesday night was weather-related.

The tornado in Irving was classified as an EF1. It damaged the roofs of four houses and a nearby apartment complex as it cut a path 1.5 miles long and about 250 yards wide, the weather service reported.

"We think there was one, maybe two tornadoes sighted in Tarrant County, but if they touched ground at all, they were very brief," meteorologist Eric Martello said.

"To have several supercell storms pass through what is a very populated area and have very few injuries and only one death that is being investigated as possibly weather-related -- we were very fortunate."

At 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oncor reported that about 12,600 customers were still without power in the Metroplex, most of them east of Texas 360, said Ashley Burton, an Oncor spokeswoman.

Burton cautioned residents who see downed power lines to stay clear of them and report them to police.

Man electrocuted

The Dallas County medical examiner's office attributed the death of a 35-year-old Dallas man to accidental electrocution after he came in contact with a downed power line in the Oak Lawn area.

The body of Robert Ragan was discovered Wednesday morning, according to the medical examiner's office.

Ragan was a regular patron of the Hidden Door club and rode out the storm there Tuesday night, an acquaintance said.

"He stayed with us through the storm, even when we lost power, and then left after 10 p.m. with [a friend] who had come to pick him up," said the bar employee, who declined to give his name, saying the bar's management forbids him from speaking to the media.

After Ragan got home, which is nearby, he sent a text message to another patron saying a tree was lying across the road.

"That's the last we heard from him. We found out today he was dead," the acquaintance said Wednesday. "I've known him for years. Everybody knew Robert. He was always just a friendly, bubbly person. He was a sweet guy."

Jason Evans, Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman, said that if a fallen power line caused the death, it would be weather-related.

In Irving, an unidentified police officer was on Loop 12 at Shady Grove Road about 10:25 p.m. Tuesday placing flares in the road when he was struck by lightning, police said. The officer was taken to a hospital and was listed in good condition, police said.

No other injuries were reported in the region, officials said.

Large hail and twisters

Hail caused most of the damage in the Metroplex, said Hanna, the Insurance Council spokesman.

"Four-inch [diameter] hail was reported in several cities, including Irving, Carrollton, Southlake, Keller, Grapevine and Avondale," Hanna said in a news release. "As many as 350,000 homes were hit by 13/4-inch hail or larger."

In Argyle, where a funnel cloud was sighted Tuesday night, Police Chief William Tackert said some fences were blown down and some residences lost shingles, but damage to structures was light to moderate.

"I could see the funnel cloud forming, coming across the sky," Tackert said. "All of my neighbors were out in the street watching it with me. I remember thinking that we should all probably be inside somewhere, hiding in the bathtub."

In Haslet, just west of Interstate 35W near the Tarrant-Denton county line, Fire Chief Mike Thetford said a small tornado swept down a street in the southern part of the city, uprooting trees, knocking down fences and destroying sheds.

It touched down around 2200 White Lane in the Hugh White Estates subdivision and headed north to 2228 White Lane.

"One eyewitness said it was a funnel cloud," he said. "Another said it hit a stock tank, creating a little stream of water. That's what made me realize it was a tornado."

Staff writers Martha Deller and Marty Sabota contributed to this report.

Mitch Mitchell, 817-390-7752

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