Mother’s Day storm prompts helicopter rescues, tumbles train cars

Spring storms dumped heavy rains on Mother’s Day in North Texas, forcing emergency helicopter rescues in Denton County and blowing train cars off tracks near Haslet, officials said.

National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Staley said some locations have gotten 6 to 7 inches of rain over the past four days.

Jody Gonzalez, chief of Denton County Emergency Services, said the storm, including a possible tornado, moved through the Denton and Argyle area so fast Sunday afternoon that it caused “very limited damage.” He said some signs were blown over and trees damaged.

But in Krum, about 50 miles northwest of Dallas, multiple helicopter rescues were made from flooded streets and homes, Gonzalez said.

The American Red Cross was setting up a shelter in nearby Denton for evacuees.

In Granbury, Star-Telegram media partner WFAA reported that flooding left a sinkhole/landslide 40 feet across in front of the Brookshire’s grocery on Morgan Street. The City Council had an emergency meeting there Sunday afternoon to discuss what to do.

Torando watches and warnings dotted the landscape of North Texas for most of Sunday.

Park closure, tumbling train cars

In Tarrant County, storms forced officials to close Six Flags Over Texas and Six Flags Hurricane Harbor in Arlington.

Just south of Haslet near U.S. 287, BNSF Railway officials reported, high winds shortly before 7 a.m. Sunday knocked over 38 empty containers on rail cars. The train was headed from the Alliance area in north Fort Worth to Oakland, Calif.

Officials did not have an estimate of when the tracks would be cleared. At 5 p.m. Sunday, workers were still there.

But the line near Valley View where weather caused a derailment last week reopened Sunday, BNSF railway spokesman Joe Faust said.

In Colleyville, Little Bear Creek had formed a pond at Sparger Park on Sunday afternoon. Grapevine authorities reported trees down and roof damage near the border with Southlake.

Dallas/Fort Worth Airport reported a ground stoppage early Sunday, but later lifted it.

Oncor officials reported 11,231 customers without power in its coverage area, many in Henderson County in East Texas. At least 10 adults are unaccounted for after a possible tornado hit the East Texas town of Van, injuring more than two dozen people, according to The Associated Press.

Van Zandt County Fire Marshal Chuck Allen said Monday that 26 people were transported to hospitals by emergency personnel. Allen said an unknown number of others went by private vehicle for care after Sunday night's storm.

Rainfall totals for Sunday left Tarrant County extremely soggy. Four inches of rain fell in Crowley just on Mother’s Day, and buckets of water fell in many area locations. Those included 2.80 inches in the TCU area, 3 inches in Saginaw, 2.20 inches in east Arlington and 2.15 inches in Grapevine, according to Star-Telegram rain reporters.

Sunday’s swift line of strong storms followed a storm Saturday that killed one person and injured another when a tornado struck a rural area of Eastland County, an official said.

Homes were lost, and authorities were going house to house to try to get a better handle on the situation there. Eastland County was also hit by hail up to 3 inches in diameter, said Anthony Bain, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

A flash flood watch was in effect until Monday morning, and a severe thunderstorm watch was in effect until 9 a.m.

North Texans shouldn’t expect to dry out much as the week goes on.

There are no rain chances on Monday, but the wet stuff returns on Tuesday and for the rest of the week.

Forecasters also predict chances for rain for the weekend. The greatest probability for rain is Tuesday night into Wednesday — the National Weather Service office in Fort Worth is calling for a 60 percent chance on Tuesday night and a 70 percent chance on Wednesday. There’s a 50 percent on Thursday, and rain chances continue through Sunday.

When it’s not raining, daytime temperatures are expected to be in the upper 70s to lower 80s.

Staff writer Cary Darling contributed to this report, which includes material from The Associated Press.

This story was originally published May 10, 2015 at 3:45 PM with the headline "Mother’s Day storm prompts helicopter rescues, tumbles train cars."