The National Weather Service confirmed three tornadoes were part of the storms that tore through the Dallas area on Saturday, killing 11 people and damaging several hundred buildings, according to CNN.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott warned residents in the western portion of the state to be careful on the roads in the midst of snow, ice and flood. With more severe weather forthcoming, on Sunday the governor cautioned the central and eastern parts of the state to remain vigilant in the face of tornado threats, according to NBC News.
Garland police believed that tornado-strength winds late on Saturday caused car accidents, toppled trees and churches destroyed from south of Dallas up to suburbs in the Northeast.
In a Sunday morning briefing, Lt Pedro Barineau of the Garland police, said more than 600 buildings had been damaged. "It is total devastation," he said, according to the BBC.
An EF-4 tornado, which typically has wind gusts of between 166 and 200 mph, was responsible for the destruction in Garland, the National Weather Service in Dallas-Fort Worth said, where eight of the 11 reported deaths occurred. The damage in nearby Rowlett was from an EF-3 tornado, which gusts between 136 and 165 mph, according to CNN.
Reports in Dallas media said that two people were also found dead at a petrol station in Copeville, while a third was killed in Blue Ridge, according to the BBC.
The Red Cross is setting up shelters for those with damaged homes.
The deaths in Dallas come as much of the south-central region of the US has been hit by severe weather in the past week. Extreme weather in the US at this time of the year isn't foreign, but meteorologists say that unseasonably high temperatures in some areas contributed to the severity of the storms.
