Texas tornadoes leave six dead

This twister was one of several tornadoes that hit northern Texas, causing devastation in neighbourhoods in southern Granbury and nearby Cleburne.

50 people were taken to a local hospital, with fourteen of them admitted for treatment and two transferred to a hospital in Forth Worth, according to police.

Even in the dark, the damage caused by the tornado was visible. Trees were uprooted, outbuildings had their doors smashed in and aluminium panels and other debris littered the area.

Local resident, Daniel Layne, said: “We looked up and then, like, on top of the bathtub the whole ceiling was gone. And that was when we knew we were, we were probably gone, we were in trouble.”

He added: “Hail started coming down about the size of softballs. Windows in the cars are gone, both of our cars are messed up. I had a big shop, there isn’t a piece of it left now.”

Officials were trying to account for a further fourteen people, but it was not clear if they were missing or just away from the area for other reasons.

Hood County Sheriff Roger Deeds warned that the death toll could rise as rescue workers combed through the wreckage of severely damaged houses during the night.

Another tornado hit the small town of Millsap, about 40 miles west of Fort Worth.
Hailstones as large as grapefruits were reported to have fallen in the area around Mineral Wells on Wednesday evening, although police reported only minor damage.

The US tornado season typically starts in the Gulf Coast states in the late winter and then moves north with the warming weather, peaking around May and trailing off by July.

However, this year, the tornado season has been more subdued than normal due to record-breaking cold lingering well into spring, with warmer air struggling to make decent progress northwards.

The risk of severe weather across Texas is low during the coming few days, although there is a chance of severe storms developing further north across the northern Plains this weekend.