At least one person is dead, six others are injured, and parts of North Texas are still underwater — and Sunday isn’t looking much safer.
A violent round of overnight storms tore through the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and surrounding counties early Sunday, leaving a trail of destruction that emergency officials are still working to fully assess. 90 mph winds, hail the size of golf balls, flash flooding, and a confirmed EF-2 tornado — it was, by almost any measure, a brutal night for the region.
One Dead, Six Hurt in Wise County
The hardest blow landed in Wise County, northwest of Fort Worth. Wise County Judge J.D. Clark confirmed at least one fatality and six injuries from the overnight storm system — a grim tally that could shift as search and recovery efforts continue through the day.
The National Weather Service confirmed what many residents already suspected: the storm that ripped through Runaway Bay in Wise County was an EF-2 tornado, packing winds of 135 mph. That’s not a close call. That’s the kind of storm that doesn’t leave much standing in its path.
Fort Worth, Arlington, and Duncanville each took significant hits as well — downed trees, damaged structures, and widespread power outages reported across all three cities as the system pushed through overnight.
Flooding Now a Separate Emergency
How bad is the flooding? Bad enough that the National Weather Service in Fort Worth issued a Flash Flood Warning for southern Dallas County stretching until 4:45 AM CDT on April 26. By the time the warning went out, one to two inches of rain had already fallen — with another one to two inches still forecast on top of that.
“Flash flooding is ongoing or expected to begin shortly,” the NWS warned, covering communities including Dallas, Arlington, and Duncanville. That’s a lot of the same ground already battered by wind and hail just hours earlier. Residents in low-lying areas weren’t catching a break — they were catching a second punch.
Sunday’s Threat Isn’t Over
Still, the question on a lot of minds Sunday morning is whether it’s done. It’s not — not entirely, anyway.
The National Weather Service is flagging a conditional threat for isolated severe storms again late Sunday afternoon and evening across North Texas. Coverage is expected to be limited — less than 20% — thanks to a capping inversion that should keep widespread storm development in check. That said, whatever does fire could be dangerous, with large hail and damaging wind gusts both on the table, according to forecasters in Fort Worth.
Farther east, the picture looks a bit more ominous. One meteorologist tracking the system is warning of very large hail — potentially baseball size or larger — along with wind gusts exceeding 70 mph, dangerous lightning, and heavy rain pushing through eastern North Texas, Northeast Texas, and the ArkLaTex region. The tornado risk there is described as low, but not zero. “Keep an eye on the sky,” the forecaster urged — which, given what Saturday night looked like, feels less like a platitude and more like a warning worth heeding.
What Comes Next
Damage assessments are ongoing. Roads in parts of Dallas County remain compromised by flooding. And with another potential round of severe weather on the horizon, emergency managers across the region are urging residents not to let their guard down just because the sun came up.
One person didn’t make it through the night. Six more are recovering. And somewhere in Runaway Bay, 135 mph winds left their mark on a community that, like much of North Texas this weekend, had no real warning of just how bad it would get — until it already had.
