FORT WORTH, TX — A strong line of storms hit North Texas on Friday night, causing a lot of fear about possible tornadoes and a lot of reports of catastrophic flash floods in Fort Worth. The National Weather Service (NWS) had predicted that the storm system would bring “severe thunderstorms and areas of heavy to excessive rainfall” to the Southern Plains. This sent out outdoor warning sirens in Fort Worth, which made people in the nearby suburb of Forest Hill even more scared.
Sirens Sound Because of Unconfirmed Tornado Fears
The activation of tornado sirens late Friday was the most urgent reason to be worried. A local news source verified on Facebook that “Outdoor warning sirens are sounding in Fort Worth due to a possible spin up tornado near the south side and strong straight-line winds.” However, they stressed that “No confirmed tornado at this time” had been recorded.
People on social networking sites like X spread this first warning by posting panicked posts asking, “Tornado near Forest Hill?” and saying, “Tornado on the ground near Forest Hill-Dallas.”
Weather monitoring groups gave important background information. Texas Storm Chasers said that the bad weather was caused by a “embedded supercell” that had formed inside a bigger squall line right above Fort Worth. They said, “Radar data suggests that this storm may have just produced a couple of very brief spin-up tornadoes near downtown Fort Worth,” but they stressed that the wind was the main immediate concern.
Widespread Damaging Winds
Media issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Johnson, Tarrant, and Hill counties until 9:30 p.m. It said that storms with wind gusts of 60 mph would move east at 30 mph.
However, the winds may have been stronger than this prediction, as a post on X shared a report of “VERY strong winds from the BACKSIDE of a QLCS with wind gusts reported of UP TO 67MPH!!”
People in the notified locations, which included Fort Worth, Cleburne, Lake Worth, Burleson, and Arlington, were instructed to go to safety right away to protect their property from possible harm.
Heavy Rain Causes High Water Rescues
Along with the strong gusts, the storm brought a lot of rain in a short amount of time, turning the streets of Fort Worth into dangerous, flooded waterways.
A North Texas weather tracker advised on Facebook that “A lot of rain is falling really fast here in downtown Fort Worth.” They told people to follow the classic flooding safety message: “Turn around don’t drown the roads are filling up quickly.”
Local news sites said there were “numerous high water rescue calls in Fort Worth due to ongoing flooding.” A post told drivers that “FORT WORTH!!!” was one of the most affected areas. Hulen Street is at the parking lot for the Central Market. Don’t go, turn around. “Flooded and cars underwater.” Another local caution told people to stay away from Norwood St at 7th and University, which shows how bad the flooding is in the city.