Home Damaged Home

I woke up at 4:30 am today and caught the early flight out of San Jose.  After a 3 hour plane ride, I finally made it back to Dallas.  On the way home, I witnessed remnants of the destruction caused by the powerful storms which struck earlier this week. The most notable was a large billboard near the airport that had been completely blown down — amazing. 

As I rolled through my neighborhood, I saw many damaged trees and destroyed fences.  According to the National Weather Service, an EF-1 tornado occurred in Collin County affecting northwest sections of Allen and southern sections of McKinney. Winds were estimated at 90 to 95 mph.  The tornado touched down near the intersection of North Custer Road and Hedgcoxe Road in Allen.  It lifted near the intersection of Highway 75 and Highway 121 in McKinney. The average width of the tornado was approximately two tenths of a mile.

In Allen, structural damage occurred to approximately 50 homes with several suffering loss of portions of the roof. A total of 300 residences reported some type of damage on the property, including downed trees and fences. Many power poles and power lines were downed. Insured losses in Allen are estimated to reach $5 million.

More info:  http://www.srh.noaa.gov/fwd/April0910/april0910.htm

Here are the pictures Gary took yesterday.