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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTornados touch downSaturday December 30, 2006 Torna By LAURA HENSLEY and ARENA WELCH Eagle Staff Writers - star danago Severe storms swept through the Brazos Valley on .Friday, spawning at BART UV' 4 1 Storms sweep least three College Station Fire•De rare winter- through state /l4 7 time torna, ,does that caused extensive damage, offi- cials said. About 3:30 p.m., a tornado touched down`s College Station, leaving', damage to several busi- nesses, and apartment complexes along: a five -mile. stretch. /.Meteorologists withthe Nation;. 168 'i41J Y „ „Ii I,Y 1141611 YYJIII„R YI III IIII',I,III',Ipl,,; I. 1' III,I,;d „d;II,Ji 1111 ',lu lll,il , 1II I;.,,.I III IiVII�l,ld IIII "� IuY lly IIIY II I, II, li;,; 16 III lul IJI Ull lllu I,IIII;I YI a ulll ua,Jl'u1m I'I Illful'Il Rachael Ayers tries to call her parents to tell them'about the' that: to t heroof o' ome a "We were fortunate zA'i arge part of our population is out of town r ight ,now We've. got to think that is a factor. Eagle hoto /D� Doiux Chene Apartments,'ontFrid toucn -sown and F M 2818: Le'on County Shert said a tornado forinec North Zulch about . followed a path along x Leon County:: arid= ;acr irxnent Antonio Road, sever a hay ;barn and riixd al Weather' Service could not con poultry farm, a kil firm the tornadoes Friday 200,000 chickens evening but many people in CO _ In Madison Count lege Station reported, seeing rotat `' ing clouds and a small twister See. WORN Page A6 The Bryan - College Station Eagle Saturday, December 30, 2006 Storms From A that touched down about 3 p.m. swirled along Pleasant Grove Road in the northeastern por- tion of the county toward Old San Antonio Road, Madison County Judge Cecil Neely said. A woman was seriously injured when the car she was driving was picked up by a twister and thrown into a tree, said Neely, who was unsure where the accident happened. The woman suffered head injuries but was expected to survive, he said. Most of the damage from the College Station tornado seemed to be centered around the Doux Chene apartment complex in the 2100 block of Harvey Mitchell Parkway. The roofs of four apartment build- ings there had been torn off or collapsed during the storm. All 180 residents were forced to evacuate the complex late Friday night. A temporary shelter was set up at the Lin- coln Recreation Center. Several area businesses, also were affected by the storm. The roof at China King Buffet in the 2400 block of Texas Avenue was damaged and windows there were blown out, said Bart Humphreys, with the College Station Fire Department. Two people at the restaurant were cut by flying glass and were treated at the scene, but no other injuries were reported. Considering the severity of the storms, officials said things c ould have been worse. "It was a major tornado that came through here," Neely said. "We were fortunate not to have anyone killed." In. College Station, Humphreys said the mass exo- dus of students for the winter holidays probably . prevented more injuries. "We were fortunate," he said. "A large part of our popu- lation is out of town right now. We've got to think that is a fac- tor." Officials continued working Friday evening to assess the damage, which included top- pled trees, shattered windows and collapsed roofs and facades. Texas Department of Trans- portation officials closed Old San Antonio Road between Interstate 45 and F.M. 39 along the Leon- Madison county line because of downed po*iver lines An SUV is covered by wreckage s along the road. That section of road was expected to be closed: for several days, officials said. Several businesses in Col- lege Station's Parkway Shop- ping Center in the 2200 block of Texas Avenue were affected by the tornado, including a report of a gas meter that was ripped out by wind, and the tall McDonald's sign there was destroyed. Storm damage also was reported in the Harvey Road and Texas Avenue area at Goody's, Ross and Wolf Pen Car Wash. Lightning from the storm sparked a grass fire at Curry Plumbing on Old Rock Prairie Road but it was extinguished before flames could spread to structures. Humphreys also said tliere were three gas leaks reported after the storm. Gas was shut off and the leaks were under control by 5:30 p.m., he said. News tattered at Doux; Chene Apartments fine .Leon County tornado 'cut a path of damage about 17 miles long, Price said, bringing down trees and power lines in its path. Three houses were damaged, but no residents were displaced, he said. Billy Fouchs, a 48- year -old Normangee resident, watched as the tornado missed his house and swept through his neighbor's chicken farm. "When the sky gets that greenish -yellow color, I get to looking," Fouchs said. "I could see it on the ground. It just looked white and black, and a lot of stuff was flying around. "I sent my kids to the middle of the house and then I went inside, too." The tornadoes were the result of a powerful storm sys- tem that swept through Cen- tral Texas throughout Friday, officials with the , National Weather Service said. Heavy rainfall and tornado watches Eagle photo /Dave McDermand in College Station on Friday. continued through the night, but the storm was expected to, clear by sunrise Saturday. The last tornado reported in College Station occurred in 2003. Bryan was struck by a tornado in May 2004. That storm caused flooding and ' widespread damage to homes and businesses in North Bryan. A winter tornado is rare, offi- cials said. The most common month for tornadoes is May. "People get complacent," College Station Police Depart- ment spokeswoman Rhonda Seaton said. "You always hear tad weather is coming, bad weather is coming,' but people don't pay attention — but then something happens. We got very lucky." ■ Laura Hensley's e-mail address is laura.hensley@theeagle.com. II Arena Welch's e-mail address is arena.welch@theeagle.com. c e t ti c d 11 d P