A tornado ripped through central Texas on Wednesday evening, causing huge damage and destroying homes, as forecasters warn of a potentially record-breaking heat wave in the state.
The city of Temple, northeast of Austin, declared a state of emergency and opened a shelter for displaced people after a twister caused widespread devastation.
Cars were overturned, power lines destroyed and entire buildings toppled in Temple, according to images published by NBC affiliate KXAN of Austin. There were no reports of deaths or injuries there or in the wider Bell County area, which was also hit by severe thunderstorms.
Video posted on social media shows buildings in Temple and nearby Belton missing roofs, piles of rubble and smashed windows.
Flood warnings were in place Thursday morning for much of northern Texas, including Dallas and Forth Worth, along with parts of Oklahoma.
Severe weather continues for a huge part of the U.S. on Thursday, with 23 million people under warnings from Texas to North Dakota and New England. Omaha, Nebraska, is at particular risk — it could face tornadoes, winds of more than 75 mph and hail measuring more than 2 inches across.
And there is no let-up on Friday: A previously mild forecast has been upgraded to issue storm warnings for 37 million people from Dallas to Chicago. Large hail will particularly become a threat in the Southern Plains region.
More than 110,000 energy customers were without power as of 6 a.m. Thursday, as well as almost 20,000 in Louisiana, according to the energy connection tracking website PowerOutage.us.
