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Subscribe to RSSTwo tornadoes touched down south of Dallas catapulting 18-wheelers across the area. Aerials from KXAS.
As dark storm clouds ripped across northern Texas on Tuesday afternoon, hurling semi-trucks into the air and uprooting trees, sirens sounded as a warning to residents.
But sometimes sirens also trigger panic, so many Texans turned to Twitter and Facebook to express a sentiment best summed up by Khloe Kardashian Odom, the reality TV personality, when she tweeted, “OMG another tornado!!!! What???”
Others shared 140-character stories, informing strangers in the comments sections of news sites that their loved ones were safe, or that they were trying to locate them.
Joanne Surrency of Las Vegas wrote on Facebook that her brother-in-law works at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. “They all went to bunkers under airport haven’t heard back yet pls pray for everyone in Dallas,” she wrote.
Monica Hunter of Grand Prairie, Texas, said her parents took shelter in a closet as the impressive funnel cloud consumed the sky.
“I pray that everyone will be OK,” she wrote.
Minutes later, she logged back on to Facebook. Her parents were fine, she said, and could not spot damage from their home near Bear Creek.
Tornadoes pound suburban Dallas
On Facebook, MSN asked readers to report their experiences. Within hours, 100 had commented. Sirens had been wailing all around Dallas since noon, they said, coupled with the sound of howling wind. Lightning flashed and rain poured.
“The sky goes from blue to green to black,” wrote Diana Oliver. “Quite frightening.”
Brittany Coplen couldn’t see what was going on outside because, she wrote, “We are in the bathroom!”
Beth Cook Armstrong lamented that she doesn’t like spring weather in Texas. “Lived here my whole life and still don’t like this spring weather,” she said. “It’s very dark outside and very still, which we all know is worrisome.”
Widespread damage is seen from the air and ground in the immediate aftermath of a tornado which tore through neighborhoods and commercial areas. Msnbc's Tamron Hall reports.
Texas tornado videos show golf ball-sized hail
But Lise Vintage Lighting wrote that Texans are tough when it comes to tornadoes and they take storm warnings in stride. She said she felt comfortable working, although she did have a shelter plan.
“Around here I observed several lawn crews continue mowing even when sirens went off,” Lighting wrote. “I also saw a woman walking her dog, monitoring her iPhone the whole time.”
Read more on MSN's Facebook page
Elsewhere on Facebook, Glenn Parker wrote that he was at Tarrant County College in Arlington, Texas. There, students were pushed into a shelter. The students immediately jumped onto their cell phones, he said. He said one student became so claustrophobic that the school staff allowed him to leave the room.
As Arlington School District sent its children into shelters, the city of Arlington tweeted an alarming bit of news for people in airtight spaces: There had been reports of ruptured gas lines. The city asked residents to call 911 if they smelled gas.
For those who hadn't yet caught a glimpse of the mayhem or seen the golf ball-sized hail, the interest was in figuring out where the tornado had been, where it was now and where it was headed.
An NBC Storify news item summed up the news as it happened, providing a hub for the most terrifying videos of the tornado picking up and tossing tractor trailers through the air as though they were toys.
Some of the best updates came from the storm chasers – those thrill seekers who line up, bumper to bumper, following the trucks equipped with weather-monitoring devices.
Texas student describes high school lockdown
Peter Delkus, a forecaster with WFAA.com in the Dallas region, tweeted, “Folks near Forney – take cover! Circulation is increasing and we’ve had reports from storm chasers of a possible funnel cloud.”
In response to the storm-chaser tweets, Ben Cantin-Kranz, or @ben_ck, a marketing manager, wrote, “Anyone remember that movie "Twister"? How could it have been better? If storm chasers had twitter!”
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:
- Tornado videos show flying semi-trailers, huge hail
- 1940 census: Ancestors found, despite site overload
- Woman, 80, crash lands plane after husband dies
- Binational gay couples sue to overturn DOMA
Follow US News on msnbc.com on Twitter and Facebook
Leave a Comment:
I am so tired of hearing about FarceBook and Twealers. There are so many more people in life than those that use these mindless pieces of junk. Sure, they can be good, but they really are not.
But I guess this is the norm for today's journalist, regardless of what real people do.
Obviously by the headline this is yet another "factual story" put on by MSBSNews.
Yea!!!
I think these storms are Gods way of Texting he does not like Texas!
This, brought to you by a down-and-dirty social network (Newsvine).
As a former resident of the DFW area I have quite a few friends there, and Facebook is how I've kept up with all of them today. Instead of crapping up phone lines calling them I'm able to see what is going on because of social media. If you don't like the internet and what it does for keeping people in contact with each other then feel free to shut your computer off. Then go one further, doing us all a favor in the process, and shut your mouth.
TORNADOES, AIRPLANES, SNAKES-Those are my 3 greatest fears. All the best hopes and prayers to you folks
I'm with you Bill
Hayseed,
God apparently also doesn't like Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, or Florida. Or the north-eastern states also stricken. I live in a county thet lost 4 real, live people in Indiana. Do you know how to text "I am an A**-Hole."?
so your angry at facebook or people that use it? I dont get it? i have a facebook account .. i log on a few times a yr.. so i guess im not a facebooker.. but i dont have anything against it or its users. That would be a waste of effort. Did facebook hurt you? So ppl who use fb and twitter are not real ppl>? heh. I think you have some issues you may need to talk to someone about. Some ppl are addicted to fb that is for sure. But better fb than meth. Also, if any device helps you connect to loved ones.. can that device really be bad?
Twitter was a very valuable tool for me today as I needed to track the storm, if it was headed to my town outside Dallas, if our schools were okay, etc. When the sirens went off and I had to take cover, I could still track storm/news using my phone and Twitter and pass texts and messages along if need be.
Twitter?
If broadcasters fulfilled their obligation, Twitter should not have been important. Dallas is far too covered by radar to depend on Twitter for storm progress. I would suggest the following problems.
Advertisers, Some still want their name mentioned every so many miuntes or seconds. Around here, this comes out as the call leters, followed by supported by XXX.
Graphics, Slow loading, and usually of the wrong place. Example, the Louisville weather guys were worried about the weather south of Louisville while Henryville and Chelsea were being destroyed. Why, because the more intense northern graphics loaded slower and they weren't in-market. Which brings us to ==
Ego. Weatherman or woman, shut up if you have nothing to say. Your droning puts us to sleep. Save bandwidth or radar maps and real updates, And we can wait for damage photos until after the storm has past.
And yes, I have lived through real tornadoes, floods, and hurricanes. Never found the internet or broadcast helpful.
So is Rick Perry going to repay the state for his campaign expenses so that those funds can go to the people of Dallas and the surrounds who have been devastated by these strong storms? And will he ask for federal dollars to aid in the cleanup and repair of those areas which were so badly damaged? Time to step up, Governor. No more time for silly giggles and swagger and showin' off those fancy cowboy boots while the citizens of Texas are sorely in need.
If the state asks, Perry will repay the expenses or rather his supporters will pay the freight. Perry hasn't asked for FEMA funding but can very easily do so, although FEMA funds won't be used to repair infrastructure, since very little highway damage was done. Texas has a rainy day fund that will cover those expenses. The only reason the citizens of Texas would be sorely in need is if the administration doesn't make funding available to the citizens, since Obama won't admit that, like it or not, Texas citizens are still citizens of the US. If you think Perry likes to giggle, swagger around and wear fancy cowboy boots, you might want to take a look at your hero who "warns" the Supreme Court and violates the Constitution at the drop of a dime and then blames everyone else for his short comings. And before you say it, I'm not a conservative in Texas. I happen to be a thinker who resides in Texas and that makes me one up on you.
Give me a break, dude. You're a thinker? Could've fooled me. A Limbo tool, perhaps, but a thinker? Perhaps poppin' your head out of your ass helps?
Yeah Bob a "thinker" you sound more like a faux noise parrot.
Hope all are safe and sound, and no injuries or deaths.
what did bob say? can someone para phrase for me. looks like alot of words that i dont have time to read.
I'm SURE that the great state of Texas will definitely NOT be taking a "handout" from the federal government for this.
leroy,
Did before, will again.
Doubt if you will, then eat it after the fact.
Breaking news.......
Stay tuned for more important news shortly.....
Explain to me oh wise one, Bill from Oregon, how is posting and pontificating your narrow minded perspectives on newsvine any different than Facebook or using Twitter? Sometimes, it's better just to say nothing at all than to show the world how narrow viewed some have become.
Since you live in Oregon, you probably have never had to endure severe weather before. With today's technology, social media does solve a communication need that, otherwise, would go down in times of bad weather. Oh, and in case you were not aware, when an area does get hit, emergency channels take over the main lines as to manage the crisis. Having lived through and survived Hurricane Ike, I learned that. It was through social media, specifically Facebook, that I was able to post a message to let all those connected to me know the my family of 5 were all safe.
Sometimes it helps to think before you speak. Just sayin....
Sure hope that Dorothy logs on!!!! Maybe someone from the Lollipop Guild can give us the details! I sure hope the Wizard has some more degrees to pass out, but we already have too many meterologists!
G*d bless Texas
Why would god do that (I assume you mean god, and you're just too afraid of his wrath to write his name)? He's been ignoring Perry's prayers so far, so why would he give a crap?
Or maybe he's too drunk to make sense of what's happening.
I'm sure that you will be getting a FB message soon that explains how these storms are Al Gore's fault
Hope everyone's ok...
But when it comes to global warming, science will tell you that you need to get ahead of the tornadoes i mean bad weather. Green energy is the only way. There is no other. And hey, mr grover, the gop, & the rushbo are killing off all the plants & animals with their oily ways.
what a damage. far away from USA, i got updates of this news from twitter. i have friends in Arlington, hope they're fine. Also for all people in Dallas.
May all find safety and relief. And forgive the rest of we jokers, commenting on their misfortune. And may those injured find healing, and those killed - Paradise.
Who cares about Kardashian, I am so sick of hearing about them. Alot of people summed it up and quite possibly several better than her. Ms. Lighting, it's not called "tough", it's called stupid.