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Trucker Recounts Texas Tornado Scene

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Photo courtesy of G.J. McCarthy

Gene Tomlinson and his wife, both of Vancover, watched from a few hundred yards away– from the cab of their truck– as destructive tornados tore a path through Lancaster, Texas.

Tomlinson describes the scene in an interview with KATU-TV.

They came out and said ˜we need you to all go inside the building,’ he said. That’s when he heard the warning sirens go off along with the thunder and lightning.

Tomlinson said he posted a video of the scene on facebook but says he never felt like he was in any danger.

This is the first time I’ve ever seen one of these things, he said.

Some reports say 6 to 13 tornados tore through the area, leaving behind a mass of destruction. The Schneider Terminal sustained considerable damage. Video footage of the scene show 14,000 pound trailers sailing through the air like empty tissue boxes and has made nationwide news.

I got debris, just leafs and parts of shingles, all over the front of my truck, he told KATU.com.

According to CNN, meteorologist Sean Morris estimated the tornadoes that moved through the Dallas-Forth Worth area were EF1 or EF2 twisters, at their strongest.

More than 47,000 homes and businesses in north Texas were without power.

Southwest Airlines canceled more than 40 flights at Dallas Love Field, while American Airlines canceled all flights through Tuesday evening at Dallas-Fort Worth, which is one of the world’s busiest airports.

In all, more than 110 planes at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport sustained various degrees of damage. Representatives of the airport reported airlines canceled 400 departures, and more than three dozen incoming flights were diverted to other airports.

There were no reports of deaths, however several injuries have been reported.

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