Global Courant
A tornado struck Matador, Texas, on Wednesday, destroying buildings and overturning trucks, according to city officials and reports.
It was not immediately clear whether there were any deaths or injuries.
“There was definitely a tornado” that hit Matador about 8 p.m. Wednesday, but its strength and rating won’t be known until surveys are done, said Matt Ziebell, the National Weather Service’s lead meteorologist in Lubbock.
He said video and photos showed a tornado had occurred and an off-duty weather service employee had been in the area.
“Certainly buildings and some vehicles were pretty badly damaged,” Ziebell said.
Brandon Moore, Matador’s senior water inspector, said in a telephone interview that at least 20 businesses and homes had been destroyed and officials would know more by day.
Video of NBC affiliate KCBD from Lubbock showed first responders at a flattened commercial building and a tractor-trailer tilted on its side. The station reported seeing three other overturned major platforms.
The Texas Transportation Department said there was a highway west of the city, US 62 impassable because of injury of the tornado.
The Lubbock Fire Department, about 70 miles southwest of Matador, said it was sending a heavy rescue team to help the town.
“Our hearts and prayers are with the communities affected by this disaster,” the fire department tweeted.
The National Weather Service said in a warning that at 8:02 p.m., a confirmed tornado was over Matador, a community of about 600 about 41 miles northeast of Lubbock.
Tornado watches covered most of the panhandles in Texas and Oklahoma on Wednesday.
There were 11 reports of tornadoes in Nebraska, Colorado, Texas and Wyoming, according to the National Weather Service’s list of reports. Typically, damage surveys are conducted to determine if tornadoes have occurred.
Last week in Texas, three people were killed and dozens more injured when an EF3 tornado with peak winds of 140 mph hit Perryton, a town about 150 miles north of Matador.
That tornado, which had a path of more than 6 miles and a maximum width of 880 yards, struck the city on June 15, the the weather service said.
