Tornado Confirmed Near Canton In Van Zandt County

Severe storms hit counties east of Dallas-Fort Worth Wednesday evening. There were reports of damage and debris in the town of Canton in Van Zandt County, about 60 miles east of Dallas.

A handful of tornadoes menaced several areas of northern and eastern Texas on Wednesday, leaving scattered reports of damage but none of injuries.

Twisters near Rockwall, Greenville and Canton to the National Weather Service between 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. Dozens of funnel clouds that didn't reach the ground also were reported.

On the northern shore of Cedar Creek Reservoir, about 50 miles southwest of Dallas, a reported tornado caused significant damage in a lakeside subdivision. Steve Howie, emergency management coordinator for Kaufman County, says one person suffered minor injuries in the Cedar Creek Country Club subdivision. He also said many downed trees are making roads impassable in the area.

In Canton, a tornado caused major damage to the exterior of a gas station and convenience store.

In north Fort Worth, severe winds caused roof damage in the Heritage Trace area. It was unclear if the damage was caused by a tornado or straight-line winds.

The weather service said in a statement that strong low-level instability has allowed some of the thunderstorms to become severe and that it has received numerous reports of wind damage, hail and a few tornadoes.

Tornado warnings issued earlier Wednesday afternoon expired for other parts of North Texas. But Dallas-Fort Worth remained under a tornado watch through 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Dark clouds hovered in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan area during the tornado warning period, with no immediate reports of weather-related injuries or damage.

The aviation tracking website FlightAware.com listed about 550 flights canceled Wednesday at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport amid the severe weather. More than 100 flights were canceled at Love Field, closer to downtown Dallas.