Damaging Storms Prompt Rescues

Severe storms on Wednesday and Thursday damaged property across North Texas, shut down roads and prompted rescues.

Damage was reported across the area, including homes that had burned, likely due to lightning strikes.

DOUBLE-PUNCH

The wicked weather moved in on Wednesday but round two developed overnight.

"The new line of storms fired up around 2 a.m. or 3 a.m., and this line is moving more slowly and soaking the ground," said FOX 4 Chief Meteorologist Dan Henry.

Up to six inches of rain has fallen in some places in Dallas County, said Henry.

The rain was accompanied by wild cloud-to-ground lightning that lit up the dark sky. That lightning is believed to be responsible for a fire in Heath that all but destroyed a large home.

The house on Wimbledon Court is between the Buffalo Creek Golf Club and FM 3097. It's not clear if anyone was injured when the house caught fire.

Another house in Royse City was also ravaged by flames.

Thursday morning, people from Grapevine to Flower Mound to Plano were assessing the damage in thier neighborhoods.

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TRAFFIC TROUBLE

The new storms that moved through Dallas County caused flash flooding on roads, making for a difficult morning commute, according to traffic reporter Chip Waggoner.

Flooded roads also prompted high-water rescues, including one in Dallas at Lemmon Avenue and the Dallas North Tollway.

Drivers were urged to avoid low-lying areas and highway intersections that are known to flood.

A major traffic problem occurred on southbound Interstate 35 near Oak Lawn, where an 18-wheeler jackknifed in high water.

Crews had to offload the truck's fuel and all lanes were closed for nearly four hours before reopening around 6:45 a.m.

Forecasters expect flash-flooding in Dallas County on Thursday as strong thunderstorms continue to rumble through the area.

And, power line restoration work on Interstate 20 near Hampton Road in Dallas County Thursday afternoon forced the closure of both sides of the freeway. The work caused at least a four-mile back up during 5 p.m. rush-hour traffic.

About 50 flights were canceled Thursday morning at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and more delays and cancellations were expected throughout the day. Ground workers were brought in from outside because of lightning in the area, said airport spokesman David Magana.

Travelers trying to fly out of Dallas Love Field, where Southwest Airlines is based, also were enduring delays. Some 30 to 40 Southwest have been delayed so far, spokeswoman Brandy King said.

POWER OUTAGES

According to ONCOR, about 260,000 customers lost power overnight. Power had been restored to all but 145,000 Dallas-Fort Worth area customers by daybreak Thursday, but spokeswoman Jeamy Molina said new storms later blacked out 100,000 more. Electric crews from neighboring states were being called in to help .

Workers were forced to shut down Interstate 20 in Dallas County during rush hour to restore power to some areas. Officials said they made the difficult decision to shut down the interstate because of a large number of homes, businesses and street lights without power in the area.

Additionally, UNT Dallas cancelled its morning and afternoon classes due to a power outage at its campus on Houston School Road. Students with evening classes are asked to check the Web site .

Dallas County was the hardest-hit area, with mainly broken tree limbs to blame for taking down the power lines.

POSSIBLE TORNADO

The National Weather Service was planning to head to the Hebron-Plano area to confirm if a tornado touched down Wednesday night, as was reported by storm spotters.