A line of severe storms produced what a meteorologist calls a rare combination of multiple tornadoes, hurricane-force winds and softball-sized hail in northwest Texas, claiming the lives of at least four people and causing significant damage around the town of Matador.
A supercell developed about 8 p.m. Wednesday near Amarillo before striking Matador, taking four lives, injuring nine and causing widespread damage, said senior forecaster Matt Ziebell with the National Weather Service in Lubbock.
The storm later produced 109 mph winds at Jayton in addition to the 4-inch or larger hail, according to Ziebell.
“That is certainly rare to see all at the same time, killer tornadoes, hurricane-force winds and softball-sized hail," Zeibell said.
Wednesday "was definitely a rare combination of high-end wind shear and storms of extreme instability,” according to Ziebell.
Search and rescue efforts continued Thursday morning, although no one is known to be missing, according to Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Johnny Bures.
“We want to make sure no one was passing through town, that was our concern,” Bures said. “That's what we're really double-checking for.”
There were widespread power outages across the region, with more than 900 customers without power in the Matador and Jayton areas, according to poweroutage.us.
The worst damage appeared to be in Matador — a town of about 570 people about 70 miles northeast of Lubbock in Motley County. Homes were damaged, buildings were flattened, and power lines were snapped in half. A restaurant's walls were all knocked down, but the booths remained standing in what was called a “jaw-dropping” scene by Derek Delgado, a spokesman for Lubbock Fire Rescue, which is assisting the town.
“You would look on one side where we had a general merchandise store completely flattened to the ground but across the street, there’s a house that’s still standing and the vehicles haven’t even moved from the driveway,” Delgado said by telephone.
Texas Department of Emergency Management district coordinator Bill Durham said more information will be released later Thursday morning.
Reports from storm chasers and meteorologists on social media showed considerable damage around Matador, with damaged homes, utility lines, trees and infrastructure.
Lubbock Fire Rescue confirmed to the Avalanche-Journal that it was sending a crew to assist with the damage and recovery.
According to Lubbock Fire & Rescue, "agencies from across the South Plains have assisted with search and rescue efforts. These agencies include both police, fire, and EMS. State resources have arrived to Matador to begin post-disaster operations including damage assessment and final recovery efforts."
“I gave the order for Heavy Rescue 1 to respond to the town of Matador to assist in freeing trapped residents from collapsed structures,” LFR Chief Shaun Fogerson said.
University Medical Center in Lubbock confirmed it was sending its AMBUS mobile medical unit to Matador.
Ziebell said thunderstorms were likely to continue Thursday, but the risk of severe weather with tornadoes was unlikely.
Wednesday’s tornado outbreak came six days after a tornado left three people dead and more than 100 injured in Perryton in the northern Texas Panhandle.