Severe thunderstorms brought destructive winds, heavy rain and tornado warnings to Dallas County on Thursday, leaving significant damage throughout the region. While SMU’s campus was only minimally affected, the metroplex continues to deal with the aftermath of the storms.
On Thursday, the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for Dallas County at 3 p.m. which was later followed by a second warning at 6:30 p.m. reporting winds of up to 75 mph. The SMU Alert system notified students and faculty around the same time. The storms had mostly moved away from Dallas by 8 p.m., although the tornado watch remained in effect until 10 p.m.
Despite the storms’ severity, the SMU campus saw little damage. The weather had only a minor impact on campus, according to SMU officials. Construction fencing that had blown over during the storm has since been reinstalled. The storm also prompted minor water leakage in Virginia-Snyder Commons which has already been cleaned.
In the greater DFW area, the storm left a clear trail of damage. Preliminary storm reports included downed trees and power poles. Damage to power lines and transformers from high speed winds caused power outages for almost 300,000 Oncor customers.
Power restored to over 40,000 additional Oncor Customers as Oncor and Mutual Assistance personnel continue around-the-clock restoration efforts. As of 5:30 p.m. Friday, about 27,000 customers are without power ➡️ https://t.co/kM18F96fLZ pic.twitter.com/2qoJbal13p
— Oncor (@oncor) March 4, 2023
The electric transmission company reported a peak of more than 290,000 outages Thursday in a written statement. Oncor has restored power to more than 223,000 customers, but approximately 27,000 customers were still without power as of Friday evening, the company tweeted.
Two water pumping stations in Richardson also lost power Thursday night, prompting the city to ask residents to stop using water. Oncor restored the power at the pumping stations, and the city cleared the water early Friday morning.
RICHARDSON ASKING ALL RESIDENTS WEST OF US75 TO CEASE WATER USE EXCEPT FOR EMERGENCY NEEDS DUE TO POWER OUTAGE AT WATER PUMPING STATIONS
We’ll publish more information as soon as it is available. pic.twitter.com/4BPM1hByRf
— Richardson Today (@RichardsonToday) March 3, 2023
Oncor estimates that the vast majority of customers will have power restored by late Saturday night, with remaining restoration in the hardest hit areas coming Sunday, according to the company’s website.
