Nearly 2 Dozen People Injured as Tornadoes Slam Central Texas

People look at an overturned truck in a parking lot after a previous tornado in a widespread storm system touched down in Round Rock, Texas, on March 21, 2022. Tamir Kalifa/Reuters

At least 23 people were injured when tornadoes slammed central Texas on Tuesday, causing widespread destruction, a local official said.

Judge David Blackburn of Bell County, Texas, said 23 people were injured, and one of them critically. Twelve of the injured were taken to hospitals, the county’s top elected official said.

“There’s not much left,” said Blackburn during a press conference on Wednesday afternoon. “Large trees are uprooted and overturned and stripped. Buildings really reduced to rubble. ... Power lines, power poles, are scattered all over the place. It’s pretty devastating.”

Photos on social media showed grapefruit-size hail associated with the storm. There were also reports of hailstones nearly six inches in length in Salado, a rural town in Bell County. According to AccuWeather, the Salado area saw hail up to five-and-a-half inches in diameter.

The National Weather Service said Wednesday that the storm that caused 23 injuries in the county was an EF-3, which measures the intensity of tornadoes, with nearly 165 mph winds.

Blackburn said 61 homes and two churches were damaged.

At least two tornadoes also struck Iowa on Tuesday night, according to the Des Moines Register. Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a disaster proclamation for seven counties.

And in Adair County, Oklahoma, an EF-1 tornado destroyed trees, caused power outages, and left two people with minor injuries on Wednesday morning, county Emergency Manager Ray Sallee told CNN.

“We lost power in about 75–80 percent of our homes and businesses, but most of that power has been restored,” Sallee said, noting that a gas station was “totally destroyed.”

On Wednesday afternoon, a tornado watch was issued for a number of states, including parts of Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee, and Mississippi.

Elsewhere, in the North Dakota Capitol, schools, government offices, and interstates remained closed Wednesday as a blizzard continued to bear down on the state.

A blizzard warning issued by the National Weather Service remained in effect through Thursday for most of western and central North Dakota where up to two feet of snow was expected.

“Blizzard conditions are likely with blowing or drifting snow and dangerous low visibility for this area through Thursday,” the Weather Prediction Center said.

Gov. Doug Burgum directed the closures of the North Dakota Capitol and other state facilities in the Bismarck area, as well as scores of schools, colleges, government offices, and highways.

Burgum said that the Emergency Operations Center had been activated and is coordinating with partners and local emergency managers statewide to ensure that resources, including search and rescue, are available.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.