A possible tornado struck Wednesday near Linden, Texas, in Cass County, causing downed trees, road closures and power outages. Flash flooding left much of Cass, Bowie and Miller counties deluged with water.
A number of roads in downtown Atlanta, Texas, were closed due to flash flooding.
"We have had high winds and heavy rain. Flooding's been the biggest problem," said Atlanta Public Works Director Bobby Washington. "A lot of people are driving through the water."
A tornado was spotted on radar northwest of Linden just before 2 p.m. Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service in Shreveport, La. The tornado was moving toward Texarkana.
A tornado warning was also issued for Miller County in Southwest Arkansas and Cass and Bowie counties in Northeast Texas. A tornado watch was extended until 11 p.m.
Some Cass County residents reported the tornado had touched down, but the NWS had not confirmed that late Wednesday.
About 30 people took shelter along a stairwell in a portion of the Cass County Courthouse.
The first warning came in about 1:45 p.m. with a series of warnings following.
Tayleah Neal was just getting to work at Kim's Convenience Store in Linden when the sirens started going off.
She and co-worker Vicki Medrano remained in the store.
"The sirens went off and it was really dark and pouring rain. It was pretty scary," Medrano said.
Medrano said she knew trees were down and power out in some places, but she had not heard of any injuries.
"People have been coming in talking nonstop about the weather. All we hear is what people tell us," she said.
Washington and Nate Andrews with Atlanta Public Works were in the process of getting barriers Wednesday afternoon for areas west and north of downtown Atlanta. Between 10 and 12 streets were flooded, Washington said. The roof of Price Hardware in downtown Atlanta was also damaged.
Flash flooding also closed numerous roads in Texarkana and Bowie and Miller counties. Several vehicles in Texarkana became trapped in rising water while trying to drive through low areas, including West Seventh Street, according to the Texarkana, Texas, Fire Department. At least one motorist had to be rescued from the top of his car.
Water was also over parts of U.S. Highway 67 near Maud, Texas, and U.S. Highway 82 near New Boston, Texas.
A number of county roads throughout the region were still impassable late Wednesday.
A flash-flood warning was in effect until 6:45 p.m. The warning was issued for Cass and Bowie counties in Northeast Texas and Miller, Little River, Hempstead, Sevier, Lafayette and Nevada counties in Southwest Arkansas.
Most county roads off of U.S. Highway 59 between Linden and Atlanta were flooded or washed out. Numerous vehicles were in ditches in the Atlanta and Linden area. A gas leak was also reported in County Road 1125.
According to Bowie-Cass Electric Cooperative's website, about 108 Cass County customers were still without power Wednesday night along with 111 Bowie County customers.
SWEPCO's website shows about 124 customers in Cass County remained without power Wednesday night.
A flash-flood watch is in effect until 7 a.m. today.