(343PM CT): An exceptionally large portion of American Airlines/American Eagle flights into and out of DFW Airport have been cancelled due to hail damage or lack of gates to receive the arriving aircraft. If you have any travel plans that involve any aircraft operated by American Airlines, American Eagle, or American Connection, please quadruple check your travel plans, as the ripple effect from this mass cancellation will last for days.
(301PM CT): If anyone at MSNBC happens to read this, please tell your television personalities to stop interviewing politicians about the weather. Most of them don't know crap about tornadoes. It's like calling a marine biologist to come fix your air conditioning. If you're in doubt about this, look at their constant attempts to defund and destroy the NWS. Stick to interviewing meteorologists. Thanks.
(246PM CT): My apologies for not being able to keep up this diary like I normally do during severe weather events. This event today took me by surprise, I'm ashamed to admit. I've been dealing with classes and errands all day. Please check the comments below for excellent information being shared by members of the DKos community.
(234PM CT): To those asking if this is abnormal, it actually isn't. This is the south during the spring. They usually miss downtown areas, though, because cities are small dots on a very large landscape. The damage they produced because they hit urban areas is why this is a newsworthy story. If these had happened 50 miles south, it would have been a 20 second blip on the news, if that.
(157PM CT): In addition to these tornadoes, there is a line of storms out to the west producing winds over 60 MPH and golfball size hail. This line will move into the DFW and surrounding areas over the next hour or two, adding insult to injury.
A tornado warning continues until 215PM for eastern Dallas County. There isn't too much rotation in the storm, but there is still a hook echo southeast of Dallas, moving north-northeast.
There is still a tornado warning for Arlington TX and surrounding areas for a confirmed tornado near Pantego. It's moving directly towards Arlington TX.
MSNBC is showing damage from Johnson County TX, which shows what seems to be EF-2 tornado damage.
-----Previous diary information...no longer valid-----
...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 145 PM CDT FOR SOUTHERN DALLAS COUNTY...
AT 116 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS CONFIRMED A LARGE AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TORNADO. THIS TORNADO WAS LOCATED NEAR LANCASTER...MOVING NORTH AT 20 MPH.
THIS IS A TORNADO EMERGENCY FOR SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE CITY OF DALLAS AND THE CITY OF LANCASTER! SEEK SHELTER NOW!
THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
LANCASTER AROUND 125 PM CDT...
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A TORNADO HAS BEEN CONFIRMED! THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND LIFE THREATENING SITUATION. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS DESTRUCTIVE TORNADO...TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY.
There is a large debris ball on radar associated with this confirmed tornado moving directly towards the Dallas metro area.
There is another large, dangerous tornado on the ground just east of Fort Worth, moving directly towards Arlington TX.
* AT 125 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS CONFIRMED A LARGE AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TORNADO NEAR KENNEDALE...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH. ARLINGTON IS IN THE DIRECT PATH OF THIS TORNADO! IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO...TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY!
THIS IS A TORNADO EMERGENCY FOR SOUTHEASTERN TARRANT COUNTY...INCLUDING THE CITY OF ARLINGTON.
11:42 AM PT: It looks like the Arlington tornado is starting to mix out a bit. Still a dangerous situation with a tornado warning. The circulation near Dallas isn't very strong right now either, but it has a history of producing large tornadoes. Both of these storms could cycle back and reform tornadoes.