A severe storm whipped through Texas Saturday afternoon, sparking at least one tornado, heavy rain, hail, and two deaths.
There is widespread damage in Franklin, Texas – about 35-miles north of College Station – where the National Weather Service confirms an EF-3 tornado touched down. Robertson County officials say at least 40 structures were damaged or destroyed, and at least 12 people were injured.There were no fatalities.
It was a different story in Lufkin where two children were killed in the back of a moving car by a falling tree.Investigators say the children – aged three and eight – were trapped.Their parents, who were riding in the front seat, were not injured.
More than two dozen other people were injured by the storm at the Caddo Mounds State Historic Site, north of Lufkin. Unconfirmed reports say a tornado touched down there as well.The injured were taken to the hospital by school bus.Officials say as many as five were in critical condition.
Closer to Houston, there were reports of heavy rain and hail in Montgomery and Fort Bend Counties.Quarter-to-golf ball-sized hail was reported in the Pecan Grove area, while residents saw grape-sized hail farther north.