Tornadoes Destroy Homes In Dallas Area, But Don't Claim Lives

Steve Shaw, News 9 and News9.com

DALLAS, Texas -- Tornadoes tore across the Dallas metro Tuesday afternoon, carving paths of destruction and turning dozens of homes into piles of wood and debris.

Between six and 13 tornadoes touched down. The National Weather Service planned to assess the damage Wednesday to determine the exact number. Rescuers plan to spend the day searching those same areas to make sure no one is trapped in flattened buildings.

Although several injuries were reported, no one was killed.

4/3/2012 Related Story: Tornadoes Rip Through Dallas Area

The storm also halted operations at DFW airport, even forcing American Airlines to cancel flights for the rest of the day.

News 9 sent a crew down Interstate 35 as soon as the storms started.

Pat Wiggams' home in Joshua, Texas, was one of those that was heavily damaged by one of the tornados. He got a call from his girlfriend, Terry Sherman, Tuesday afternoon. She told him to rush home.

Sherman said she got a frantic call from Pat Wiggams' mother, Patsy Wiggams.

"She said her house was gone, chaos, and we just got in the car." Sherman said.

Pat Wiggams said he couldn't believe his eyes as he rushed home on highway 20 to check on his mother, only to find a tornado in his path.

"People were parking their cars on the road. Watching the tornado come to them, and they were taking pictures at their car when it was coming to them. And it's like, ‘Y'all need to get out of the way or you will get killed,'" Wiggams said.