Apparent Tornadoes Hit Texas and Michigan

Storms moved away from Dallas-Fort Worth Thursday morning but left behind widespread damage to homes, trees and power lines. 

Field investigators from the National Weather Service surveyed the damage in DeSoto and determined an EF1 tornado blew through Thursday morning, damagin about a dozen homes. On the Fujita scale, F1 tornadoes carry winds between 73 and 112 miles per hour.

There was severe roof damage at a senior apartment complex and at a hotel with about 50 people in it at the time, said Kathy Jones, a spokeswoman for the city of DeSoto. DeSoto police said they don't have any major injuries.

One-third of residents in DeSoto were without power and several roads were blocked off because of downed power lines. The Red Cross has set up a shelter at the Community Missionary Baptist Church in DeSoto.

Packing strong winds and possibly tornadoes, the weather system blew through West Texas and into the Dallas-Fort Worth area early Thursday morning.

Officials say the storm injured at least 15 people in Breckenridge.  Most of the reported injuries were minor, but three people were being treated at an area hospital.

Chopper 11 toured the area and found significant damage at the city's airport.  A vintage airplane restoration business, Ezell Aviation, operates out of the airport, and an aviation museum is also located there.  The family that operates the restoration business tells CBS 11 News some vintage airplanes at the facility were damaged, but there is not yet an estimate of the dollar amount.

At least five houses are also reported to have been destroyed in Breckenridge.

Large trees are said to be uprooted, and an 18-wheeler is overturned on Highway 183 just south of town.

In Breckenridge, 125 miles west of Dallas, at least five homes were destroyed and there were reports of minor injuries, police said.

Crews with Oncor Electric Delivery were arriving in Breckenridge to survey the extent of the damage. Several poles were down and most of the city appeared to be without power, said Oncor spokesman Neal Blanton.

Robbie Dewberry, an administrator at Stephens Memorial Hospital, said the hospital treated three people for storm-related injuries. He said the hospital was on emergency backup power.

Dallas-Fort Worth television KTVT showed footage of damage at the small airport in the town. A twin-engine plane sat amid the crumpled sheet metal that had been a hangar.

Several outbuildings were also damaged, but officials could not immediately confirm that the damage was caused by a tornado, said Jessica Schultz of the National Weather Service in Fort Worth.

Earlier Wednesday, storm chasers reported that a tornado briefly skipped twice on Interstate 20 west of Abilene, said Mary Keiser of the NWS in San Angelo.

The accompanying thunderstorm sent hail — some chunks up to the size of a baseball — pounding down in several counties around the Abilene area, Keiser said.

The storm was moving east and was expected to hit the Dallas-Fort Worth area Wednesday night. A tornado watch was in effect for two dozen northern and eastern Texas counties until 11 p.m.