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3.0-magnitude earthquake rocks North Texas
The U.S. Geological Survey reported a 3.0 magnitude earthquake struck near Irving Wednesday night.
The quake hit at 10:16 pm., with the epicenter in Irving just south of the intersection of the Bush Turnpike and Highway 114 and 3.5 miles east of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.
The USGS said it measured the quake at a depth of 10 miles.
In the minutes following the tremor, WFAA’s Facebook page received more than 250 comments — most of which were from people who said they felt the earth unexpectedly shaking.
“I’m in Irving off 161 and Rochelle,” wrote John Hendry. “Felt a boom and house shook; no apparent damage.”
“It freaked me out!” wrote Tonya Taylor Paris from Euless near D/FW International Airport. “My whole house rattled and crackled after it happened. My front large window rattled really loud.”
“We all thought our chairs were moving due to a plane,” said Lisa Olivero Riccetti, who was at D/FW.
“It felt like a bus ran into the building,” wrote Martin Ross at Belt Line Road and Walnut Hill Lane in Irving.
“This is the third time this has happened since I lived in these apartments,” said Veronica Rodroguez-Harris in Irving.
Last September, multiple earthquakes measuring 3.4 and 3.1 magnitude shook the same general area
‘Very unusual’ start to tornado season
Tornado season is only just beginning, but already this year has seen dozens of destructive twisters from Illinois to Texas, where up to 18 might have touched town on Tuesday alone in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
The numbers show just how unusual: March saw 223 twisters, up from an average of 80 from 1991-2010, according to the National Weather Service. February saw 63, compared to an average of 29; and January saw 97, compared to an average of 35.
So what’s behind the outbreak?
“We’ve had record heat,” weather.com meteorologist Greg Forbes told TODAY, and “that warmth is a big ingredient that provides the instability for the storms.”
Last year started off slowly but then saw a record 758 tornadoes in April 2011, noted Roker. “Hopefully we’re not on track for that this year.”
U.S. forecasters have predicted a Read more…
Joplin storm contained a rare multivortex tornado
JOPLIN, Mo. | The death toll from Sunday’s tornado has risen to 122, making it the eighth-deadliest tornado in U.S. history, the National Weather Service said.
The Joplin twister was upgraded to EF-5, the strongest category on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, with winds exceeding 200 mph. The storm was apparently a “multivortex” tornado, with two or more small and intense centers of rotation orbiting the larger funnel, a rare occurrence.
It’s the country’s deadliest storm since 1950.
The number of those still missing isn’t known because many have left Joplin to stay with relatives and friends. Rescue Read more…
Texas Second Day of Power Outages May Be Avoided
A second day of controlled power outages by some utilities might not be needed in Texas in response to huge electric demand following a winter storm.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas early Thursday said “immediate concerns for the possibility of rotating outages this morning are reduced.” But ERCOT said the agency would continue to monitor the state’s electric grid for additional unexpected losses of generation, a day after the problem led to mandated outages across the ERCOT system.
Wednesday night, ERCOT said in a statement that electricity demand hit record highs and to be aware of the possibility of more rolling outages. See their original statement below.
Residents and businesses across Texas and in Brown County experienced rolling blackouts Wednesday due to the bitterly cold weather, and those blackouts could continue into Read more…
Winter storm brings much of America’s heartland to a standstill

A huge winter storm, described as the worst in decades, has brought much of America’s heartland to standstill, closing airports, main roads, schools, colleges and government officies.
The streets of Dallas, Oklahoma City and Tulsa were deserted, and more snow and freezing temperatures are forecast. Chicago is expecting 60cm (2ft) of snow, Indianapolis 2.5cm of ice.
The weather system, which stretches 2,000 miles across a third of the country from Texas to Maine, brought with it a cold front that has seen temperatures dropping to -12C (9F) and lower in its wake. Winds topped 60mph in Texas, while in Chicago public schools called a snow day for the first time in 12 years. Both the city’s major airports are closed. Chicago officials also the city’s iconic Lake Shore Drive after numerous accidents left motorists stranded for several hours. Officials said the move was temporary, but Read more…
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