(omar villafranca cbs news rowlett, texas) a 24-hour curfew remains in effect here in rowlett -- where an ef-3 tornado also caused extensive damage. the tornado flipped this van on its side and ripped the roof off of this house. on sunday - authorities damaged water tower - out of fears of flooding: (brian funderburk/ rowlett city manager) at this point we've had an engineer assess it. based on the damage that he saw he was concerned enough to ask us to drain the water tower. the unusual weather pattern is now blanketing parts of the texas panhandle, oklahoma and new mexico with heavy snow. whiteout conditions and massive snow drifts led officials to shut down nearly all of interstate 40... as dozens of vehicles skidded on slick roads. forecasters expect up to 15 inches of snow in some areas...before the system moves onto the northeast. omar villafranca cbs news rowlett, texas./// ((patranya bhoolsuwan)) new mexico has declared a state of emergency... and the national weather service has issued a flash flood warning for parts of missouri. ((patranya bhoolsuwan)) > back here at home...

glor: david begnaud in rowlett, texas. low year for death from tornadoes but since wednesday they claimed at least 28 lives nearly tripling the number this year. survivors are telling remarkable stories tonight. here is dan haggerty, from ktvt. >> it is unbelievable that anybody could come out of there alive. >> only two minutes to get into a coat closet when the tornado hit. >> the only thing left was the closet they were hiding in and the kitchen. >>reporter: the twister ripped off the roof neighborhood david denison's house. >> i was just praying and whatever. you just -- it's crazy. it's an experience i don't want to share with anybody. heartbreaking you know. >> michael morris was at a christmas party. his house is now gone. >> lived flipped over and hit my car. i've got to start all over again. >> it sounded like a train. >> frank montgomery and his family took shelter under the stairwell. outside dallas residents broke down to tears when they saw what's left. >> it's sad, hard to see all these people's people's live

david begnaud is in rowlett , texas with the latest. >"okay, there it is!" (- stills of tornado near garland) even by texas standards it was a monstrosity. (- stringer of tornado in rowlett) "oh i see it! it's crossing the highway right there!" at least 8 tornadoes exploded through dallas county, the hardest hits areas were garland and rowlett. damage has been reported along a 40-mile stretch of homes and businesses. (- more aerial damage) entire communities were flattened. many of the houses still standing are without roofs. vehicles were flipped or buried in debris. in garland, the storms killed 11 people and destroyed 600 structures in a 2- mile area. injured 23 and leveled 40 homes. texas governor greg abbott says more storms today are complicating recovery efforts. (gov. greg abbott/tx) "i want you to know that texas is doing everything we can to help you piece your lives back together." (couple crying) this afternoon mike gerourd brought his wife nancy back to their home for the first time since they lived through the tornado. (mike gerourd/tornado sur

in rowlett, the tornados injured 23 people and level the 40 homes. high winds tossed trailers at damaged this strip mall. >> we pray and support those who have lost a family member. >> reporter: texas governor greg abbott says more storms today are complicating recovery efforts. >> i want you to know that texas is doing everything we can to help you piece your lives back together, to help you better deal with the challenges that you are facing right now. >> reporter: this afternoon, mike girard brought his wife nancy y ck to their home for the first time since they lived througugthe tornado last night. >> we were on our patio in the >> what was that? >> that was the ceiling falling in. we went from being just inconvenienced to -- to realizing that we could have been dead. and in an instant, it hit. and less than 60 seconds, it gone. >> nancy, are you okay? >> no. my boys grew up in this house. everything's gone. i'm sorry, baby. >> everything's gone. >> we just -- we -- we don't know what to do. we went from happy to homeless in a minute. but we'll -

david begnaud is in rowlett, texas. when the tornado hit. >> oh, my gosh, it's big. >> reporter: this one was 550 yards wide with winds of nearly 180mph. for 13 miles, it plowed through the cities of garland and rowlett. constance rose's home was nearly demolished. two rooms were untouched, the closets where she and her family, including her two-year- old granddaughter, took shelter. >> and the house is mess. >> i know. it's a miracle that we got out alive. >> reporter: nearby, karen swearingen also hid in a closet with her boyfriend and her son trevor who is deaf. >> and it's dark. we had no electricity. and i'm trying to comfort him, and it's the only way i could communicate is to hold his hands and i just kept signing, god save us, just god save us, god >> reporter: eight people were killed, most in their cars as vehicles went airborne. back in rowlett, mike girouard and his wife nancy took us to their damaged home. >> we were on our patio on the back of the house. >> reporter: what was that? >> that was the ceiling

omar villafranca shows us the damage from hard-hit rowlett, texas. >> reporter: the sdast disaster is texas-sized and those who survived, will never forget. >> we ran inside the bathroom and hunkered down. next thing you hear is scratching and glass. >> reporter: the occasional lightning strikes illuminated the twisters that started touching down in the dallas area around 6:30 saturday night. at least 11 people died, including several in their cars, when a tornado crossed interstate 30. officials say the path of destruction stretches for 40 miles and more than 600 structures are damaged or destroyed. weather forecasters say two tornadoes clocked speeds of up to 200 miles per hour, tossing flattening entire streets. the governor of texas says the situation is still volatile across the northern part of the state that is simultaneously experiencing extreme ice and snow conditions and torrential rain. >> we need you to remain vigilant. >> reporter: many homes in the community of rowlett have been reduced to piles of debris. locality officials sent our four alerts before the tornadoes hit,

in rowlett, the tornados injured 23 people and leveled 40 homes. high winds tossed trailers at this mobile home park and damaged this strip mall. >> we pray and support those who have lost a family member. >> reporter: texas governor greg abbott says more storms today are complicating recovery efforts. >> i want you to know that texas is doing everything we can to help you piece your lives back together, to help you better deal with the challenges that you are facing right now. >> reporter: this afternoon, mike girard brought his wife nancy back to their home for the first time since they lived through the tornado last night. >> we were on our patio in the back of the house. >> what was that? in. we went from being just inconvenienced to -- to realizing that we could have been dead. and in an instant, it hit. and less than 60 seconds, it seemed like eternity, it was gone. >> nancy, are you okay? >> no. my boys grew up in this house. everything's gone. >> reporter: mike says when the tornado finally moved out of the area he walked outside to see wha

in rowlett, the tornadoes injured 23 and leveled 40 homes. high winds tossed trailers at this mobile home park and damaged this strip mall. >> we pray and support those who have lost a family member. >>reporter: texas governor greg abbott say more storms today are complicating recovery efforts. >> i want you to know that texas is doing everything we can to help you piece your lives back together. to help you better deal with the challenges that you are facing right now. >> reporter: this afternoon, mike giroud brought his wife nancy back to their home for the first time since they lived through the tornado last night. >> we were on our patio standing on the back of the house. >> reporter: what was that? >> that was the ceiling falling in. we went from just being inconvenienced to realizing we could be dead. in an instant, it hit less than 60 seconds. in a second it was gone. >> reporter: nancy are you okay? >> no-- my-- [ crying ] >> sorry, baby. >> everything's gone! >> we just -- we we don't know what to do. we went from happy, to homeless.

we begin tonight with david begnaud in rowlett, texas. david? >> reporter: jeff, good evening, there is no mistaking a tornado disaster zone. along this residential street where we are, every home is damaged some severely. these vehicles here looked like they crashed into each other. this one here the windows blown out, there is a piece of plywood that came through the windshield and impaled in the passenger seat. eyewitnesses who lived through this tornado said it blew through here about 7:00 p.m. and lasted less than 45 seconds. >> reporter: even by texas standards it was a monstrosity. >> i see it. it's crossing the highway right there. big, big tornado. >> reporter: at least eight tornadoes exploded through dallas county. the hardest hit areas are garland and rowlett. >> oh, there's stuff flying in the air! >> reporter: damage has been reported along a 40 mile stretch of homes and businesses. in the darkness last night the destruction was hard to see. but by this morning the path of the tornadoes was clear. entire communities are flattened.

omar villafranca is on the scene in hard-hit rowlett, texas. omar: many residents are retrieving what little they have left, following this weekend's deadly tornadoes. >> compared to our neighbors, i i think we got pretty lucky. walls are standing. omar: more than 100 homes in the rubble saturday when an ef-4 tornado, packing winds of up to 200 miles per hour, tore through the area. 61-year-old gwendolyn wheatley says it was the scariest night of her life. >> i just stayed in my closet all night long, shaking like a leaf on a tree. omar: a 24-hour curfew remains in effect here in rowlett, where an ef-3 tornado also caused extensive damage. you can see the tornado knocked over this van and behind me, it ripped the roof off of this house. on sunday, authorities evacuated water tower out of fears of , flooding. >> at this point, we've had an engineer who is familiar with that particular water tower assess it. based on the damage that he saw, he was concerned enough to ask us to drain the water tower. omar: the unusual weather pattern is now blanke

we begin with david begnaud in rowlett, texas, where there are piles of rubble where house used to be>> reporter: good morning. here in the city of rowlett, eyewitnesses who lived through this tornado said it took less than 45 seconds to do this. you are struck by the personal items. the clothing, baby products, things in the home tossed like sticks. across this area, more than 80 homes have been destroyed. many of which have been leveled. there is one man who lives in the area who says he was outside. he saw the sky changing colors. he turned inside to tell his wife they needed to get to a safe place and before they could, the windows, he said, exploded. the severe weather continued on sunday with hail and strong winds pounding the dallas/ft. worth area. >> oh, there is stuff flying in the air! >> reporter: at least nine tornadoes were confirmed throughout the dallas metro plex this weekend. >> oh, my gosh! big! >> reporter: packing winds nearly 170 miles per hour in some locations. this tornado near garland where 11 people were killed shows transformers flashing as a powerful tornad

omar villafranca, cbs news, rowlett, texas. >>> the same storm system has sparked blizzards in three southern states. texas, oklahoma, and new mexico are facing dangerous whiteout conditions. some areas will see more than a foot of snow by the time the storm passes. the snowfall made driving impossible on a number of highways. layers of snow and ice covered roads in lubbock, texas. wind gusts reached up to 70 outages across the region. >>> deadly flooding has overtaken many areas in the water from the storms has made many roads impassible. at least eight people died overnight in missouri after cars drove into flooded streets. soldiers based at ft. leonardwood. >>> in alabama, searchers found the body of a 22-year-old man whose car was swept away over the weekend. >> the water is flowing swiftly and you don't know where to look. it is -- and i'm talking about extra swift. >> flooding is expected to get worse in oklahoma. rising waters there forced many people from their homes and caused a number of accidents. >>> firefighters along the southern california coast are making major progre

for 13 miles, it plowed through the cities of garland and rowlett. constance rose's home was nearly demomoshed. two rooms were untouched, the closets where she and her family, including her two-year- old granddaughter, took shelter. and the house is a mess. >> i know. it's a miracle that we got out alive. >> reporter: nearby, karen swearingen also hid in a closet with her boyfriend and her son trevor who is deaf. >> and is dark. we had no electricity. and it's the only way i could communicate is to hold his hands and i just kept signing, god save us, just god save us, god save us. >> reporter: eight people were killed, most in their cars as vehicles went airborne. tossed by the tornado. back in rowlett, mike girouard and his wife nancy took us to their damaged home on sunday. >> we were on our patio on the back of the house. >> reporter: what was that? >> that was the ceiling falling in. >> reporter: nancy, are you okay? >> no. my boys grew up in this home. everything's gone. >> sorry, baby. we went from happy to homeless in a minute. >> reporter: th

omar villafranca cbs news rowlett, texas. ((patranya bhoolsuwan)) 43 deaths are blamed on holiday period weather that hit a large part of the nation's south and midwest./// brian loftus let's get a check of our local weather. ((patranya bhoolsuwan)) ashley is in for sherry this morning... it's cold out there this morning... when will it warm up? ashley conroy < here's our current temps just above freezing at 33 degrees -- partly cloudy skies out there. humidity about 34 percent. ................................ wide temps right now -- warmer temps in parts of the south -- but colder temps behind it in texas -- so this is significant -- because whenever you have a storm system with colder temps meeting warmer temps -- it's much more of a recipe for severe storms. ...................... you can see these storms over in dallas and in the south -- there's a low spiraling right now which is creating this mass of rain on the eastern portion of the storm and snow and winter weather on the eastern side. if any of you are traveling to

omar villafranca is in rowlett... where authorities say it's a miracle the tornadoes didn't take even more lives. david dennison's backyard shed is shredded.wra pped around a pole on his neighbor's property. his neighborhood outside of dallas was one of hardest hit by a swarm of tornadoes. (david dennison/torna do survivor) "we ran inside the bathroom and hunkered down and the next thing you heard was occasional lightning strike illuminated the twisters that started touching down in the dallas area around 6:30 saturday night. at least 11 people died including several who were in their cars when a tornado crossed interstate 30. officials say the path of destruction stretches for 40 miles and more than 600 structures are damaged or destroyed. weather forecasters say two tornadoes clocked speeds of up to 200 miles per hour.tossing mobile homes like toys and flattening entire streets. the governor of texas says the situation is still volatile across the northern part of the state that is simultaneously experiencing extrem

for 13 miles, it plowed through the cities of garland and rowlett. constance rose's home was nearly demolished. two rooms were untouched, the closets where she and her family, including her two-year- old granddaughter, took shelter. anthe house is a mess. >>>> know. alive. >> reporter: nearby, karen swearingen also hid in a closet with her boyfriend and her son trevor who is deaf. >> and it's dark. we had no electricitit and i'm trying to comfort him,m, and it's the only way i could communicate is to hold his hands and i just kept signing, god save us, just god sasa us, god save us. >> reporter: eight people were killed, most in their cars as vehicles went t rborne. tossed by the tornado. back in rowlett, mike girouard and his wife nancy took us to their damaged home on sunday. >> we re on our patio on the ck of the house. reporter: what was s at? >> that was the ceiling falling in. >> reporter: nancy, are you okay? >> no. my boys grew up in this home. everything's gone. >> sorry, baby. in a minute. >> reporter: the family of four thth lived inside t

here in the town of rowlett, heavily damaged, a lot of roofs peeled off.it or not some people spent the night in their homes here, they had nowhere else to go and it was a cold, wet night but they did find a corner of their house, perhaps a dry mattress to sleep on. today they're venturing out surveying the damage here in their neighborhood. >> charles hadlock with us for the live update. the red cross launched a region-wide response to the storms. for more on those efforts we're joined on the phone by anita foster, spokesperson for the red cross in texas. at ani anita, thank you for joining us. how many shelters are open? how many people do we expect to take refuge in shelters the red cross is setting up? >> we did set up three shelters last night in three different gee xwraskal areas. the tornado outbreak was fairly widespread across a large geography. we wanted to make sure no matter where you were in the north texas area you had a place to go, so we monitored the shelters progressively throughout the overnight hours. residents took advantage of the she

. >> reporter: in nearby rowlett people were injured and homes damaged, emergency crews spent the day looking for survivors who may be trapped under debris. >> it's all right. his wife nancy their home for the first time since they both lived through the tornado. >> we were on our patio in the back of the house. >> what was that? >> that was the ceiling falling in. >> reporter: their home of 25 years which was paid off and is insured is likely a total loss. you heard what they always say is that train, right? >> there was no freight train here. it was unmistakable. that's what they say you hear and it's true. >> reporter: nancy, are you okay? >> no! my boys grew up in t ts house! >> we don't know what to do! we went from hpy to homeless in a minute. >> reporter: not far from where i am is the city's water tower and it can be seen for miles as you approach the city of rowlett. this morning, it may collapse vulnerable dueuehat ittained in the storm. the water has been drained from that water tower and it it will be inspected later today. this morning and the city is cut off. police are