Shingle damage to a house on Michel Lane, off College Street, in one of the worst hit areas of
Sulphur Springs. Shingles were blown from homes, chimneys blown down, and privacy fences left
in shambles along the path of the storm.

 

Night of Unrest in Hopkins County
Following Storm Damage

 

by: Bobby McDonald

 

Michel Lane, off College Street, looked like a "war zone" as debris from Wednesday night's
storm was scattered in the street and in yards. Power was out and hopefully would be
restored by noon on Thursday.

 

It was at approximately 6:30 p.m., as Sulphur Springs and Hopkins County were placed under a tornado alert and high winds, hail, and possibly tornadoes moved through the area, leaving damage in its wake.

Traffic was brought to a halt on Broadway Street, as downed power lines blocked the south-bound land of traffic, forcing motorist to take a detour route, down the busy street.

 

Emergency crews were on duty with downed power lines, throughout the night. Here they are
attempting to cut power to lines on College Street.

 

Then, reports started surfacing of damage to the Michel Lane and Jill Lane areas off College Streets as residents had lost power and began assessing their damages via flashlights. Emergency crews were sent to the areas and hoped to have power restored by sometime mid-day Thursday.

According to Sheriff Butch Adams, two eighteen-wheelers were blown over, as they traveled Interstate 30, near the Country Club overpass.

 

 

 

This child's trampoline was twisted around a powerline at the corner
of Michel Lane and College Steet.

 

 

 

Additional damage was reported in the Precinct 1 area of Hopkins County, near the Wade Bartley Auction Company, where a mobile home and other buildings were blown away.

Unconfirmed reports of damages in both the Cumby area and Flora Community of Hopkins County were also reported.

"It will be daylight on Thursday morning before much of the damage can be truly accessed," reported Sheriff Adams. "We're going to have to have some daylight before we can really see all of the damage!"

 

Buggies at Wal-Mart and downed trees were part of the damage in the South Broadway section of town.
Reports were of a damaged door at the Super Handy, at that location.

 

 

"It's going to be a long, long night in Hopkins County, for homeowners and those service crews that are working to restore power to homes and businesses.

The electricity at the Front Porch News Texas office was briefly off, but has been restored!

 

Privacy fences were blown over throughout the College Street area, as residents looked at the damage
via flashlight!

 

 

Have a safe night and watch for downed power lines, treating them with extreme caution. "It's a good idea to stay inside and wait this all out until morning," advised Sheriff Adams. "There is no more storms predicted for the area, but everyone just needs to stay inside, off the highways, and wait until morning, unless they absolutely have to be out!"

 

This chimney was blown through the roof of a residence on Michel Lane in Sulphur Springs.

We'll attempt to bring you more photos of the damages, after daylight, on Thursday morning.

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