At least one person, a 73-year-old Grayson County woman, was killed and more than 20 were injured.
The National Weather Service confirmed at least 11 tornadoes touched down.
Four people were rescued and a total of nine people were treated at hospitals for minor injuries in Jacksboro, where a EF3 tornado with winds up to 150 mph struck about 3:50 p.m. Monday, officials said at a news conference Tuesday morning. No fatalities had been reported in Jacksboro.
In northern Grayson County, an EF2 tornado with 130 mph winds struck Sherwood Shores, killing the 73-year-old and injuring 11 people before continuing into Oklahoma.
Five EF1 tornadoes were reported across North Texas: one in northwest Fort Worth with 100 mph winds; two near Bowie in Montague County; one near Nocona in Montague County; one near Possum Kingdom Lake in Palo Pinto County; and one that traced a path nearly 20 miles long in Cooke County, hitting the west side of Gainesville.
Two tornadoes rated EF0 — the lowest rating — touched down: one in northern Carrollton and one near Decatur in Wise County. A twister with unknown wind speeds hit rural southern Bell County.
Abbott, speaking from a Jacksboro hospital, said it was a “miracle” no one was killed in the Jack County storm, which destroyed the elementary school where people took cover. Jacksboro High School also sustained heavy damage; video and photos showed the gym’s roof almost fully sheared off.
The governor’s emergency declaration was issued for Bastrop, Cass, Cooke, Grayson, Guadalupe, Houston, Jack, Madison, Marion, Montague, Nacogdoches, Panola, Rusk, Upshur, Williamson and Wise counties.
Standing outside the elementary school Tuesday morning, Jacksboro police Chief Scott Haynes recalled wading through inches of water to reach the hallways where students, parents and faculty were sheltering.
Scattered among debris on the campus were flipped-over cars. Haynes said many were left behind by parents who ended up hunkered in the building.
“By the mere hand of God, our community was protected,” Jack County Judge Brian Keith Umphress said at a news conference early Tuesday. About 80 homes were destroyed, Abbott said.
About 30 miles northeast, Bowie also endured widespread damage.
Bowie city manager Bert Cunningham said as many as four people were trapped in collapsed buildings, KXAS-TV (NBC5) reported. Emergency manager Kelly McNabb told the TV station four people suffered minor injuries.
Sarah Barnes, with the weather service’s Fort Worth office, said meteorologists were surveying the damage across the region. She said “plenty of damage” was reported from Dallas-Fort Worth up to the Red River.
Dallas Fire-Rescue responded to more than two dozen traffic accidents between 6 and 9 p.m. Monday, spokesman Jason Evans said. Crews were also called to three reports of downed utility wires or transformers and to Montfort Drive and the Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway in North Dallas after multiple vehicles drove into high water, Evans said.
In Tarrant County, Birdville ISD officials said on social media that part of the roof was mangled at Hardeman Elementary School in Watauga and water leaked into six classrooms.
Heavy rain also pummeled North Texas. Nearly an inch of rain was measured at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on Monday, Barnes said.
Flooding was captured on video on Abrams Road in Dallas, and Colleyville police said Oak Knoll Road and Cheshire Drive were closed because of high water overnight.
Tens of thousands of Oncor customers lost power Monday night, but nearly all of the outages had been cleared Tuesday.
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