Severe weather hits Navarro County Friday

Fast-developing storms dumped much-needed rain on the county but also had dangerous potential. At several points Friday, Corsicana and/or surrounding areas were under a tornado warning.

County Emergency Management Coordinator Eric Meyers Jr. said the combination of a cold front mingling with a warm section of air can be a volatile mix any time of year.

“The first round came through, and it looked like a bad deal,” Meyers said from the Huffman Communications Doppler radar site. “It did quite a bit of damage in Limestone County, apparently.”

Sgt. Lamoin Lawhon with the Corsicana Police Department said there a number of minor accidents and some minor flooding on Seventh Avenue and Oaklawn, and also said a friend told him a relative’s house in Groesbeck was destroyed by a tornado.

State Troopers had their hands full Friday afternoon with a number of accidents that developed quickly across the region.

The most severe accident occurred on Interstate 45 northbound at the 232 mile marker. Around 3:30 p.m. Friday, Trooper Jeff Taylor responded to a one-car rollover on the interstate. The two adults in the car suffered minor injuries and their 5-year-old child was ejected from the vehicle.

Miraculously, the child was not hurt, Taylor said.

Taylor said the child was strapped in a protective seat

The Waco Tribune-Herald reported one person was dead and 12 more were injured in Groesbeck around 5 p.m.

“There was nothing really major here,” Lawhon said just before 5.

Meyers said strong storms were expected throughout the night.

The storms erupted about 2:15 p.m. Soon after, Meyers said the National Weather Service phoned and said the county would be placed under a tornado warning.

“It was a potentially dangerous storming looking at the dynamics,” Meyers said. “... There were nine tornado warnings at one point (across North Central Texas).”

At about 4:30, Meyers said Doppler estimates showed Corsicana had received from three-quarters to and inch and half of rain. Those estimates were larger in the county, up to three inches, he said.

“We’re going to have heavy rainfall county-wide,” he said. “We could see anywhere from two to four inches.”