ELBERT, Texas (AP) -- A tornado destroyed several homes and the local cotton gin, one of at least four twisters that struck northwest Texas as severe thunderstorms battered the southern Plains.
No serious injuries were reported in the Sunday storms.Thunderstorms also pounded southwestern and central Oklahoma, where rivers swollen by downpours were rising Monday.
Authorities in Elbert "got plenty of warning, got everybody notified. We got word to them and got them into cellars," said Ron Sadler, dispatcher for the Throckmorton County Sheriff's Department.
Three twisters were also confirmed by the National Weather Service in neighboring Young County, with one described as half-mile-wide funnel cloud near Olney. Damage was minor but fallen power lines blocked roads, said Young County sheriff's Deputy Gary Barnett.
In addition to destroying the Elbert Gin, essential to cotton growers in the area, the twister tore down power lines to the town of 150 people.
Barns in the town about 50 miles southwest of Wichita Falls also were destroyed, and hail as big as tennis balls pounded some areas.
In Oklahoma, 4.36 inches of rain fell at Hobart and 3.6 inches at Oklahoma City.
Rivers across Oklahoma were rising toward flood stage, with crests expected by early Tuesday. The North Canadian River was due to crest above flood stage Monday, flooding agricultural land and rural roads in central Oklahoma.