Tornado Strikes Matador, Texas, Killing 4

Four people were killed when a tornado ripped through a small town in northern Texas Wednesday night.

T​he tornado struck Matador, Texas, some 80 miles northeast of Lubbock, at 8:11 p.m. CDT. Significant damage was reported on the west side of the town, where some buildings were reportedly destroyed, according to a National Weather Service report.

"​It’s really, really bad," Matador Mayor Pat Smith told the New York Times in a phone interview Wednesday night.

L​ubbock Fire Rescue, which was assisting with search and rescue operations in the town, said four deaths had been confirmed and at least 10 people were injured.

M​ore than 500 of the small town's 831 utility customers remained without power as of about 5 p.m. EDT Thursday. In all, more than 136,000 power outages were being reported across Texas, many from previous storms. The outages come as parts of the state are being hit with a searing heatwave.

P​hotos posted to social media showed horrific damage.

V​ideo from the scene shows mangled structures as well as vehicles that have been rolled or tossed. The National Weather Service will survey the damage Thursday to determine the tornado's strength.

T​he tornado struck just six days after an EF3 ravaged the Texas Panhandle town of Perryton, killing three people and injuring numerous others.

M​atador is in Motley County and has a population of about 600.

S​evere weather also hit other parts of Texas, including the Houston metro area.

A​ record wind gust up to 97 mph was clocked at Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport. Tree damage and widespread power outages were reported.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.