Multiple tornadoes in north Texas kill four, injure 9 as heat wave scorches state

Authorities were assessing damage Thursday and working on recovery after a tornado killed at least four people in the north Texas town of Matador amid a brutal heat wave.

A line of severe storms produced what a local fire department called an "unprecedented tornado" that ripped through the town. Meteorologists said the storm system caused an unusual combination of tornadoes, hurricane-force winds topping 100 mph and large hail.

"That is certainly rare to see all at the same time: killer tornadoes, hurricane-force winds and softball-size hail," said Matt Zeibell, a meteorologist with National Weather Service in Lubbock, Texas.

The storm's strong winds swept across the state, from the Panhandle to Houston, causing damage north of Texas' largest city, according to weather officials.

This week in Texas, the National Weather Service has warned of a dangerously intense heat wave that has settled over much of the state. Over last weekend, most of the state was under an excessive heat warning, and residents were told to stay indoors.

Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday added six counties in the region to a disaster declaration first issued June 16 in response to severe weather. The declaration will help state authorities respond swiftly to devastated communities, Abbott said.

Thursday, temperatures in the southern corner of the Lone Star State were expected to reach about 110 degrees, and heat indexes were predicted as high as 125 in some areas, the weather service warned.

More than 500 customers remained without power Thursday morning in Motley County, where Matador is located, according to poweroutage.us. Farther south, more than 1,000 people were without power Thursday morning in Fisher County.

The devastating storm came less than a week after deadly tornadoes struck Perryton, Texas, in the state's panhandle.

Matador, which has a population of less than 600, is about 70 miles northeast of Lubbock, the home of Texas Tech University.

4 killed by tornadoes in northwest Texas

Wednesday's storm system developed at about 8 p.m. near Amarillo, Texas, before striking Matador, killing four people, the Lubbock fire department said Thursday morning on Facebook.

At least nine people were also injured in northwest Texas, the department said.

One of the four people killed by the tornado was first reported as injured and later died at a local hospital, Lubbock Fire Rescue spokesperson Derek Delgado told USA TODAY.

Lubbock's fire chief Shaun Fogerson told the Avalanche-Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network, that emergency responders were ordered to help free people trapped in collapsed structures.

Shortly after 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, William Iwasko, a senior forecaster with the National Weather Service in Lubbock, had said there had been three confirmed tornadoes in the line of storms, but it appeared the one in Matador was the only one that caused significant damage.

Widespread damage in remote part of Texas

Video footage showed crumbled vehicles lying on their sides, piles of flattened debris and branches lining the ground as emergency crews responded Wednesday night in Matador.

Gas pumps could be seen leaning off their bases and billboard signs for local businesses appeared to have been ripped out of their frames, footage from The Associated Press showed.

Reports from storm chasers and meteorologists on social media also showed considerable damage to homes, utility lines, trees and infrastructure around Matador.

Ziebell said thunderstorms were likely to continue Thursday, but the risk of severe weather with tornadoes was unlikely.

Matador tornado strikes less than a week after deadly Perryton twister

June 15, another tornado tore through the Texas Panhandle town of Perryton, killing three people, hospitalizing more than 50 and destroying some parts of the town's main downtown area.

More than 100 people were injured by the tornado that struck Perryton, which is north of Matador, just south of the Oklahoma state line.

The roof of a bank in Lavon, Texas, collapsed after storms rolled through the area, according to footage shared on social media. The town is more 400 miles away from Perryton, near Dallas. ABC News journalist Mike Forbes posted a video to Twitter of a decimated branch of Independent Financial bank.

In the video, the roof of a large wing of the building can be seen lying on the ground.

Tornadoes, thunderstorms come amid excessive heat warnings in Texas

Wednesday's storms came days after a massive heat wave settled over most of the rest of the state, bringing heat indexes expected to reach 120 degrees in some areas.

Earlier this week, meteorologists warned that bands of severe weather, including tornadoes, would likely form along the edges of the heat dome in north Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas.

Over the weekend, more than 25 million Americans were under the heat warnings, and residents of Houston, San Antonio, Austin and Corpus Christi faced some of the worst heat forecasts.

Contributing: Adam D. Young, Mateo Rosiles, Brandi D. Addison, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal; The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tornado in Matador, Texas, leaves 4 dead as heat wave scorches state