Residents across parts of Tarrant County are cleaning up after a sudden burst of severe weather brought strong winds, hail and heavy rain to North Texas on Wednesday night. The storms damaged buildings, knocked down power lines and left thousands without electricity. A ground stop was also issued at DFW Airport. NBC 5 Meteorologist Grant Johnston said the storm produced a downburst with 70 mph winds. The storms moved through Wednesday evening after weeks of hot, dry conditions, catching many residents off guard. Viewer videos and photos shared with NBC 5 showed hail falling in North Richland Hills and Fort Worth, while powerful winds caused damage in Watauga. In Watauga, downed power lines, broken windows, and debris littered parts of the city. At least one business is heavily damaged on Rufe Snow Drive. Monty Osmen said he was closing up his business when the storm rolled through. “A big gust of wind came. I don’t know if it was a tornado or what exactly,” Osmen said. “Just heard a loud noise and I see all the electrical wires and everything sparking and stuff like that.” The storm damaged at least one commercial building and scattered metal debris throughout the area. First responders spent part of the evening surveying damage and checking on affected areas. “I’m baffled, honestly; I’ve never witnessed something like this,” Osmen said. The storms also caused power outages across portions of Tarrant and Dallas counties. According to Oncor, crews worked through the night to assess damage and restore service. By Thursday morning, outage numbers had dropped significantly, with only a few hundred customers still without power as restoration efforts continued. The National Weather Service has not yet released a final assessment on what specific wind speeds may have caused the damage in Watauga. ...read more read less