Multiple tornadoes cause massive damage across Dallas, Fort Worth and North Texas

Multiple tornadoes rumbled across the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area Tuesday afternoon, leveling homes, crushing cars and sending thousands of North Texans scrambling to take cover.

By 4 p.m., the most severe storms were in suburban neighborhoods east of Dallas and on into rural northeast Texas.

In Forney, 22 miles east of Dallas, officials were investigating a report of an elementary school and residential area being struck by a twister.

"Oh no! Oh no!" a storm spotter watching the Forney tornado told CBS 11 during a live broadcast. "Oh my goodness. I can see the homes just being torn apart."

Minutes later, the storm spotter reported that no children were in the school at the time but that nearby homes were flattened.

Minor injuries were reported across North Texas throughout the afternoon, but an exact number is not yet known. At one point, the National Weather Service declared Dallas-Fort Worth counties to be under a "tornado emergency."

At the height of the storms, sirens blared in downtown Dallas and Fort Worth, schools huddled children in hallways and passengers at DFW International Airport were rushed to safe areas.

"This is as serious of a tornado we've seen in years," said CBS 11 meteorologist Larry Mowry.