Dallas basically got abused last night by some very potent thunderstorms. They rolled in about midnight and continued through the morning, finally ending shortly before noon. They gradually tapered off from severe to a sprinkle during that time. The storms knocked out power for some 70,000 people and caused significant damage throughout the city — from hail damage to trees blown over (onto houses and cars and a myriad of other things) to wind damage to roofs and fences and anything else that couldn't withstand the 70 MPH onslaught. We lost power about 1:00 AM and didn't get it back until after 10:00 AM. The light show was fantastic, though, and a local TV station tracked more than 193,000 lightning strikes during the night. Rain accumulation ranged from 1.6 inches at the airport to 6 inches in some of the outlying burbs. At least one death is being blamed on the storms, so it was definitely a night to stay inside. While I was out running errands this morning I saw downed trees and power lines, limbs and trash and other debris all over the place, and plenty of signs of flooding (an inch of mud all the way across a major six-lane road stretching more than 100 feet). All I can say is wow!