© KETKThere are reports of at least 50 homes damaged in Lindale, Texas, including the one pictured here. Residents in the area said that there were no storm warnings and alerts were not sent out
Rare December tornadoes surprised East Texas on Saturday afternoon, damaging 50 homes, destroying a bridge and injuring two people.
At least one tornado, probably two, touched down around 4pm in Lindale, about 90 miles southeast of Dallas, according to KETK.
The mayor has issued a declaration of disaster for the city.
'We saw these clouds and these little tornadoes that were shooting down and then one hit the ground. We saw it hit the ground, witness Melissa Malone told the outlet. 'From there we called 911 and immediately alerted them and the sirens started going off.'
Eyewitness Autum Green spotted the twisters forming on Iron Mountain Road in Lindale and captured them with her cell phone.
'It was kind of cool watching it build up, but I was really scared,' Green said, adding that she normally gets weather alerts, but none came with the tornado.
'On the movie Twister where they had the two tunnels come through, they twirled around each other, that's what it looked like,' she said.
The National Weather Service did not send out warnings and people in Lindale were caught completely unawares, reports the outlet.
Comment: Another 'rare' winter tornado in the United States, just a few days after another one battered homes in Battle Ground, Washington. Last month another 'rare' tornado hit a Californian town, a massive mile wide tornado reportedly leveled a Halliburton plant and a tornado outbreak of more than 20 touched down across western Kansas, which was called "unprecedented" by a weather official.
Meanwhile other 'rare' tornadoes continue to strike all over the planet this year, including Northern Ireland, England, Australia, Hawaii and India.