Dallas tornado causes scare ahead of Cotton Bowl

DALLAS — A tornado was spotted near downtown Dallas, five nights before the Cotton Bowl national semifinal between Alabama and Michigan State.

Both teams are OK and unaffected by the storm, according to both team spokesmen. Both teams practiced earlier Saturday.

The Dallas-area tornado warning lasted from about 5:30 pm local time until at least 7 pm. An Omni hotel spokesman evacuated the hotel (which housed media) to the lowest level of the parking garage once he said a tornado was spotted.