High winds from storm knock down trees, damage west Fort Worth strip mall, car dealership
Roofing hung off a strip mall in west Fort Worth on Thursday morning and shingles and twisted metal lay strewn around a nearby car dealership.
The damaged businesses are some of the casualties from Wednesday night’s severe thunderstorms. Strong winds and large hail swept through North Texas, felling trees and leaving more than 50,000 customers without power. Hail as big as pingpong and golf balls fell in some areas and heavy rain dropped on Dallas-Fort Worth, prompting flash flood warnings.
In Depth Tattoo Studio at 8341 Camp Bowie W Blvd. is part of the strip mall that experienced significant roof damage. An employee told Star-Telegram media partner WFAA-TV that he was inside the tattoo studio when water started pouring in.
“I didn’t know if it was gonna stop or if it was a big tornado and it was just gonna keep going,” the employee said to WFAA. “The way it felt like, it was gonna be a never-ending storm.”
No injuries were reported at the strip mall. A video from WFAA shows roofing hanging from the building and debris scattered in the wet parking lot. At least part of the roof landed on a nearby car dealership.
Edward Andrews, the owner of Special Touch Auto Sales, stood in the parking lot Thursday morning inspecting the damaged vehicles. Roofing debris from the strip mall decorated some of the vehicles and many of them had broken windows. Bits of shingles and torn metal lay on the ground.
Andrews told the Star-Telegram in a text message three days after the storm that cleanup has been a mess. The insurance company is also claiming the deductible is higher than what they told him previously and what it was last year.
“I’ll just keep moving step by step,” he said.
A block from the car dealership, residents were dealing with downed trees. Dawn Worthy told the Star-Telegram that a tree in her back yard fell on part of her house.
A neighbor’s tree also fell after it was struck by lightning, she said, and part of it landed in Worthy’s front yard. The other part fell on her neighbor’s vehicle.
“I’ve lived here for 30-something years and we have never had anything like [this],” Worthy told the Star-Telegram.
A spokesperson for the National Weather Service said there were no confirmed tornadoes from the storms, despite warnings in Dallas and Ellis counties, and that straight line winds were responsible for much of the damage in the area.
The National Weather Service reported wind gusts over 70 mph in western Tarrant County and large trees down in areas including White Settlement.
White Settlement Police Chief Chris Cook told the Star-Telegram that high winds tore up several awnings at an RV park and downed power poles and about two dozen trees in the city. No injuries were reported, and most of the damage was along North Cherry Lane.
The White Settlement police station also lost power for time Wednesday night, Cook said, but 911 calls were not affected.
Chris Torres contributed to this report.
This story was originally published October 5, 2023 at 2:39 PM.
