‘I was really afraid.’ Irving residents hope to fix homes damaged by EF-1 tornado
Branches were piled up on both sides of Pecan Drive in Irving around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.
The sound of chainsaws could be heard as tree service companies worked to clean up the damage caused by early morning storms and at least one confirmed EF-1 tornado.
Two police officers stood at the corner redirecting traffic from Pioneer Drive to Pecan. Parts of Pioneer were blocked off due to heavy storm damage, which included downed power lines and trees, according to police.
On Pecan, residents were in the process of cleaning up their yards and surveying the damage to their homes.
Maria Ventura swept the sidewalk in front of her house. Shingles are missing from the roof. She said she’s lived there for 30 years and never experienced anything like Tuesday morning’s storm.
“I was really afraid,” she told the Star-Telegram in Spanish, “but thank God, all that was damaged were material things.”
Herculano Adorado carried branches to the front curb. Tarps cover the area where the tornado blew off part of his roof. The rain came into the house, he said.
A generator is running in the front yard. Adorado said the storm knocked the power out, and it hadn’t come back on. His family’s back yard is littered with shingles from the roof and parts of their next-door neighbor’s tree.
Eugenio Ruiz said the storm was terrible. A tree in his front yard fell on top of the house. Part of a tree across the street flew several feet and damaged one of his vehicles.
Ruiz said the rain and wind were so bad you couldn’t see anything outside for a time. Around 7 a.m. the storm seemed to be starting up again, and Ruiz said he and his family got really scared.
“We wouldn’t have had anyplace to go,” he said in Spanish.
Ruiz said he hopes his insurance will cover all the damage to his property, not just the roof.
“There are a lot more things (damaged),” he said.
Tornado confirmed, apartments evacuated, school closed
The residents frequently described the storm as a tornado. The National Weather Service in Fort Worth sent a team to the area, which determined Tuesday afternoon that the damage was caused by an EF-1 tornado with wind speeds between 86 and 110 mph.
The neighborhood is a few blocks away from Lorenzo de Zavala Middle School, where Irving ISD canceled classes on Tuesday because of downed power lines and a gas leak nearby. Hanes Elementary, Lee Elementary, Travis Middle School, Austin Middle School, Irving High School and Cardwell Career Preparatory Center dismissed classes early on Tuesday because of power outages, the district said.
Irving police said that significant storm damage occurred near the intersection of North O’Connor Road and West Pioneer Drive, and some streets in the area were closed to traffic, including N. O’Connor between Rock Island and Union Bower, and Pioneer between MacArthur Boulevard and Ada Street.
No major injuries were reported, but authorities evacuated about 350 people from Las Haciendas Apartments on North O’Connor Road and Tree Country Apartments on Pioneer Drive, police said.
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Part of the roof and the facade were ripped away from at least one building at Las Haciendas. The Tree Country Apartments had similar damage.
Families displaced by the storm gathered at a temporary shelter at the Georgia Farrow Recreation Center, 530 Davis Drive. A table with water and snacks was set up outside, and a representative from the Red Cross was on site.
Laura Alba told the Star-Telegram that she lives on the lower level of the apartment complex on Pioneer that was severely damaged by the storm. Even though most of the damage was on the upper level, she was evacuated while officials try to determine if the apartments are still habitable. Now she’s just waiting to see how things play out.
“We didn’t think something like this would happen,” she said in Spanish.
Ana Carballo said she was asleep when the storm hit. Their apartment building suffered a lot of damage, and she and her two young children had to leave.
The family was able to take some clothes with them, but that was all. Carballo said she hopes they get the help they need.
Crowley and other storm damage
Other cities across North Texas reported varying degrees of storm damage. At least three trailers overturned at an RV park on White Settlement Road in Parker County, injuring one person.
Part of a warehouse building collapsed in the 2500 block of Texas 121 in Lewisville, and roof damage was reported at a warehouse in the 900 block of South Airport Drive in McKinney.
A few North Texas schools delayed the start of classes for a couple of hours or closed for the day because of power outages or other storm-related issues. Part of the roof was torn off at Plano West High School, and a fire was reported at Kennedale Junior High School.
Oncor reported more than 250,000 customers without power in its service area as of about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, with more than 40,000 of those in Tarrant County and over 60,000 in Dallas County.
Jessica Vinzor spent part of the morning March 4 heaving her SUV from the wreckage of the carport beneath her apartment on Deborah Lane in Crowley.
The engine wouldn’t start, so one neighbor popped the car in neutral and guided the wheel as Vinzor and her downstairs neighbor, Sadie Griffith, shoved the front bumper.
“When it comes up, it slaps the windows,” Vinzor said, pointing to the large, loose metal panels still twisting and jumping in the wind.
Vinzor and her children, who sleep in the room overlooking the driveway, were personally unscathed by the violent gusts that roared through Crowley and other parts of North Texas early Tuesday morning.
The storm damaged homes, businesses, and community spaces across the south Tarrant County city. A city spokesperson characterized the bulk of the damage as “minimal to moderate” — felled branches, ripped-up shingles, toppled fences.
At least 600 households — Vinzor and Griffith’s among them — still lacked electricity as of 1:15pm Tuesday, the spokesperson added, citing Oncor data.
A short stroll northwest from Vinzor’s apartment, Daniel Suarez gathered branches and debris along the driveway of his home on Peach Street. The gusts had ripped apart some trees and toppled part of his fence, forcing it into the shape of a sine wave.
He managed to get power back, and, he says, his loved ones were fine.
“They were inside all night, so they were pretty good,” Suarez said of the two dogs sitting at his feet.
Residents can report damage online at damage.tdem.texas.gov to helps officials identify resource needs and help determine Texas’ eligibility for various forms of disaster assistance.
This story was originally published March 4, 2025 at 1:36 PM.
