North Texas residents survey storm damage from up to 9 possible tornadoes
The National Weather Service was collecting damage reports on Easter Sunday after up to nine possible tornadoes were reported in North Texas west of Fort Worth on Saturday night. The weather service will send crews to survey the damage on Monday.
There have been no immediate reports of major injuries or deaths.
Some of the heaviest damage was reported in Parker County, north and west of Weatherford. Parker County Emergency Services District 1 said in a social media post that firefighters provided help to homeowners and did initial damage assessments after at least two tornadoes crossed the western part of the county.
Significant damage was found from Johnson Bend Road south of Peaster up to near Hodges Road south of Poolville, and in the Authon community along Walker Bend Road and Sandy Lane, according to the fire department’s post. Several areas of west Parker County were without power. Photos posted by the fire department showed parts off roofs torn off newly built houses and large trees uprooted.
After two earlier storms passed through their property on Saturday, Diane Bell, 74, and her husband, Rich Bell, 86, believed the weather had settled and went to sleep, they told the Star-Telegram.
Their 47-year-old son, who was staying in an RV in the back yard, was awakened when a third and more powerful storm hit and overturned the RV, Diane Bell said.
The Bells said the wind was so strong it could have flipped the RV two or times if a nearby storage container hadn’t been in place.
“He was pretty shook up,” she said. “Oh, but thank goodness he just had a few bruises.”
The Bells said they went back to bed about 2 a.m. after making sure that everything else was stable. When they woke up Sunday morning, they assessed the damage. They are looking at an estimated loss of about $40,000, Rich Bell said.
The Bell family have lived in their home on Walker Bend Road northwest of Weatherford for the past five years.
“We’ve probably had half a dozen people stop by and check on us,” Diane Bell said.
She said they don’t know if their homeowners insurance will cover the damages sustained by the RV.
“Just a matter of finding out what the insurance will do and getting some help to clean up, and then deciding how much of it we’ll build back. I just don’t know,” she said. “You just take it a day at a time and make decisions as appropriate.”
Jim Long, 70, has lived on Walker Bend Road for more than 22 years. Originally from Missouri, Long said he grew up knowing what tornadoes were like and was taught to crack open windows during storms so it creates a vacuum.
But Saturday night’s tornado was the first his 19-year-old son had experienced, Long told the Star-Telegram.
As the storm approached, Long stood on his porch and watched as it damaged his property before moving on to nearby areas.
“The way I look at it is, if it’s your turn to go, you’re going to get it, no matter where you’re at,” he said.
The tornado came “right straight through here ... and went over my house, took my roof,” Long said. “And I’m really glad that that slammed against my house, because I have a window there, and it didn’t break, no windows or anything.”
“The tornado picked the basketball goal up and it went up about 15 or 20 feet and (the storm) laid it down gently,” he said.
Firefighters came “cruising through” probably within 30 to 45 minutes, and then the county highway department was there to check the roads, Long said. “The response time was pretty amazing,” he said.
Long said the estimated cost of the damages on his property could be somewhere between $28,000 to $30,000.
Long said living in a close-knit community made a difference in the aftermath, as neighbors stopped by to offer help. He said he was thankful no one was hurt and described the damage as “nothing but materialistic things” that can be repaired.
“It’s really kind of unique in itself, that all your neighbors stop and check on you and make sure you don’t need anything or whatever, and look after you like you look after them,” Long said.
He said he was pleased with his homeowners insurance agent, who called him Sunday morning.
“I always try to keep positive attitude.” he said. “You never know what your future has in store for you.”
“You need to take and embrace every day with kindness and humility,” Long said. “When you do that, you get rewarded.”
KXAS-TV reported on the storm’s impact in Millsap, where the owners of a cattle ranch said they had missing cows, roofs torn off buildings, fences down, and other damage to homes and barns on their property.
“We never really thought it could happen to us, but it could happen to anybody,” Kagen Schrick told KXAS after he said a tornado touched down while he was in a truck with his parents and brother. “Finally passes over, the truck’s shaking left and right, freaking out, we’re moving. Thankfully, nobody got hurt.”
According to the National Weather Service, trained spotters reported a tornado viewed from Ric Williamson Memorial Highway at FM 920, northwest of Weatherford, about 10:20 p.m. Saturday. The Parker County Sheriff’s Office also reported a tornado south of Interstate 20 near mile marker 403 moving northeast at 10:03 p.m.
Video shared on Facebook showed hail up to golf ball size near Millsap.
In Hood County, the Granbury Volunteer Fire Department reported that a home southwest of Tolar was destroyed by a tornado and several others were damaged about 9 p.m.
Possible tornadoes also were reported in Jack County and Erath County, according to the National Weather Service. An Erath County tornado was spotted on a Texas Department of Transportation traffic camera at U.S. 67 and Texas 220 about 8:30 p.m. Jack County Emergency Management reported a tornado near Texas Highway 59 and FM 1810.
Erath County Judge Brandon Huckabee posted on Facebook about a family whose home was destroyed.
“As we give thanks to our lord and savior this Easter morning I want to thank him for his protection over this family last night that was not home when the tornado hit,” he wrote. “There are several properties with identified damage but one total loss. We are working to get resources in place for this family and have had generous people already donate and I can’t thank them enough.”
The National Weather Service reported multiple high-water rescues with crews in boats helping residents in northern Montague County. U.S. 82 was closed in both directions because of flooding, according to the Montague County Sheriff’s Office. There were reports of water coming into homes and over roadways, and stranded cars in Nocona.
A ham radio operator also reported a tornado about three miles southwest of Fruitland in Montague County. Substantial damage to trees, including one that fell on a home, was reported from a possible tornado near Bowie, according to the weather service.
Oncor Electric reported about 8,000 of its customers remained without power at about 10:45 a.m. Sunday, with over 2,000 of those in Jack County, about 800 in Tarrant County and 140 in Parker County. Tri-County Electric Cooperative reported an additional 862 customers without power in Parker County. Power had been restored to most customers by Sunday afternoon.
More storms forecast this week in North Texas
The National Weather Service in Fort Worth said the next chance of storms in the region will be on Tuesday, “when a warm front moves north and a dryline sets up to our west.”
The storms are expected Tuesday afternoon and evening.
“Whatever forms off of the dryline and moves east could bring us our next shot at strong to severe storms,” according to a forecast on the NWS office website. “However, the exact location of the dryline is still uncertain and this would impact our chances.”
Daily rain and storm chances will continue Wednesday through the weekend, according to the NWS.
Total rainfall amounts of 1-3 inches are forecast Tuesday through Saturday, with a threat of flooding expected to increase in the second half of the week after multiple rounds of heavy rain.
The weather service recommends monitoring the forecast this week for updates.
This story was originally published April 20, 2025 at 9:35 AM.
