Christmas horror: The North Texas tornadoes that killed 13 people on Dec. 26, 2015
It was unusually warm on the day after Christmas in 2015 — almost 80 degrees. The weather forecast warned of storms that Saturday afternoon across North Texas, but no one could have imagined what was to come.
Some survivors said the first sign of trouble was when the power went out. Then, around 6:45 p.m., they heard a terrifying roar piercing through the darkness.
Within minutes, an outbreak of ferocious tornadoes with winds approaching 200 mph pulverized hundreds of homes in the Metroplex, splintered massive trees, gutted schools and churches, chewed through apartment buildings and tossed cars off highway overpasses.
By the time the horror ended, 13 people were dead, including an infant.
The tornadoes of Dec. 26, 2015, were the Dallas-Fort Worth area’s deadliest in nearly 90 years.
That night, a total of 12 confirmed tornadoes hit eight counties, cutting a path of devastation mainly on the east side of the Metroplex. In addition to those killed, numerous people were injured and hundreds of families were displaced.
More than half of the fatalities occurred in Garland at Interstate 30 and the President George Bush Turnpike near Lake Ray Hubbard. Cars and SUVs were flung off the overpasses and bridges. Nine people died in vehicles, and about 600 structures were damaged or destroyed in Garland.
Three other victims were in Collin County and one in Rowlett.
An EF-4 with winds between 170 and 180 mph was the strongest tornado that day, according to the National Weather Service Fort Worth.
The tornado began in Sunnyvale and moved north though Garland and Rowlett. According to NWS records, the Sunnyvale-Garland-Rowlett tornado ranks first in terms of being the highest rated and deadliest tornado in Dallas County for December.
In total, the outbreak ranks third in North/Central Texas in terms of confirmed tornadoes in a 24-hour time period in December. Twisters this time of year are uncommon, though not extremely rare.
The deadliest tornado on record for Dallas-Fort Worth was on May 9, 1927, when an EF-4 twister killed 19 people in Collin County and 15 in Dallas County. Statewide, the deadliest tornado on record was the May 11, 1953, storm in Waco that claimed 114 lives.
The March 2000 tornado that hit Fort Worth and Arlington killed two people.
In the outbreak on Dec. 26, 2015, these are the 12 confirmed tornadoes:
- Sunnyvale-Garland-Rowlett: EF-4 with max winds between 170-180 mph
- Midlothian-Ovilla-Glenn Heights: EF-3 with max winds between 145-155 mph
- Copeville: EF-2 with max winds between 115-125 mph
- Farmersville: EF-1 with max winds between 95-105 mph
- Blue Ridge: EF-1 with max winds between 90-100 mph
- Ennis/Rosser: EF-0 with max winds of 80 mph
- Maypearl: EF-0 with max winds of 80 mph
- Eustace: EF-0 with max winds of 70 mph
- Hillsboro: EF-0 with max winds of 80 mph
- Hubbard: EF-0 with max winds between 70-80 mph
- Sulphur Springs: EF-0 with max winds of 70 mph
- Emory: EF-0 with max winds of 70 mph
The day after the storms, Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporters and photographers documented the damage.
Here’s the front page of the newspaper on Monday, Dec. 28.
Here are more photos from the Star-Telegram’s archive:
