By André Green and Charity Montieth
A line of severe storms produced a small twister that touched down on the home of one TCC student.
Kimberly Elledge, SE Campus student, and her husband, Billy, were preparing dinner in their Dalworthington Gardens home when the roof was suddenly ripped from their triplex early last week.
“ I was in the kitchen cooking, and then our ceiling was in our dinner,” Kimberly said.
Billy said he was just about to turn on the television when he heard a loud rumbling, almost like a big vacuum. He said the walls started shaking and the windows popped. Then as abruptly as it began, the storm was over.
Billy said the city’s tornado-warning siren did not sound until the activity ceased.
“ We didn’t even know there was a horn—it just came out of nowhere,” he said. “There was sheetrock everywhere.”
As the storm hit, Kimberly said a small piece of Spanish Tile from an adjacent roof flew through the kitchen window and struck her in the chest, knocking her to the ground.
The couple and their dog escaped without serious injury.
Neighbor Dave Lampkin said he was in his home when the heavy winds began. He was attempting to seek shelter when the activity subsided.
“ It lasted about five to 10 seconds,” he said. “I came outside afterward to look around and noticed the fire trucks coming.”
Two neighboring homes also sustained severe damage, forcing three families to seek alternate shelter.
Joel Williams, CBS-11 News reporter, said the Elledge home seemed to take the brunt of the storm.
“ We’ve been to Fort Worth and all over Arlington, and this is the worst we have seen so far,” he said.
The Elledges said their landlord plans to put them in another housing unit. They are staying with family in the meantime.
“ Right now we have three options,” Billy said. “We can move in with family, move into a different unit until the damage is repaired or terminate our lease. We don’t know what we are going to do at this point.”
The National Weather Service later confirmed the storm produced an EF-1 tornado with wind speeds estimated at 85-90 miles per hour.
“ The tornado was on the ground very briefly. Its path was only about 50 yards, but it produced classic low-range power flashes,” Clint Perkins, secretary for the National Weather Association and storm chaser, said.
Marcy Sanders, a volunteer with the Red Cross Action Team, said there were no injuries and all affected residents had a place to stay for the evening.
