The cleanup continues for homeowners in Jacksboro after an EF-3 tornado tore through the North Texas town on Monday. The National Weather Service said it packed winds around 140 to 150 mph, tearing off roofs and flipping cars like toys.
"It sounded like howling — like it was really loud — glass clashing, trees in the window,” said Bryston Roberts who sheltered in her grandparents’ closet.
When she and her family stepped outside, they found her stepmother’s car flipped over in the front yard and debris all over the place.
"I cried a lot, it's just crazy,” said Roberts.
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Across the street at Jack Maddox's house, the roof is gone and the outer walls of the home in the back are no longer there.
“Just utter devastation, our first thoughts were shock,” said Maddox as he surveyed his home. “You’re in shock and you’ve got an adrenaline rush and it really hasn’t hit you right away you just go ‘Oh My Lord, wow.'”
Maddox, who is the pastor of First Baptist Church in town, said he and his wife were not home at the time. They heard the warnings and put their cars under the shelter of a car wash but later got the call about their home.
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He walked up to find most of his home, and others on Bryan Street destroyed.
“You know, you have the proverbial coffee pot sitting in the same place, the sugar bowls that didn’t move, decorative books that haven’t moved, but a wall is gone,” described Maddox.
Across the street from him, his neighbor Russ Ray also lost his roof. He says his wife wasn’t home at the time, but when he heard the warnings he sheltered in the bathroom with the dog.
“We were just hunkered down like this, as soon as I grabbed the dog, that thing hit, and tried to stay as low as I could, pretty scary,” recalled Ray, who moved in less than a year ago.
About 80 homes were damaged in the area, but many say it’s a miracle no one was seriously injured.
“As a pastor, I’m on the other side of this, it’s a humbling thing,” expressed Maddox as he reflected on how he never envisioned this happening.
Maddox and many others are relying on faith in the face of disaster.
“God wastes nothing, and he uses all things for his glory and that’s kind of hard to wrap your brain around right now, but doesn’t make it any less true,” said the pastor. “Jesus died for the people, not for homes, not for brick for people and there’s a lot of hurting people in our town right now, but the common thing is, we’re going to be okay”
The American Red Cross sent volunteers to the area to help storm victims.
Click here to learn how to support disaster relief efforts in North Texas and make a donation to the American Red Cross
