Friday marks 25 years since deadly tornado ripped through Downtown Fort Worth
Deadly Fort Worth tornado: 25 years later
On March 28, 2000, a deadly tornado ripped through Fort Worth. 2 people were killed a dozens of others were injured.
FORT WORTH, Texas - Friday marked 25 years since a destructive tornado ripped through Downtown Fort Worth.
The storm killed two people and injured dozens more. It caused nearly half a billion dollars in property damage.
The backstory:
Robert McKee is reliving that devastating day on March 28, 2000. The Fort Worth resident kept a souvenir from that day: a piece of glass.
"This is an example of what was flying around in the wind that day," he said.
On that day, a deadly F3 tornado ripped across the heart of the Cowtown during after-work rush hour.
The biggest display of the storm's power was seen among skyscrapers with windows blown and damage that took years to repair.
The twister's power tore through neighborhoods and shredded office buildings.
Furniture, broken windows and vehicles were tossed.
(FOX 4 Reporter Shaun Rabb reporting on the tornado in 2000.)
McKee says glass from the Bank One Tower pelted into his apartment at the time. He plucked one out and kept it all these years.
"This is kind of a memento of what happened here," he said.
FOX 4 Chief Meteorologist Dan Henry says the first tornado had a four-mile track with its peak intensity as it was moving through Downtown Fort Worth. Then, that same storm system merged with another storm that formed a second tornado.
"That spawned a tornado that hit Arlington at 7:05," he said. "So only 30 minutes after the Fort Worth tornado.
Today, landmarks in Fort Worth from the 2000 storm remain.
Four uniquely looking steel beams sit at the six-point intersection of University and Camp Bowie Boulevard.
The tornado's winds blew away a billboard, but the girders stayed, now bent in half. It serves as a reminder of the true danger that March day.
"There is a lot of things unique to this tornado that made it dangerous because of what it hit and debris that was caused by It," said McKee.
Dig deeper:
Two people died as a result of the tornado. A third fatality was the result of baseball-sized hail falling. In total, 80 people were hurt.
The Source: Information in this article comes from past news coverage, the FOX 4 Weather Team and an interview with Fort Worth resident Robert McKee.