EF-2 tornado captured on video, homes damaged in Decatur
DECATUR, Texas - A confirmed EF-2 tornado caused major damage in Wise County just southeast of Decatur.
The tornado impacted a very isolated area of the county Tuesday, but it damaged several homes and other buildings. At least two people were hurt as a result of the tornado with peak wind gusts of 125 miles per hour.
FOX 4 viewer Darrell Barton shared video of the funnel cloud appearing to touch the ground at times.
Michael Lopez caught video of an enormous power flash on FM 730 around 7 a.m. on Tuesday.
The storm was making its way to the rural area of Wise County when you can see the power lines explode.
"Oh my goodness. It's a tornado," Michael screamed.
Michael says he turned to his wife and told her this was way worse than they thought.
"I told her that doesn't seem like a windstorm. That sounds more like a tornado," he said.
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Michael's home was not damaged by the storm.
It was a different story for the house in front of him.
Six people were inside the house on FM 730 as the storm came through when the roof was ripped off their home.
MORE: Tornado Warnings issued for parts of North Texas Tuesday morning
Isela Gonzalez says was getting ready for work when she had to run into the bathroom as the storm approached.
"I was about to take a shower and I just heard a big ol' gush of wind and really, really heavy rain and then all of a sudden it was quiet for a minute. Then all of that wind picked up," she recalled. "I just grabbed a hold of that bar in the restroom because it shook the house. It was shaking the house really, really bad. Then I heard my mom screaming because she had my kids in the house."
Isela’s children stayed close with their grandmother in a bedroom.
"As soon as it was done and over, I heard glass breaking down," she said. "As soon as I got out there was glass everywhere. I just ran barefoot because I wanted to see if my kids were okay."
"I was scared that someone was hurt, my mom and kids," said Marisol Gonzalez, Isela’s sister.
Crews worked past sundown to restore power along FM 730.
The Gonzalez family is still in shock as some went in and out of the home to see what could be salvaged.
"The people around us, they have been helping out," Marisol said.
Everyone inside the home was okay, but they were heartbroken.
They say they have lived in Decatur for seven years and never seen anything like it.
"I'm just glad we're okay. I mean, it completely caught us off-guard," Isela said. "I was actually shocked nothing happened to us because looking outside, I'm just thankful we are okay, because it could have been a lot worse."
They're thankful. But now is the time for a game plan and healing.
"I don't know, we just have to start all over again," Isela said.
A neighboring home to the Gonzalez family took a direct hit as well. A majority of that home's metal roofing was ripped off and scattered around.
Michael knows that neighbor well.
"It really passed between us," he said. "My boss’ house roof is gone.
The Wise County emergency manager says there were two injuries from the tornado: a driver whose pickup truck had debris lodged into its side and the driver of an 18-wheeler that was overturned. He was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
Edgar Lopez is a friend of the Gonzalez family. He owns roosters and says the storm threw the roosters all over the yard at the Gonzalez home.
"Cages were everywhere," he said. "I brought him some cages because they flew out of there. So I brought him some stuff to get them secured. This is a big loss over here that he took. Going to take a couple of months for them to get back on their feet."
The Gonzalez family is staying in a hotel temporarily.
Crews are still here working to restore power to those still without power.
Decatur is just one of many areas reporting possible tornadoes and damage from this morning's storms.