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While visiting family near Dallas, we rode out a pretty significant storm. Not a fun thing in a home on wheels. There were lots of predictions and watches up for the area so we kept an eye on the weather radar all evening. By 9:00pm it was pretty clear we were going to get hit with a pretty strong thunderstorm and maybe some hail. Based on the storm tracks, it looked like that would happen around 2-3:00am. They were forecasting very strong winds, large hail and possible tornadoes. I’m thinking to myself great, we’re in tornado alley during springtime. Maybe we should plan better next spring!

Since we were most likely in for a long night I decided to try to catch an hour or two of sleep before the big storm hit. I was somewhat successful but woke up frequently to get an update on the radar. I was most worried about the large hail and what that could do to the motorhome roof and the Jeep. A couple days earlier a storm produced softball sized hail! That would do some serious damage! At about 2:00am, I woke up suddenly. Not sure why since it was quiet outside. When I looked at the radar I’m sure glad I did. The storm was going to hit in the next 30 minutes and the storm track showed a red, tornadic signature. We were right in its cross hairs!

I woke Karen up and told her, “we have to get out of here!” Riding out a potential tornado in an RV was just not smart. As we were leaving the coach, our neighbor who was the campground host was also leaving. I asked if they were leaving because of the storm and they answered emphatically “Yes!” It turns out they had to go up to the front office but advised us not to because of all the glass windows there. We drove up to the office and met the night security guard and started talking with him. He had no specific advice but we remembered that the campground hosts had suggested the campground restrooms for shelter as they were all cinder block and had no windows. He thought that was probably the best place so we headed for one of the two concrete block buildings. This one was up at the front of the park and the other was further back in the campground itself.

I was hoping to also find some shelter for the Jeep in case there was severe hail so I parked the car as close to the building as I could and downwind from where the storm was coming. Just as we were getting out of the Jeep the tornado sirens went off. There was one inside the campground and at 2:30am, it was loud. It was starting to get windy so we went inside. It wasn’t long before things got really hairy.

First the wind picked up substantially and then came the loud roar that many people describe they hear when a tornado hits. I can’t say for sure this was the same thing since I’ve never experienced a large tornado first hand but it was pretty loud. Then all of a sudden a large metal vent mounted in the side of the building popped out and crashed to the floor. I’m thinking, “here we go, we’ve got a tornado”. I also heard what sounded like a tree crashing down outside. It all happened so fast so it was hard to be sure. There was lots more wind, some rain, but thankfully I didn’t hear any hail. After a few minutes, it seemed like it was over. Then off in the distance – emergency vehicle sirens.

I went outside to see what the damages were. The tree I heard was in fact a tree that had split in half. Thankfully it missed the Jeep. There were lots of tree debris around but nothing serious that I could see. The Jeep looked OK except for a bunch of leaves on it. The sirens were getting closer however so I watched for a little while to see where they were headed. Low and behold, they were stopping at the campground. Police cars, firetrucks, an ambulance, all with lights flashing. Not good. They all headed back into the campground so I figured there must be more damage back there than what we got up front. Since the worst of the storm had passed we decided to get into the Jeep and drive back to the coach to see if it was still intact.

When we got to the coach we were relieved to see there was no damage. All the emergency vehicles were a little further back in the campground so we drove on past the coach to see what was going on. With all the flashing lights and the darkness of the night it was pretty hard to tell what had happened. We didn’t want to get in the way so we went back to the coach. In talking with the neighbors we learned that some of the RV’s had gotten tossed around and one man had been cut pretty badly on the leg. Other than that not too much damage. At 4:30am we decided to finally call it a night.

The next morning I went out to survey the damage and saw the RV’s that had been moved off their concrete pads. One was a 5th wheel and the other was a travel trailer and they were side by side. In the photo below left you can see how they were both pushed off the concrete at the front. In talking with some of the folks I learned that the travel trailer actually sheared off a ground mounted transformer as it got pushed around and that much of the park was without power. You can see the open transformer box to the left of the trailer LP tanks in the photo below right. You can also see the tree debris and other items blown by the winds. There were roof shingles scattered about from the cabins they had in the park. Trash cans were stuck up in the trees. Several major trees had been uprooted.

I also learned that most of the people rode out the storm in their RV’s. I was really surprised at that. They said they were asleep and didn’t hear the tornado siren go off. A number of them said they felt their RV get lifted up and set back down. Others said it was pushed first one way, then back another. You could see they were still pretty shaken from the experience. Several described behind tossed around inside their RV. One couple had just purchased their new RV and had started their full timing adventures. Three days prior to this they experienced a hail storm. There were dents all over their rig. Then with this storm they swore the rig got picked up and then set back down. They were seriously wondering if they had made the right choice on going full time.

I spoke with another gentleman and he described how they did hear the tornado siren and were preparing to seek shelter. Their dog, who was getting up in years, normally doesn’t like to leave the RV unless he has to. Once they opened the door the dog jumped out of the rig like there was no tomorrow. Dogs seem to have a sixth sense about these things. In the photo below left, you can see from the front view how far the two RV’s got pushed to the side. Below right is a closer view. They were straight on with the concrete originally. You can also see the jacks on the 5th wheel are bent.

So was it a tornado or just really strong straight line winds? I don’t know for sure and the local experts hadn’t confirmed a tornado by the time we had left. A town just east of the park had several homes destroyed by what was most certainly a tornado. Locals in the park were convinced it was a small tornado or the beginnings of a larger one. It definitely could have been worse. We’re just thankful no one was seriously hurt. We’re also thankful our coach wasn’t damaged but feel for those in the park whose were. Especially the couple who had just recently started full timing. One thing is for sure. This time next spring, we will not be anywhere near tornado alley!