Tornadoes kill, injure residents in Texas, Oklahoma

Mar 22, 2022

Alex Peebles Reporter

By Alex Peebles (Reporter), Ben Burke (Producer/Editor)

Before making its way into Louisiana and Mississippi, a massive storm system brought tornadoes to Texas and Oklahoma. The storms killed one person and injured more than a dozen others.

“We know that you have faced a devastating storm. Can maybe even label it storms with multiple tornadoes ripping through Williamson County alone,” Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) said Monday night at a news conference in the Austin suburban county. “We know there are many people whose lives have been completely disrupted and people who’ve lost their homes.”

The Austin area was one of several that served as hotspots for tornadoes. Others included the Dallas/Fort Worth area, as well as the area along Lake Texoma at the Texas-Oklahoma border.

Jacksboro, Texas, located just northwest of Fort Worth, “took a direct hit” from the storm, according to the local counter emergency management coordinator. The Jacksboro Police chief said there were about 500 students, staff and parents present when the storm hit. No one was injured.

“It’s just a miracle. And I was one of the first responders here, and this campus did a great job,” Chief Scott Haynes said Tuesday. “The faculty, the staff, the parents that were lined up here to pick up students. They did an incredible job on getting everybody in the building, getting everybody into the safe hallways that we have.”

After hitting Texas and Oklahoma, the storm system that brought the tornadoes moved into Louisiana and Mississippi. A possible tornado passed the Jackson-area city Tuesday afternoon, but there were no immediate reports of any injuries or serious damage to buildings. High winds also uprooted trees in Mississippi, and heavy rain posed a threat to drivers in Louisiana.

The storms were expected to intensify throughout the day as temperatures rise, increasing the threat of tornadoes, hail and strong winds. Forecasters predicted intense tornadoes and damaging winds, some of them hurricane-force, in much of Mississippi, southern and eastern Louisiana, and western Alabama.

Gwen Baumgardner: YOU’RE TAKING A LOOK AT SOME OF THE DAMAGE LEFT BEHIND AFTER TORNADOES BLEW THROUGH PARTS OF TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA. THEY LEFT ONE DEAD AND MORE THAN A DOZEN INJURED.
SEVERAL TORNADOES WERE REPORTED MONDAY ALONG THE I-35 CORRIDOR — PARTICULARLY IN THE AUSTIN SUBURBS — AND NEAR DALLAS-FORTH WORTH.
MEANWHILE — TWO UNCONFIRMED TORNADOES CAUSED DAMAGE IN THE LAKE TEXOMA AREA OF NORTHERN TEXAS AND SOUTHERN OKLAHOMA.
WHEN STORMS HIT IN JACKSBORO – HUNDREDS OF STUDENTS, PARENTS AND STAFF FOUND SAFETY INSIDE AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
THANKFULLY NONE OF THEM WERE INJURED.
Frank Hefner | Jack County Emergency Management Coordinator: “With the devastation of what we’re seeing in our community and around our county, God’s hand was at work, at keeping protection, and that was wonderful to watch that take place.”
Chief Scott Haynes | Jacksboro Police: “And it’s just a miracle. And I was one of the first responders here, and this campus did a great job.”
Gwen Baumgardner: THE TORNADOES COME AMID WILDFIRES IN CENTRAL TEXAS — AND A BLIZZARD WARNING FOR THE TEXAS PANHANDLE.
THE STORM SYSTEM MOVED INTO LOUISIANA AND MISSISSIPPI TUESDAY –BRINGING WITH IT POWERFUL WINDS — HIGH WATERS — AND THE RISK FOR EVEN MORE TORNADOES.