CLEVELAND, Texas (KTRK) — ABC13 spoke with residents in Tarkington, a community located near Cleveland, Texas, after a storm caused damage to families’ homes and vehicles.
Darren Wolf, a homeowner who had a tree land on his roof, says he was settling in from work when the tornado passed through on Tuesday.
“It was about 6:15 p.m., the dogs started barking, and the next thing I know a tree came down and hit the house,” said Wolf.
Neighbors were helping those who had their homes affected by the damage. Justin Sale was one of those residents who was fortunate enough to not suffer significant damage from the tornado.
“The wind picked up, looked over at the neighbor’s trees and they were just in a circle,” Sale recalled.
Another homeowner, J.W. Zlomke, says this Tuesday’s storm had all the makings of a tornado.
“The way the trees were snapping off, you could see the tops of them just coming off. I knew it was a tornado,” Zlomke said. “And then there’s like four big trees in the backyard that fell all within 30 seconds. I didn’t know which way to go, it was crazy.”
Wolf says he’s grateful the damage wasn’t worse.
“I’m very glad nobody got hurt. It could’ve been a whole lot worse,” he said. “Could have always been worse.”
Family members of Wolf showed up and were seen hugging one another, thankful they still had each other.
The NWS confirmed that an EF-1 tornado touched down in Tarkington Tuesday evening. Wind speeds were estimated to be 90 mph and the path length was 100 yards, equivalent to a football field.
