Tornadoes Strike North Dallas, Devastate Preston Royal, Schools, and Much More

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Update: The National Weather Service in Fort Worth reported a total of nine tornadoes hit the Metroplex. The North Dallas tornado was classified as an EF-3 tornado.

As I write this from an undamaged, intact Preston Royal-area home, sirens are still going off around me, more than half my neighbors have no power, and the Preston Royal Shopping Center a half-mile away is nearly destroyed.

Monday morning sunlight will shine light on a lot of serious damage and destruction in North Dallas. So far, most thankfully, no reports of deaths or injuries from a tornado that struck Dallas around 9:15 p.m. Sunday evening, after a beautiful, clear fall day.

Credit: @JLindgrenCBS11

The storm whipped up suddenly. Here in North Dallas, tornadic winds did lots of damage to structures, autos, and foliage, much of it now choking off streets and main arteries. Days after the storm, streets are still inaccessible as residents struggle to get in or out of their neighborhoods and approximately 300 people are still without power Wednesday, down from 10,000 on Monday, according to Oncor.

Storm Path

The National Weather Service confirmed nine tornadoes: Rowlett, Rockwell, Garland, Ferris, Midloathian, and Kaufman County. The North Dallas tornado was the strongest classified at EF-3. The storm apparently hit near or just north of Love Field — most incoming planes were re-routed to Lubbock — and skipped along Walnut Hill Lane towards Central Expressway/75, where it wreaked total havoc at the High Five (intersection of 75 and LBJ/635) then almost completely wiped out the Home Depot at 75 and Forest Lane. The tornado continued through northeast Dallas to Richland College, Richardson, and parts of Garland.

[Credit @sdot214] Damage at Walnut and Abrams near Richland College

The charming red brick Preston Hollow fire station, #41, was heavily damaged by the storm as were surrounding retail stores.

Schools Damaged and Closed

Walnut Hill Elementary School

Many schools sustained damage and were closed Monday and Tuesday, both public and private. St. Mark’s School of Texas suffered major damage to the gym and the clock tower. Episcopal School of Dallas was damaged as well. Ursuline was still closed Tuesday for lack of power and are posting assignments online and communicating with students so they can continue their coursework.

All Richardson ISD and Midlothian ISD schools were closed Monday and some schools on Tuesday. Some Garland ISD schools were closed as well.

Walnut Hill School, ESD, TJ, and Pershing all sustained significant damage. The beautiful tile roof at Walnut Hill School was ripped, and a fire was reported inside. Pershing students have lost an entire building.

Several Dallas ISD schools were closed, including Caillet ES, Cigarroa ES, Dealey Montessori, Foster ES, Hexter ES, Kramer ES, Joe May ES, David E. Burnet ES, Twain ES, Walnut Hill ES, Pershing ES, Cary MS, Francisco Medrano MS, Franklin MS, Thomas Jefferson HS, Hillcrest HS, Roosevelt HS, and South Oak Cliff at Village Fair.

Road Closures

There are multiple road closures around North Dallas, including:

Updated street closures as of 12 pm Tuesday:

North Central Section of the City:

Tibbs Street/Pemberton Drive

Edgemere Road/Pemberton Drive

Orchid Lane/Burgundy Road

Burgundy Road/Tulip Lane

Royal Lane/Burgundy Road

Thackery Street /Pemberton Drive

Preston Road/St Marks Circle

Hillcrest Road/Walnut Hill Lane

Preston Road/Royal Lane

Royal Lane/Tollway

Royal Lane/Camilla Street

Edgemere Road/Northport Drive

Northwest Section of the City:

Marsh Lane/Walnut Hill Lane

Harry Hines Boulevard/Manana Drive

Denton Drive/Lombardy Lane

Walnut Hill Lane/Monroe Drive

Harry Hines Boulevard/Walnut Hill Lane

Walnut Hill Lane/Webb Chapel Road

Walnut Hill Lane/Midway Road

Shady Trail/Andjon Drive

Walnut Hill Lane/Marsh Lane

Shady Trail/Southwell Road

Shady Trail/Manana Drive

Walnut Hill Lane/Shady Trail

Harry Hines Boulevard/Brenner Drive

James Parker/Electronic

Harry Hines Boulevard/Lombardy Lane

Harry Hines Boulevard/Myrtle Springs

Harry Hines/Southwell

Brockbank/Kincaid

Brockbank/Walnut Hill Lane

Webb Chapel/Park Lane

Marsh Lane/Seguin

10100 Marsh Lane

3700 Walnut Hill

DFR Command Post

Electronic/Composite

Royal Lane DFR Station

Program /Composite Drive

Strait/Walnut Hill Lane

There were as many as 100 signal lights without power, 85 signals on flash and multiple signal lights knocked down as of Monday. Per the city of Dallas, “City crews have been surveying the damage since shortly after the storm.”

Beginning next week, brush and bulk collections in the city of Dallas will be suspended citywide for four weeks in order to dedicate all resources to the storm clean-up, officials said Wednesday.

Local Businesses Destroyed

In the Preston Royal Shopping Center, Fish City and Interabang Books were severely damaged and nearby Princi Italia sustained damage. Central Market is closed until further notice. The Dallas-based SampleHouse & CandleShop at Preston and Royal, a family business owned by the Poole family, was completely destroyed.

Eatzi’s at Preston and Royal, Celebrity Cafe & Bakery, Spec’s Beer and Wine on Royal, and most nearby retail shops are closed for lack of power.

Notable Homes and Neighborhoods Affected

The house was vacant, thank God, and recently on the market for $2,150,000

Many large Preston Hollow homes have been damaged. Even former President Bush and his wife Laura rode out the storm and tweeted their safety. Their spokesman told CBS11, ““They got lucky and are praying for the safety of their neighbors around DFW.”

Since real estate offices often hold meetings on Monday mornings, many were cancelled and instead went into crisis mode to help affected clients find temporary housing in staged homes. They’re also debating whether to pull their storm-damaged homes from MLS.

Here in Preston Royal, we got into our storm closet, which I am ever so grateful to have, about 9 p.m. and we did so fairly quickly. We heard the “train roar” but did not poke heads out to confront it.

That Sunday night, I was already hearing that homes and streets in Preston Hollow around St. Marks are a mess with large oaks toppling multi-million dollar homes, JanMar homes sustained a lot of damage, as did Midway Hollow.

I’m estimating damage easily in the tens of millions of dollars or more. Update: after hearing how many Strait Lane area estates have been damaged, I believe we may hit one hundred million. We could get disaster relief. And families will be looking for homes to lease as theirs are repaired. This storm will also suck a lot of contractors away, it will be impossible to find them: get ready for delays in any projects you currently have.


Resources:

  • If you have any storm damage in the DFW area and smell or suspect a natural gas leak, call Atmos emergency number at 866-322-8667.
  • Check estimated time that power will be restored on the Oncor Outage Map.
  • Click on the Check Outage Status button to check your address specifically. Enter your home phone number and your zip code.

Originally published 3 a.m. Monday.

Last updated 2 p.m. Wednedsay to add resource links

Additional reporting by Shelby Skrhak.

Candy Evans, founder and publisher of CandysDirt.com, is one of the nation’s leading real estate reporters.

17 Comments

  1. Kelly Hoerner on October 21, 2019 at 10:46 am

    Thanks for the great update! Much better than any news outlets’ articles that I’ve read.

    • FestinaLente on October 21, 2019 at 1:04 pm

      Yeah that’s true!
      Ch 11 last nite was good as well, it stayed on top of things – but another one of the small channels kept on going with the football game?! WOW.

      • Candy Evans on October 21, 2019 at 1:26 pm

        I cannot believe KXAS did not post warnings and interrupt the game!

        • Lucinda on October 21, 2019 at 2:32 pm

          We didn’t know anything was coming our way until the sirens were going off because we were watching the Cowboy game. Seriously irresponsible of KXAS not to break in with a warning to take cover.

  2. Martha W Miller on October 21, 2019 at 11:54 am

    Thank you for the update. Incredibly blessed and grateful there were no fatalities. Devastating tornado/storm.

  3. Lydia on October 21, 2019 at 2:41 pm

    It’s going to take some time to recover in this area. If a property is under contract to sell, here are some tips on how to proceeds: https://candysdirt.com/2019/05/28/title-tip-disaster-strikes-while-under-contract/

  4. DGirl on October 21, 2019 at 2:44 pm

    I saw tens of millions of damage on one street in Lobello Estates (SE corner Royal & Inwood) alone. Most houses lost anywhere from partial to total roofing, beautiful historic trees are a complete loss. Those are all $3-10M homes. This storm will be well into the billions if not tens of billions.

    • Cindy Hartmann on October 21, 2019 at 8:54 pm

      Tens of billions?!?

      • DGirl on October 22, 2019 at 1:31 pm

        Possibly. The tornado was 13 football fields wide and was on the ground for 17-miles across one of the most expensive parts of Dallas. It’s a tremendous amount of destruction to residential, commercial and infrastructure you can’t even fathom until you see it with your own eyes.

  5. J Jorns on October 22, 2019 at 6:20 am

    I am interested in hearing about Candy’s storm closet. How did you decide on a vendor?

    • Candy Evans on October 24, 2019 at 1:16 am

      My husband got it through FEMA 19 years ago. I will try to find you the website.

      • Mary on October 24, 2019 at 12:30 pm

        I am also interested.

  6. Greg Weiss on October 23, 2019 at 5:24 pm

    Is there any drone footage of the Lobello Estates area – curious about the damage to the area

    • Candy Evans on October 24, 2019 at 1:18 am

      Not yet. A contractor is sending me some photos. It is said to be terrible, one of the worst streets as far as damage. I ventured out more today and I have to keep repeating to myself, “no one was injured or killed, no one was injured or killed” because the devastation is really getting to me. I know it’s things, but it’s homes and landscaping people have spent years creating. And the big trees that are such a signature of Preston Hollow, to see them sliced and diced kills me.

    • RHODfan on October 24, 2019 at 4:46 pm

      It’s REALLY bad there. @theginafarmer has some videos on her IG Stories

  7. Jen on November 17, 2019 at 4:44 pm

    The damage is just incredible. And still in shock that there were no fatalities especially after the tornados hit with power lines down and lots of rain.

  8. Rl ferell on February 18, 2020 at 5:51 pm

    Is there anything we can do to help clean up the homes and all debris every where i live close but thank god my home didnt get touched .i would love to help i have trucks anx friends also willing to help ..

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