MIDLOTHIAN, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) – The last round of severe weather rolled through during the dead of night, when many Midlothian residents said they were in bed.
When a tornado barreled toward one family’s home, those inside didn’t have something they desperately needed: a plan.
Even veteran CBS 11 storm chaser Mike Prendergast had trouble seeing the tornado he was tracking through driving rain down a rural Midlothian road. “When you’re at a point where you’re not sure where it is, it’s a little unnerving and so I rely on my experience.”
The tornado on April 4, 2022 caught Carol Ramirez and her five children off guard. “It was pretty scary because it happened within seconds, and we were asleep.”
She got a call from her parents next door to come over, but it was too late to run to the bigger home.
“I saw the trash flying in the sky and we just ran to our master bedroom,” Ramirez recalled. “We just laid down on the floor.”
Ramirez and her five kids were fortunate to escape uninjured after the storm tore off the roof of her mobile home. The Ramirez family does not have insurance and has set up a GoFundMe to help cover the costs of repairs. If you would like to donate, click here.
She now recognizes the importance of having a safety plan if and when it happens again. “I guess go inside a closet, grab something and cover our heads,” Ramirez said.
The best protection from a tornado is to hide deep inside structures such as interior bathrooms and closets. During the Jacksboro tornado two weeks ago, those areas were often the only parts of homes in the twister’s path that remained intact.
Prendergast told his family to hide under the stairs in their Midlothian home on Monday night. “I’ve seen houses destroyed where the only thing standing was the closet under the stairs, and that’s where the people were.”
As someone who studies tornadoes for a living, he urged people to take warnings seriously. “And to have a plan ahead of time so that… you know when the storms are in your area where the safe places are.”
It’s worth everyone’s time to go over what to do during a tornado warning and even practice if you have children, especially with another round of storms expected next week.