Security video shows moments EF-3 tornado tears through Texas school

Phil Helsel
Updated ·1 min read

Security video shows the moments an EF-3 tornado struck a Texas elementary school and other facilities last week, sending insulation flying and collapsing roofing.

The tornado, which hit Jacksboro, a community of around 4,000 about 60 miles northwest of Fort Worth, was one of 17 that struck North and Central Texas on March 21.

There were no deaths, but nine people were injured. The tornado hit Jack County and Jacksboro with peak winds of around 150 mph, according to the National Weather Service. A woman died in another tornado that hit that day near the Oklahoma border.

The tornado in Jacksboro ripped the roof of the elementary school gymnasium, collapsed a wall and overturned cars, in addition to causing other damage, the weather service said. At the town’s high school, part of the roof was torn off and field goal posts at the football field were bent.

The video from the Jacksboro Independent School District was obtained by NBC Dallas-Fort Worth.

Elementary and high school students returned to in-person classes Tuesday, although elementary students were being taught at temporary locations while that building is being repaired, NBC Dallas-Fort Worth reported. Most of the high school campus is usable, but the gym was destroyed.

The severe weather that struck Texas then moved east into the South, and on March 22, a tornado struck the New Orleans area community of Arabi, killing a man and destroying and damaging homes. That tornado was also an EF-3, with peak winds estimated at 160 mph.