EF-3 tornado hit Porter Heights-Splendora area of Montgomery County, National Weather Service says
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- The National Weather Service confirmed Monday the extent of damage left behind by a tornado that hit the area over the weekend.
The twister measured a half mile to 3/4 mile wide and was on the ground for 10 1/2 miles, between Porter Heights and Splendora, from about 12:05 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, NWS said.
Porter Heights, Pickering Road at FM 1485, and the Harrington Trails neighborhood, north of Highway 242 and east of Firetower Road, were the hardest hit areas, county officials said.
According to initial estimates, 302 structures were damaged, and of those, 30 were a total loss.
Among the properties destroyed was that belonging to Juan Martinez and his wife Blanca Vasquez.
Juan Martinez bears the scars of the storm that sent a tornado through his home.
"I remember I turned around like that," he said, describing how he tumbled through the air. "When I woke up, there was something on my head and I looked for my wife. My wife was over there."
His wife was badly hurt, suffering broken bones, and is in intensive care.
"She had major injuries," Stephanie Martinez, their daughter, said. "She was under everything pretty much. From the kitchen, the sink, everything was on top of her."
Vasquez will recover, though it will be long. He is unsure of the future now. His property a wasteland of debris.
"I lost everything," Juan Martinez said. "No house. No nothing."
Next door, Junior Madden survived the tornado in his grandmother's home. She too was injured from broken glass when the windows blew out. They are surrounded by family here all of whom consider themselves fortunate.
"By the time I made it from the kitchen to the living room, it happened. The windows got to exploding," Madden said. "God is good, though. He saved us. He was definitely looking out for us."
They now have neighbors and strangers looking out for them too. Rebuilding, though, isn't yet in anyone's vocabulary along Pickering Road. There's too much to do, too much healing before they can consider what comes after that.
On Saturday, NWS released its preliminary findings after completing their first round of damage assessments. It found the tornado in Montgomery County was an EF-3 with peak winds of 145 mph, based on damage in Porter Heights.
The NWS rated the majority of the large tornado's track a high-end EF-1 or a low-end EF-2.
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