National Weather Service confirms tornado hit Texas City
TEXAS CITY, Texas (KTRK) -- The National Weather Service confirmed Thursday morning that a tornado is what caused severe damage during storms in Texas City.
NWS meteorologists surveyed the area and determined a twister hit Wednesday evening. It has been giving a preliminary rating of EF-1.
The damage forced Calvin Vincent Early Childhood and Kohfeldt Elementary to cancel classes. Students were supposed to return for their first day after the holiday break, but that has now been postponed until Friday.
Blocker Middle School, Texas City High School and Industrial Trade Center delayed classes until 9 a.m. All other campuses started on-time Thursday.
The changes come after strong winds obliterated buildings, including a convenience store that was left unrecognizable.
The storm blew through Texas City just after 6 p.m. and that's when some streets started to flood and trees snapped.
The Texas City Independent School District said power was knocked out to some of the schools, but was expected to be restored some time Thursday.
Some families in the area slept in a hotel because of the damage to their homes.
The Tradewinds Apartments had to be evacuated because the storm caused damage to some units.
"Man, imagine if you had a helium balloon, and you were in the middle of the balloon, and they just started shaking it," resident Damien Dearmon described of the storm. "I ain't never felt anything like that before ever in my life."
Any families with students enrolled in Texas City ISD who live at the Tradewinds Apartments, but are now displaced due to the storm should contact TCISD social worker Rita Baldwin at rbaldwin@tcisd.org.
More information about the tornado is expected to be released Thursday afternoon.
WATCH: ABC13 reporter Charly Edsitty takes us through damage in Texas City
