Trees were breaking, roof shingles were falling, families were hiding, and yet most people on campus ever expected a single thing Sunday night. 

“It was very sudden,” yearbook adviser Kimberly Breen said. “I don’t think anybody saw it coming.”

Several tornadoes touched down in the North Texas area with winds of up to 140 mph leaving a trail of destruction and impacting the area well beyond the tornado’s path. 

“The wind was so strong,” junior Kayley Nebeker said. “We heard the sirens at around 10:00 p.m.  but we didn’t think it would affect us. At 12:30 a.m. we heard a crashing and I look out my window and half of our tree was split down the middle, our fence was misplaced, and our roof had been damaged as well.”

For Plano resident Tatjana Barr, the storm damaged her car causing both inconvenience and added expenses.

“Half the tree in our front yard fell onto our cars in the driveway and we had to call around and see who is gonna move it out of the way since I couldn’t get out,” Barr said. “Our Homeowners Association took care of it and sent a crew to clean up. Unfortunately, my car was damaged and now have to figure out who is responsible for that: homeowners association, landlord, my car insurance or renters insurance. Either way I have the hassle and out of pocket expenses.”  

There are no reports of injuries or deaths in the area, but some schools decided to close down for Monday in order to evaluate the damage caused by the storm. 

“Richardson ISD actually canceled school for the entire district so my children did not go to school today,” Breen said. “There were so many houses that were either left with no electricity or that had been damaged that they decided that it’s just better to close the entire district.”

With many people on campus not experiencing a severe occurrence such as this before, people were blindsided by the event which concurrently served as an eyeopener for some.

“Only after we woke up the next day did we truly realize the extent of damage the tornado and the winds had caused,” Nebeker said. “We must have lost around $6,000 worth. No one had really thought that even the storm would’ve caused so much damage. It definitely showed us that we need to be more prepared for the future.”