FRISCO, Texas — Severe weather that swept through North Texas Thursday night produced tennis ball-sized hail in some areas.
A confirmed tornado tossed a vehicle across a parking lot at UNT’s campus in Frisco near Preston Road.
National Weather Service officials Friday morning described the storm as a reported tornado, via social media video they reviewed. After NWS surveyed the damage, they confirmed an EF-0 tornado touched down around the UNT campus in Frisco with winds of 85 mph.
The car's owner, Noel Hernandez, was working in a campus building as the unconfirmed tornado moved through the area. Hernandez didn’t hear or see anything, but a coworker notified him that his vehicle was lifted by the strength of an unconfirmed tornado, forcing it to roll over.
“When my coworker looked out, the car was tossed across the lot,” Hernandez said in Spanish.
Hernandez’s coworker told him she initially worried for his safety, because she couldn’t find him inside the building. The coworker feared he may have been in the vehicle as it was tossed into the air.
“The car lifted, and it rolled over,” Hernandez said. “When I came out, I thought a man wrecked into me. He was parked nearby, but he was just a storm-chaser. He filmed everything.”
Hernandez told WFAA he viewed video of his car rolling through the parking lot, but did not obtain a copy of it from the storm-chaser who witnessed the incident.
The vehicle, a four-door Hyundai, had significant damage. Its roof was caved in, the back windshield was shattered and its front and rear bumpers were destroyed.
“I feel sad because of the situation, especially because of the economic situation right now,” Hernandez said. “You never expect this to happen.”
Hernandez said he has full coverage car insurance, but that the damage is a financial setback for his family, who has a 1-year-old daughter.
“I don’t know what I’ll do yet,” Hernandez said. “I called the insurance company, they’re not answering. It’s just bad luck, because cars nearby were fine.”
UNT Frisco police told WFAA no other vehicles on campus were damaged during the storm.