GALVESTON, Texas – The National Weather Service says a tornado tore through a mobile home park in the Hitchcock area.
According to the NWS, around 2:22 p.m. Thursday a tornado tore a mobile home park apart in the Hitchcock area and launched pieces of one home into the air and onto some power lines.
The winds were so strong in Galveston County, specifically near Hitchcock, that it destroyed a mobile home that was used as a storage shed. There was no one living inside.
Nearby, a recreational vehicle was partially buried under the debris. A man and his dog were living in that RV; the man told Local 2 the wind was so strong that it was shaking his entire RV.
"I really didn't know what was happening at first," Buzz Zetka said. "But once it started I knew it was a tornado. You just have to hold your breath. It was a rough shake. That trailer was going every which way. I was holding on. I was afraid it was going to topple over."
Zetka, 75, and his dog weathered the storm unharmed. His RV, however, was damaged and knocked off its jacks.
"It was right there and I mean there was stuff flying through the air," neighbor Donald Sawyer said. "It had me scared. It moved (Zetka's RV) like several feet. He's lucky."
"I'm glad it didn't hurt no worse than it did," Zetka said, coincidentally wearing a T-shirt with the word lucky.
About 100 yards away, CenterPoint workers pulled a huge chunk of a shed from a power line. The damage knocked out power to some of the houses around the neighborhood.
A tornado warning had been in effect for Galveston County until 3:45 p.m. Thursday. Locations impacted by the warning included Texas City, La Marque, Hitchcock, Bayou Vista, Tiki Island, Pelican Island, Port Bolivar and San Leon.