tornadoes

North Texas has been hit with some costly storms in recent months -- storms that have caused billions of dollars in losses. That includes tornadoes the day after Christmas and several recent hailstorms.  

For many Texas families, tax-free shopping is a back-to-school tradition. This weekend, swap those folders for flashlights and binders for batteries. Emergency supplies are tax exempt starting Saturday morning.

It’s a first for Texas-- to help folks stock up for severe weather season. Families intent on cleaning out the hardware store should check the state’s “tax free” list before they buy.

KERA’s series, One Crisis Away: Rebuilding A Life chronicles families on the financial edge, trying to recover from the Christmas weekend tornadoes.

A family trying to recover from Christmas weekend tornadoes got some startling news Tuesday.

Following the December tornadoes that hit North Texas, some of the physical repairs have been made. But emotional scars remain.

KERA’s series One Crisis Away, Rebuilding A Life looks at four families left on the financial edge after December’s tornadoes. When the shelters close and the cameras disappear, recovery is only beginning.

Single mom Jenn Anderson had already rebuilt her life once. She picked up her two toddlers and moved to Garland shortly after her husband’s suicide in Las Vegas.

A new type of weather radar is being tested in North Texas – it was used during December’s deadly tornadoes; and it has a long name: Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of The Atmosphere or CASA. Mark Fox is with the National Weather Service in Fort Worth and he explores the future of Texas weather technology.

It’s been a little more than a month since tornadoes wrecked some North Texas neighborhoods. In the Garland Independent School District, officials have been busy helping students and their families get through the recovery process.

South of Dallas, more than 170 buildings were damaged or destroyed by the EF-3 tornado that hit Ellis County. That includes Shields Elementary in the Red Oak Independent School District. 

Saturday’s tornado destroyed numerous homes and businesses in rural Collin County. Two people died near a feed store in Copeville and an infant died 20 minutes north in Blue Ridge. 

After nine tornadoes hit North Texas over the weekend, what can people in Ellis, Dallas and Collin counties learn from folks who’ve lived through previous twisters? 

The death toll now stands at six in Texas as more bodies were recovered on Saturday after another band of strong storms and heavy rain spawned three tornadoes and dangerous flooding in the waterlogged state.

As you drive into the city of Van from the west, the mailbox is hard to miss. It says “Storms.”

A year ago Thursday, the most powerful North Texas tornado in two decades ripped through Granbury, southwest of Fort Worth.  It devastated one neighborhood in particular: Rancho Brazos. Six people were killed and several dozen were injured. A year later, the rebuilding continues.

UPDATE: Friday, 5/31  The North Central  Texas Council of  Governments says online applications will be accepted starting Wednesday, June 5th instead of Monday. 

Original story: 

Starting Monday, the North Central Texas Council of Governments will take online applications for FEMA rebates on tornado safe rooms.  Officials say demand is growing after this month’s tornadoes in North Texas and Oklahoma.