The Bad Kind of Déjà Vu

We won’t lie – the sound of a tornado siren, even 18 months after the EF3 tornado that struck a huge swath of our readership, fills most of us with a sense of dread.

And for some of us, it means that we’re also taking cover right along with our readers, who we also call neighbors.

So when the tornado sirens sounded on May 16, it was nearly muscle memory to log on to Twitter and Facebook and begin updating our readers.

Not quite an hour later, we began hearing reports of damage. We began checking in with our usual sources, and driving in to check on the damage. By Monday morning, University Park crews were already working to repair the damages to fencing and downed trees.

But in the neighborhood around North Haven Gardens, it was a bit of a different story. One family saw the home that had been repaired from the ravages of the October 2019 tornado damaged once again, the roof peeled off like a sardine can lid.

(Read: ‘A Big City Can Have a Small-Town Feel’)

“Storms hit at Northhaven Gardens and at Goar Park,” Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said on Twitter. “Unsure if straight line winds or tornado. Doesn’t matter if your in it. Particularly sad that the resilient Northhaven neighborhood hit again. Damage limited to a few homes.

“The residents of that home are safe as are their 3 cats.”

North Haven Gardens sustained some damage as well – but nothing like the wallop the company took in 2019.

“Due to some damage to the outside areas of our property today, we will be closed for a few days,” the garden center said on its Facebook page.

“I know our city has been through a lot in the last few years. And it is unbelievable that these residents in North Dallas are enduring more destruction,” said Mayor Eric Johnson. “Our first responders have been assessing damage from the severe weather today. We don’t know yet whether a tornado or straight-line winds were responsible for the destruction around Northaven.”

You can keep abreast of the latest news (and what the National Weather Service determines) at peoplenewspapers.com.

More to look for:

The Texas legislature addressed a lot – but a lot also didn’t make it to a final vote. We kept readers up-to-date through sine die, and you can see those stories in our News section.

We’re also keeping readers informed on the latest changes regarding COVID-19, including pop-up vaccination efforts, new vaccination efforts as more are becoming eligible for the vaccine, and the newest CDC guidance. You can follow along in our COVID section of the website.

Speaking of the pandemic, one parent group, Park Cities Parents Unite, has apparently begun making moves toward a possible lawsuit against Highland Park ISD regarding its masking policy. We’ll keep readers updated in our Schools section.

Dallas ISD is working to address learning loss through several initiatives, including new school calendars for some schools, beefed-up summer offerings for others, and more. Keep up to date on the district’s efforts in our Schools section.

A version of this story was originally published in the June issues of Preston Hollow People and Park Cities People. To see those issues, click here and here.