It was Memorial Day weekend, and the Lake Ray Roberts Marina restaurant was packed.
Someone saw the tornado on the horizon, and everyone ran in the back to the freezer for safety.
Damon Renfro and more than 20 others at the restaurant ran through the kitchen and crammed inside a walk-in freezer.
“We ran in and got inside the walk-in it got hit right then the lights and the power were going off on the boathouse as we were leaving,” said Renfro.
Get DFW local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC DFW newsletters.
What was just a few minutes felt like an eternity.
“My mom probably never told us she loved us more in that moment; I think she thought it was coming down on her,” said Corey Williams, whose parents own the restaurant.
“Kids were crying, adults were crying, and we people trapped in the RVs —we had about eight people trapped—we were trying to find them afterward,” added Renfro.
Afterward, it was breathtaking. The restaurant was in shambles, and just about everything else you could imagine was in disarray.
“It was just really loud, I just heard lots of screeching, said Bella Alcon, who was visiting her parents who have a boat at the Marina.
Alcon and her mom, Tracie, left shortly before the tornado hit. Like so many others, they came back after sunrise.
They were surprised to see the American flag on their boat slip flying.
There was relief for some and frustration for so many others.
“That was my weekend getaway right there,” said Renfro, pointing to his mangled trailer. "And my boats over in the marina, and it sunk."
