Debris, presumably from First Baptist Church, was thrown across power lines about a block north of the church as the result of Tuesday's tornado in Mineral Wells, Texas.

MINERAL WELLS, Texas – A tornado struck this north Texas town of 17,000 Tuesday night, causing major damage to a vacant former bank building and two churches in the downtown district. There were no deaths or injuries.

Downed power lines, toppled trees and debris from the damaged buildings filled several streets. The twister was one of several reported in Texas and southern Oklahoma during the night.

The Mineral Wells tornado touched down shortly after 7 p.m., ripping portions of the roof off the First Baptist Church and collapsing the east side of the building.  It also struck the  stone bell tower atop the chapel at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church before demolishing the former bank building.

Damage from the short-lived twister was concentrated in an eight-block section of downtown. Mineral Wells is 50 miles west of Fort Worth. Cleanup crews worked overnight to restore power and clear the streets.

Funeral director Rual Perkins said 50 to 60 people were gathered at the Baum-Carlock-Bumgardner Funeral Home when the tornado hit. He said everyone gathered into a hallway and hunkered down as it passed by without incident.

“I was so far back in there I couldn’t hear anything,” said Baker. “It wasn’t all that scary.”

Mike Koepp had a good view of the tornado from his woodshop business two blocks east of the First Baptist Church.

“It started hailing at first,” he said. “Then I heard a transformer blow … and the wind just picked up, probably in 60 seconds. The loudest thing was the transformer blowing.”

Meteorologists said the tornado was spawned by two powerful super cells that stormed across Palo Pinto and Parker counties. Funnel clouds were spotted in rural area as well in Mineral Wells.

David May is editor of the Mineral Wells, Texas, Index.