Cordell Business Owner Shares Experience After Tornado Damages Welding Shop

After a night of severe weather including multiple tornadoes, a resident in Cordell is sharing his experience after heavy winds damaged his business.

Jim Schmidt has owned Western Welding in Cordell since 2000, and said his employees were inside the building when the storm arrived.

"My employees were in the building," Schmidt said. "They called me about the time I was getting to town and said 'hey, tornado just hit the shop.'"

Schmidt said they were lucky no one was hurt, and had allowed his employees to park their personal vehicles inside the shop and under outdoor awnings to protect them.

However, due to the high winds, one of the awnings collapsed while two vehicles were underneath it.

Schmidt said as they recover from the storm, they'll start cleaning up the mess.

"I guess I will call my insurance agent and and go from there," Schmidt said. "I don't see any reason we can't be open for business. We have power, the front side of the shop was not damaged."

As for his community, Schmidt said he believes his neighbors in Cordell will recover in time.

"Cordell will be just fine," Schmidt said. "I'm just glad no one was hurt and everyone will take care of everyone."