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| I wasn't alive then but have been through multiple frightening encounters with tornadoes. One of my most unreal moments was being caught out in the open and completely unaware that a tornado was about to drop down a short distance to the west and then track straight east towards me. A tall row of trees blocked the view of what was coming fast. I knew a rain storm was imminent and so was hurriedly putting some items up inside a storage building I had left outside the day before. Didn't want them to get wet. Had no idea the approaching storm was tornadic. While scurrying back and forth to and from the storage building, I paused and looked up high in the sky. Almost direct above maybe 75 to 100+ feet in the air was a brown paper bag being blown about and rapidly increase in speed towards the west. Next thing I hear is an almost deafening roar to the west but couldn't see what it might be. Felt an automatic urge to run and run fast for some kind of shelter. As I'm running I can see, with my peripheral vision, a dark thing appear behind me through the tree tops as it instantly removes limbs, leaves, and all. I didn't dare stop and turn around for a better view as this thing was about to be directly on me.
Can't tell you exactly what all went through my mind as I was in survival mode. It was beyond horrifying. Only thing a person can do in that type situation is drop low to the ground and hope there's something solid to hang onto. You cant outrun it. The only thing to grab onto was what was left of a diseased tree trunk. I got down as low as a body could and held onto it with a bear hug. Wasn't so sure the guy typing this was going to survive. I got blasted pretty hard by the wind and dirt and ended up with lots of dirt in and all around the eyes, nose, mouth, ears, and scalp. Thankfully just as the tornado was bearing down, it lifted and made a slight northeast turn, thus hitting the storage building instead. Heard a loud bang sound even with the roar. I immediately got up right then to try and run towards my parents' house. My parents by then had realized I was still outside when they heard the roar and then the house began creaking and popping from all the wind. Dad was soon holding onto the door jamb of the back door and hollering at me to run. I was trying to run and in fact leaning forward while attempting to run and overcome the wind force pulling in reverse. I could just barely hear dad's raised voice with the roar of the tornado still behind me. This experience certainly traumatized one boy for a long time and increased fears when strong storms were later present. Unfortunately it would not be the last tornadic experience to come.
Six years later a monster tornado touched down to the west less than ten miles away. I remember that night well. The dark sky to the west looked green. This tornado wasn't nearly as close but I guarantee if you could see what I did that night and at the same distance less than a mile away. You too would head for cover. Once the lightning lit up the sky and the enormity of such a huge twister was so obvious, it felt nearly useless to run. The strong winds arrived seconds later and hit hard. That's when we went inside. We didn't own a storm shelter. People further east in the closest town lost nearly everything they owned. When we went the following day to help out a family member in the hardest hit area, we had difficulty recognizing which street was which. All the trees, street signs and familiar views were gone. Row after row of houses all gone. You sort of go into a kind of shock after so many familiar views dating back to childhood become nonexistent in just one stormy night. Saw acts of kindness as well as looting once the lines of cars of curious minded began arriving. I was just a kid who had no prior knowledge of how there are individuals who see such things as a way to profit by theft and by scamming. We worked hard to repair and get past the devastation left behind.
Edited by FarmerTom4440 4/4/2024 12:56
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Tornado Super Outbreak of Apriil 3 and 4, 1974
