re: Anyone ever seen a tornado in person?

I grew up in Kansas and Missouri. I have been "IN" multiple tornados every summer but have always been in the basement!

Driving through Texarkana a few years back with the family after Christmas and we had to abandon the car and take up shelter in the walk in freezer of a bait store. I could feel the dang tornado but it was night time and couldn't see it. Others had pulled over and were lying in ditches.

Its a very creepy feeling when one approaches. The sky turns green (or once even dark red) and you can feel the air pressure dropping. The stillness of it.

That said, I had a "spin up" tornado go right through my back yard when I was outside, about 10 feet from me. I didn't see a funnel cloud per se but the trees were all being flattened. As I ran into the house, a huge one landed in my pool.