re: Anyone ever seen a tornado in person?

My Pops watched storms and counted funnel clouds from the backyard of his mother's house during the April 3, 1974 Super Outbreak. He would go on to buy the property adjacent to her and build the house I was raised in. Thirty-seven years later he would stand in nearly the same spot and watch the storms pass during the April 27, 2011 Super Outbreak. I always thought that was an interesting bit of family history.

Fortunately, my Mom was in Virginia visiting my sister in 2011. She would have been a wreck. We lost power from the Hackleburg/Phil Campbell tornado at work (and home). The path on the TV coverage had been really close to home before we lost power. We listened on the car radio after it went out, but couldn't tell exactly where it tracked. I couldn't get my Pops on the phone, and they wouldn't let us leave work until that storm was clear. They finally cut us loose, and I booked it towards my parent's house, trying to call the whole time. I put my hazards on and hit 90+ on the highway. I got home and he and my aunt were sitting on the porch just chilling. They had the car radio on listening to the coverage.