We decided to get closer to the center of the storm so we drove to the bend in 181, and headed west on a small paved road. The road started due west then made a sharp turn to the south and continued heading south getting us closer to the center. Here a large funnel was forming at the very center of the storm. Debris began to swirl at the base of the funnel and started to connect the funnel to the ground. It was now a full tornado and growing in strength rapidly. As it intensified another funnel broke off from this one and started strong ground disturbance. The second tornado had many small vortices clearly visible. These tornadoes look like a merry-go-round with six or eight mini tornadoes circling the main center of the tornado. Little did we know this storm would put down multiple tornadoes over the next 30 minutes as we followed it.

As the new tornado strengthened it started to pull the larger cone tornado towards itself, and then they both joined into one large tornado. The tornado was mostly cone shaped at this point, but would go through several shape changes over the course of its life. From the cone shape it slowly changed into a larger wider tornado. Pic 2 The power of the tornado grew as the funnel widened at the base. At this point it reached it's widest size. It seemed monstrous in width engulfing a wide area. From this enormous wide based tornado it shifted to a tigher column funnel. At one point it looked like the storm would die out and the tornado event was ending. This tornado was roping out, but then the storm picked up intensity and another tornado formed. Pic43 The storm roped out and reformed new tornadoes at least 4 times as we followed it. Seldom do you get the chance to follow a storm that puts down multiple tornadoes in a row and have it follow a road at the same time.

Pic 44 It looked very tight and strong as it ripped up the terrain next to the road. We were less than two miles from it at this point. Pic 48 Pic 49 Pic 50 Pic 51. It looked fierce and dangerous as we came closer to it. Pic55  It roped out again only to reform a new tornado. It was about this time we noticed that the storms newest tornado might be heading towards a farm. We were still about a mile from the tornado, debris began to hit the car and fly by our windshield. We strained our eyes to see if a home was in danger of being hit, but we could not tell. Right about this time it hit the Douglas farmhouse, but we did not know it at the time. A piece of debris can be seen in this picture comingat us. Probably something from the Douglas farm. When we replayed our video we noticed significant debris flying by our car and floating in the air above and around us that we didn't notice while filming the event. In Pic74 it just passed through the house and leveled it.

Although we did not know it yet, just before the tornado crossed the road it destroyed the Douglas farmhouse leaving nothing of the house standing with debris spread all over. You could not tell there was a house here because no walls were left standing as the house took a direct hit.

Debris from the house had pelted our car as we drove up. We tried to identify one object coming down from the sky, it appeared to be a spool of ribbon now unrolled but still attached to the holder. Boards were lying around in the fields, large pieces of plywood thrown around and the road was blocked with trees, debris and power lines. We quickly went from chasers to Search and Rescue assuming someone may have been injured. Remember at this point we didn't know if there had been a house here, but with all the debris it appeared there must have been. The only evidence of a house was the debris; there wasn’t any structure standing that was a house. Another chaser was there so we asked him if he would help search to see if there were any victims, but he and his friend had no time and said they had to go.