The severe thunderstorms and tornados that struck the Midwest left devastation in their wake. In Nebraska, one train conductor had the unfortunate luck to cross paths with a tornado.
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The short video shows the scary encounter. The conductor continues to film as debris from the tornado pelts the side of the train. Taking refuge in the cab of the train, he kept filming and holding onto the handle inside of the train. Unfortunately, the train didn't escape unscathed. Strong winds and debris cracked the double-pane windows of the train.
The conductor questioned whether any of the cars got knocked over by the strong winds. He fortunately survived the encounter. "We're going to have something on the ground," the engineer said. "I guarantee we will." The engineer was proven right. In total, the tornado derailed 31 cars.
"We ain't going nowhere," the conductor said afterward. The tornado was an EF-3 with speeds of 158 mph.
Others Face Tornados' Fury
Meanwhile, several others found themselves trapped by the deadly storms. In Oklahoma, a man was hospitalized with a broken neck after being swept up by a tornado in the state. Austin Thompson reflected on the scary encounter.
"When I open the door, I take like a few steps, and I'm like, 'Holy crap, I'm not going to make it 15 feet to the shelter," Thompson told Koco News. "So I turned around to get back in the door I came out of, and as soon as I tried to do that, I just remember hearing the sound of when you get pushed underwater. The sound of like just a 'whoosh', and then just remember getting smacked to the ground."
Two brothers in Nebraska also faced the storms' fury. A tornado sucked the two out of their house, but they both lived to tell their incredible story.
"We could feel the floor separate from the foundation. As soon as the wind got under it, it just vaporized the upper end of the house," Roger said. "We were both trying to head down the stairs and we kind of looked at each other and I was certain that it was the last time I was ever going to see my brother because the house took off."
Roger was thrown "head over heels" by the strong winds."I face planted on the ground and got buried in rubble - which luckily protected me from getting sliced up by any glass - but my legs and one arm were pinned," Roger said.
