By TSC Staff

The killer storm front moving across the central Plains and mid-Mississippi Valley is pushing eastward after taking three lives in Missouri. The weather system has wreaked havoc across the Midwest this week, ripping through four states and leaving thousands without power.

Tales of survival are emerging from the wreckage.  The Kirksville Daily Express in Missouri offers a riveting, frightening wrap-up on what it was like when the tornadoes hit.

Kirksville Daily Express

KIRKSVILLE — One woman was thanking God a tornado cut a narrow path between two homes she owns.

Another woman was convinced she would be pulled into the heavens.

A local doctor grabbed his camera and instead of seeking shelter, chased down the storm.

Another man could hear his toilet being sucked dry.

No matter their perspective or circumstances, local residents are counting their blessings after a series of tornadoes hit Adair County Wednesday night, damaging more than 200 buildings and killing two people.

Lynne Sanders lives on Dairy Road, east of Kirksville, and when the tornado hit she grabbed her grandson and sought cover in the bathtub.

“It was just awful, simply awful,” she said. “The whole house was just rocking.”

The tornado, which has been described as being as narrow as 500 feet at times, barely missed her house, and another smaller one she rents out, tearing a path between them.

“I thank God for that,” she said.

It did destroy a shed and a barn, but amazingly, the horses inside the barn were unharmed.

Caitlin Kilmer, who lives farther east on Steer Creek Way, was herding cattle into a barn when her brother pulled into the driveway, screaming at her to get in the basement.

“Two minutes later ... I heard a whistling sound and all the windows shattered,” she said. “I really thought we were going to get sucked up.”

The house, owned by Craig and Carol Kilmer, suffered extensive damage, and four barns on the property were also destroyed.

Steve King who lives on North Baltimore across from Nelson Maytag in Kirksville, said he watched the tornado coming from the west. He said at first it looked like sheets of rain coming straight down, but then noticed the clouds were revolving.

“We could see the funnel in the middle. Then came the sound, not like a train, but I can’t describe it other than we knew it was time to duck down,” he said. “[We] don’t have a basement, so we got into an interior bathroom and covered up. At one point, we could hear the [toilet] being sucked dry.”

Dr. Curtis Roof, an anesthesiologist at Northeast Regional Medical Center, was at a neighbor’s house when he heard a tornado was spotted in Novinger.

After picking up photography as a hobby last May, Roof decided to grab his camera, and against his wife’s wishes, pursued the storm.

He found it on Highway 6, just west of Kirksville.

He said he saw two tornadoes moving west from Novinger towards Kirksville, and another toward the south, near Troy Mills.

“I was worried one would swoop down on us,” he said.

But while he had tornadoes on both sides of him, Roof said he really wasn’t that worried about his own wellbeing.

“I was concerned about my wife, but I really didn’t have much time to worry about myself,” he said. “You could see they were moving away, to the north.”

Dave Gubalke lives in Green City, Mo., and said there were no warning sirens.

“The house started shaking back and forth, then the roof fell on me. I hit my head and my leg and glass was all over and I was covering my face,” he said. “The wind picked up the roof and blew it off.”

Once he stood up, he was amazed at what he saw.

“The whole house had lifted off the foundation and was 20 feet from the foundation,” he said. “My kid’s pickup truck, which was parked about 75 feet from the house (the tornado) picked it up and put it where the house was.”

Ellen Gillum lives on Brewington Avenue in Kirksville and saw the storm coming from the west.

“When the tornado got about a quarter-mile away we went to the basement and huddled in the southwest corner,” Gillum said. “We huddled and prayed.”

Dorothy Troester lives in the Lakeside Estates, one of the areas hit hardest by the tornado. She has been living alone since the death of her husband in December 2008, which makes dealing with the destruction of her home all the more difficult.

“It’s very sad ... I just feel so by myself and I have to take care of myself,” she said. “No one was here with me at the time and it’s just very sad. We loved our house, and we have only lived here for eight years.”

Jerome Williams has lived in Lakeside Estates for just over two years, and sought shelter in his basement.

“We could hear that wind just blowing like the devil,” he said. “You could hear lumber twisting and cracking and stuff started hitting the floor right above us.”

Joann Ellsworth, of Novinger, had some minor damage to her roof and car, and realizes she was luckier than many of her fellow residents.

However, she said in the grand scheme, the damage could be much worse.