All language subtitles for In.the.Eye.of.the.Storm.S04E01.Nightmare.in.May.1080p.DISC.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-RAWR_track3_[eng]

What I'm looking at here
is a supercell thunderstorm

that encompasses
more than 500 miles.

This thing is getting stronger.

I can't believe my eyes!

That's the first time
in my life I'm seeing a tornado!

Very little is gonna be
left standing.

Oh, my God.

My name is Robert Chesser.

My wife and I have been RVing
for approximately two years.

We have three dogs.

Um, three pit bulls
or bully breeds.

Iris, Pac-Man, and Bridget.

When we travel,
they travel with us,

and they love it.

We were traveling in spring,

and we, uh, visited
the Southwest.

We pushed as far as we could
go, and then we turned around

and started to head home
by way of I-70.

We had no knowledge of any sort
of issue with the weather.

It was beautiful.

Thanks for joining us.
We have a lot to get to.

Big trough digging
in from the west.

This marks the beginning
of a multi-day risk

of severe weather.

And it's within this zone

that we're expecting our highest
risk for severe weather today.

I see what looks like some
kind of wind that's coming

from the ground.

I can't believe my eyes!

That's the first time
in my life I'm seeing a tornado!

All of a sudden, there
is another kind of

cloud in front of us.

I'm definitely scared.
I'm worried that

even if we stop, that it could
come towards us.

Once it's on the other side
of the road, I watch this thing

really become bigger and bigger.

I can't tell, Rob.

All I could really think about
at that time was,

"Let's get out of here."

God!

I had no idea that it was
just the beginning.

Hey, everybody.

We continue with the WKYT
First Alert Weather Day.

Friday's the day we've had
circled all week long

for the absolute worst
of the weather.

My name is Chris Bailey.

I'm the chief meteorologist
at WKYT-TV.

What's making this stand out
is not only are we talking about

multiple states under the gun
for severe weather.

But we've got multiple states
under the gun for a major

severe weather outbreak.

All modes of severe weather,
damaging winds, large hail,

few tornadoes,
and the heavy rains associated

with these thunderstorms
can cause flash flooding.

We're talking about massive
supercell events

for a huge chunk of real estate.

As someone who's in 28 years,
been on the air doing

multiple major severe
weather events,

it brings a sense of dread
because you know what is coming.

My name is Tony Laubach.

I am a professional storm
chaser and meteorologist.

I'm following this system
across Western Kansas.

Sticking on
the Northeast trajectory.

We're now turning north.

Suddenly, I see one funnel.

Now there's two.

They do kind of merge.

And then within 30 seconds,

we've got a mile-wide tornado
off to our west.

We're in Kansas,
and there's a rainstorm.

At this point, I have turned
on the, uh, radio.

That's when we learned
that there is more to come.

With this storm, tornadoes...

The wind was intensifying.
The visibility was decreasing.

And there's no turnaround.
It's in the middle of nowhere.

As we approached Grinnell,

you know, we're listening
to the guy on the radio

saying it's coming
through there.

I'm thinking that
I'm a tornado expert now,

'cause I've seen one.
I know what it looks like.

But the radio is telling us
that we are where

the tornado is.

But we can't see it
because of all the rain.

What if we stop and it's just
right behind us

and it comes at us?

We get near the town
of Grinnell.

We know there's a tornado up
the road, but we can't see it.

And suddenly, this tornado
is now coming at me.

We know there's a tornado
on the ground.

All of a sudden, a truck
passed us.

And I'm like, "Oh, my God!"

Out of nowhere, a semi-truck
blows by us.

And he's driving into it.

Yeah, he's-- he's flipped.

We're at the Grinnell exit.

A tornado has just
crossed the road.

All right. Thank you.

And I look,

and I see the truck

and five other cars,
and they're all smashed.

Is it families?
Kids?

And I'm just thinking
to myself, "Oh, my God,

this is bad news."

2

Yeah, I don't see
a phone either.

Is the truck driver out?

And I see the trucker
kind of come to.

His cab is completely wrecked.
Blood on his face, but he is

awake.
He's responsive.

He ain't in good shape,
but he ain't dead.

But there's cars
just strewn everywhere.

This is the most unsettled
I've ever been.

I'm walking up to the car
and I'm taking a deep breath,

and I get right up next to it

and bracing myself
for what I'm about to see.

And then suddenly I hear
the trucker start screaming,

"It's my car, it's my car."

He was a trailer towing cars.

So all these cars in the field
were empty.

And I can't even begin to
tell you the sense of relief

I feel right now.

I felt like, "Wow, you know,
we're lucky to be alive."

We had just escaped
from all this chaos.

We know there's injuries.

We've got to deal with what
just happened in front of us.

Meanwhile, we know
in 30 seconds,

Grinnell's gonna take
a direct hit.

We are standing

in the middle of the devastation
on the west side of Grinnell.

You can see all the damage
from that tornado.

Some of the houses actually
ripped from their foundation.

What I'm looking at here is
a situation that I've only seen

a couple of times before
in my 28 years.

We're talking about
a supercell thunderstorm

that encompasses
more than 500 miles.

We know we're gonna have

multiple waves
of severe weather.

We just don't know
which wave is gonna be

the absolute worst.

My name is Kathryn Scapino,

and I live
in Sikeston, Missouri,

with my son, Ethan.

I took a nap late
that afternoon.

So I wasn't paying attention
to the weather forecast.

- You got a good view, Eli?
- Yeah, pretty good.

- All right, good deal.
- I was trying to get
a different one.

My name's Freddy McKinney,
and I'm the storm chaser,

and my goal is just to get
awareness out there

and let people know
that are in the path

of this massive
tornado outbreak.

Just north of Sikeston,

Missouri, right now, we got
a tornado-warned supercell.

Oh, yeah, big tornado
coming down right now.

- Holy cow.
- Yeah, look at that.

Oh, look at the motion in it.

- Look at the motion in it.
- Look at that.

That's fully condensed,
fully condensed.

Violent tornado coming down.

I want everybody to know that
this tornado is on the ground,

and people need ample time
so that they can find shelter.

So I take this road right
up here.

We're going to take this
right here.

That is an insane tornado!

As we're approaching
the tornado, it definitely

changes to the tall
stovepipe shape.

I'm definitely a little uneasy
about what I could come across.

It's clear to me that this
tornado means business.

All right, debris is getting
launched way out here.

I'm going to put my glasses
on here,

just in case

we got a lot of debris
getting flown around here.

Alright, it's about to cross.

About to cross right
in front of us.

Extreme close range.
Here we go.

That guy's going to freaking
get hit by it!

We almost just drove through it.

There it is crossing right here,
almost in the tornado.

- Oh, my gosh, dude.
- It just crossed.

All right, I'm gonna roll
your window up.

You're gonna flip back around.
- Yep, yep.

- I think, yep, yep.
- OK.

We have this incredible view
of the tornado,

but now I'm just trying to gauge
exactly where it's heading.

Yep, yep.

We gotta be careful,
because if it jogs,

I gotta make sure it's not
coming at us.

We're pretty close to the path,
so we're gonna have to really

lock in on the positioning here.

Might just take this hill
right here and just stop.

Oh my gosh.

This is a very strong tornado
here, guys,

by Sikeston, Missouri.

Right now, very strong tornado
in progress.

Really hope everybody is taking
cover right now.

My boyfriend called,

and he was like, "You need to
go out and look at--

look at the sky."

I saw the tornado closer
than I wanted to be.

And then, I was going through
the backyard, like it--

almost like you could reach out
and touch it.

Oh, it just hit
a house or something.

Something just blew up there.

Oh my gosh, dude!

2

I thought the house
was gonna implode.

Like, the whole walls are,
like, bulged, like,

in the middle.

Oh!

My son was the most frightened.

He immediately was,

"Mama, how did we just live
through that?"

I said, "I don't know, love.

I don't know.
But we did somehow."

So now we're
in the middle of this,

and I'm watching
tornado warnings

in multiple states.

There's no chance this system
is going to fizzle out.

It's not getting weaker.
This thing is getting stronger.

My name is Josiah Maas,
and I'm from Indiana.

I am a high school Earth
and space science teacher.

I've got the work day done.

And as I'm driving, I'm seeing
this storm is looking

like it's about to do something.

Within a matter of seconds,
it expands to this massive,

dark, boiling column.

It looks like it is giant
spectral figure.

There's farmhouses
and buildings that look

like they could be in
the bullseye of this tornado.

And I'm praying out loud
in the moment,

"Oh, Jesus,
don't let this tornado hit."

It's a helpless feeling.
You feel panicked.

There's people's lives getting
drastically altered

by what this storm is doing.

Well, video has been pouring
in across the Upper Midwest,

but the severe
threat intensifying.

I'm watching the radar,
and with each sweep

that goes by, the next wave
of severe weather

moves farther to the east.

We are looking at a level
four out of five,

four spots in southern Missouri,
western Kentucky,

southern Illinois,
and southern Indiana.

We're gonna have multiple
tornadoes still to come

until we get this thing
to finally calm down.

It's like watching a train
wreck in slow motion.

My name is Jessica McComas,
and I am preparing

for my son's birthday party...

...and I see
the clouds picking up.

I go on social media,

and it said, "Tornado,

seek shelter,
and seek shelter now."

I hear Jessica say,
"There's a tornado,

it's across the street, and it's
coming right towards us."

Matt is closer to the entrance
of our crawl space.

The kids and I

are farther under the house.

The wind starts picking up to

a roaring level.

I am holding my children.
They're terrified.

We just hear
everything above us changing.

2

The kids are both crying.

Jessica's voice is quivering
as she's holding on to them.

After the tornado,
I knew my kids are safe,

but I'm in shock.

I looked around in the yard and
it looked like a bomb went off.

Well, here we are.

Tornado just hit.

That's my house--
what was left of it.

The pig's OK.

This is the current house.

I was in the military
for five years,

and, um, it did bring me back
to what I saw in Afghanistan.

I see nothing.

It's just a

path of debris.

Everything's gone.

Whew.

It's hard to process
what my children

went through.

Neighbor's house.

House over there that's gone.
But we're all alive.

We're good.
We're safe.

Everything is good.
We just no longer have a house.

More-- most of our stuff
is out in the yard.

Good times.

Oh [bleep].

All right.
Love you all.

That next day started out
with some severe thunderstorms

that were impacting parts
of southern Kentucky.

So many counties right now are
under some kind of a warning.

This is my home area,
and I'm hoping and praying

with each sweep for that radar

the knockout punch does
not come.

Look at this.

Everything in yellow--
severe thunderstorm warnings.

Everything in red--
tornado warnings.

But unfortunately, I'm getting
more and more social media

showing the knockout
punch developing

to my west right now,
and it's rolling right at me.

I often tell people it's
that last wave of severe weather

that comes during the evening

that is likely to be the worst
of the entire bunch.

My name is Sean Lykins.

I live in a house that's just
outside of Somerset.

I sit about 200, almost
300 feet up on a hill.

I have views to the west.

So we're going out,
checking out on the porch.

You can feel the moisture.

You can feel
pressures changing.

It's right there,
it's right there.

- It's a rope,
- It's a rope.

It's right there.

My son is starting to cuss.

I don't know why I'm telling
him not to.

I guess it's something
to distract myself

from what's really going on.

Is it coming at us?

Oh, it's going right
to the left.

- It's a small rope.
- Let's see.

It's branching from up here,
going down that way.

Yeah, yeah.

It's not gonna hit our house.

But then there's dread,
because I know there's houses

where it's going.

I know a lot of you guys
are probably

really, really scared right now.

Here's what to do--
we're just gonna stay calm, OK?

And I promise we're gonna
get through this.

I'm watching the radar and this
tornado now on the ground.

That dude's on the ground.

I have this sinking
feeling, knowing

this is getting stronger.

We've got severe weather
everywhere across the area

and the worst of this
into Pulaski County

is on top of downtown Somerset
as we speak.

My name is Jeff Baker
and I live here

in Somerset, Kentucky.

I am monitoring the grid
as the storm is moving

through Russell County.

My dispatch office has
16-inch walls

with steel-reinforced concrete.

I am the only person
in the building at that point.

You can see the wind blowing,

but it never entered my mind

that this is a tornado heading
for the building.

2

It was chaos.

I mean, you can prepare
for a lot of things,

but nobody ever
prepares you for,

you know, tornadoes
just hit the building.

The top of the building,
clipped the bed of my truck

and rolled it across
the parking lot.

It really sounds like
it's tearing

the building apart.

If I was not
in my dispatch office,

I'm not sure that I would be
here today.

This is an EF4 tornado
at this point,

with shocking winds
of 170 miles an hour,

very little is gonna
be left standing.

My name is David Godby.
My wife is Melodie.

We had just celebrated
on our 50th wedding anniversary

at the church.

I'm so blessed.

She is one of the most loving
people I've ever been around.

There it is.

Here's-- this is the Somerset
area right here,

and it is just to the southwest.

I really felt nervous
at night watching reports

of this bad storm.

This would be where
the tornado is,

right on top of Ferguson,
downtown Somerset.

Melodie's brother called
about six minutes after 11,

and he said,
"Are you all watching this?"

Find a neighbor, loved one,
relative down the road

that has a substantial structure
or maybe a basement.

We don't have a basement
at my house.

And so I went in
and got her up, and I said,

"Melodie, you know, I think
we better go on this one.

It's headed right our way."

My neighbor's waiting
on the front porch

with a flashlight.

And we went inside.

And I said,
"Do you all hear that?"

I said,
"That's the tornado coming."

And I mean the loudest
noise you ever heard.

We got to the basement floor,
and just that quick,

all the windows blew.

I came to-- I don't know
how long I was there.

I'm looking right up at the sky
because the house was gone,

and I didn't even know
where I was.

I don't know where my wife is.

And my little neighbor was just
kind of hunkered over.

And I said, "Doris, where
are we?" And she said,

"Honey, you're in my house."

And I said, "Was Melodie
with us?" I couldn't think.

She said, "Honey, I'm afraid
she's gone."

And I said, "Gone?"

She said, "Honey,
I'm afraid she's gone."

We thank you
for David and Melodie who

celebrate 50 years of marriage.

God bless you guys.

My wife was blown 30 feet out
into the yard.

It sucked her out.

And there was a pole
that my neighbor had

an old-time bell on,
and it had been split in two,

and it had caught Melodie.

- Thank you, Melodie.
- Thank you, David.

- I love you.
- I love you, too.

I just cried
and just talked out loud--

"Melodie, I'll never love
anybody like you, never."

The tornado finally lifted
just a little before midnight.

I think people really
underestimate just how massive

of a response is needed
after a major weather disaster.

For every community,
their first response

is gonna be to try to help
people out.

My name is Kyle Davis.
I live in London, Kentucky.

As soon as the tornado
passed over, I got in my truck,

and I was hoping it would start.

You look out,
and there's nothing,

absolutely nothing for miles.

Kyle gets his truck going,
and we have light up

on the hill.

All right, get the truck.

And then we can hear
the people screaming,

and they all needed our help.

We find a family of four,

and they're
significantly injured.

Uh...

the youngest son,
he had a broken femur.

When I picked him up,
he hit me good enough.

He did break my rib.

There was a lady and we find
out she was missing a part

of her family,
and that was her husband.

Dad!

We searched and we found him.

He was alive,

but he had a pretty good
laceration in his chest.

I started looking around
more and more.

The first person I found--

as soon as I looked down
and see her,

I knew immediately
that she would not live.

I pick her up, and, uh,

I finally lift her

upper half off the floor,
and she passed away.

He said,

"Please tell me she didn't die
in my arms."

And I said, "Kyle, at least
she wasn't alone."

At least she wasn't alone.

That next day, you see
nothing but destruction

as far as the eye can see
in the path of this tornado.

We're here at the site

where it was
at its absolute strongest.

And you look and you see little
things like a kid's ball

that is embedded
within, uh, debris.

And you realize,
well, the debris,

the remnants of people's lives
that they had here.

The shocking part of it is
to see so many areas impacted

by the same severe
weather outbreak.

Oh my God.

This is not just an event

that you recover from in a month
or a few months or even a year.

Oh, my God.
Oh, my God.

You never dreamed that

it's gonna happen this way,
but it happened this way.

I will never get over
this experience.

It'll always be in the back
of my mind.

It's like a cut
that never heals.

Even-- even if it's
not physical,

it's-- it's still there.