Tornados hit too close to home

Lucy and I had it lucky while living in Kansas last year . The state had it's warmest year on record (only 3 snowfalls) and very little tornado activity. You would think that we've lessened our chances of experiencing tornados since moving back to the South.....but you'd be wrong.

A tornado hit much too close to my parent's home in Central Georgia on Thursday night literally coming within hundreds of feet from the backporch. There were two 'touchdowns' in the area that shredded trees and multiple homes. I've attached a map I drew to show how close it came - the 'red square' being my parent's home and the 'blue x' being the spot where the 'touchdowns' and heavy damage occurred.

That night, my mom was watching TV (cable...so no local news) when the neighbor called. He mentioned that the news said a TORNADO WAS GOING TO HIT NICKELSVILLE and everyone should take cover. Since his house was smaller, he asked could he stay at my parent's home while the weather passed. They watched the local news as they counted down the minutes. - "Everyone in Nickelsville should take cover." "Only 15 minutes until the weather will be centered over Nickelsville."

My mom said the wind blew, windows shook, but nothing else happened. They figured there was no touchdown not knowing the tornado had passed in the woods behind their home. The neighbor went back to his home, but called soon after saying he lost his electricity. MY PARENT'S HOME DIDN'T EVEN LOSE POWER! They didn't know the extent of damage until the next day after seeing homes in the neighborhood. Pictures she took are attached.

Multiple homes lost their roof, one was twisted off it's foundation, and smaller homes and trailers were GONE! Luckily, no one was hurt unlike the tornados that struck in West Georgia and Alabama. It's the 'luck of the draw' that some homes were hit while others like my parents had no damage.