Most everybody in Marshall County knows that a tornado touched down three or four times in Madill on April 22. At approximately 4:45 p .m., the tornado ripped through Madill and destroyed a church , two manufacturing businesses, a trailer park and a few hom es.
A few residents came face-to-face with the monster of a storm; the tornado which measured out as an EF2 a nd had estimated winds of135 mph. Jacob Parker was on his way home from work on that fateful afternoon. Parker works at Black Beard Marina on Hwy 377, but lives in Lone Grove, leaving him to drive through Madill on his route home.
Parke r said h e had reached the Hwy 377 and 99c juncture when he pulled over becau se he received a warmng.
"I pulled over because I got a phone call from my dad saying there was a tornado in Oakland, not to drive," Parker said.
He said he also stopped because the white car in front of him stopped. He hit the brakes and the back window in his pickup exploded.
He said while he was pulled over in the ditch trying to wait it out, he saw the tornado hit J&I Manufacturing. "I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time," Parker noted.
The tornado ripped Parker's Ford F-150 to shreds, but thankfully, only left him with a scratch on his arm. He a lso noted that the white car tha t he a lmost hit had disappeared.
Even though Parker was in Hurricane Matthew in Florida, this was his first face-to-face encounter with a tornado.
He said all the power lines were sparking, and all he could think of was to get down.
Parker is thankful that his dad called to warn him, becau se he never received a weather warning on his phone.
Melissa Tweedy lives in Madill, and was at home when the tornado came barreling through town. Tweedy said her whirlwind afternoon st arted a t approximately 3:45 p.m.
"AT 3:43 [p.m.], I received a take shelter textfrom the NWSin Norman. At 4:28 my mom called and said get in the cellar News 9 is reporting tornado outside of Madill," Tweedy said.
The tornado was going southeast of her location, and Tweedy said it was pretty close to her house.
"It was a half a mile or so as the crow flies," she said.
Tweedy does not have a storm cellar, but thankfully, her neighbors share t heir cellar with Tweedy and her family.
As she waited in the cellar, she said sh e feared for anybody who was in the storm 's path. Then , she decided to video the tornado, showing the world - or at least her Facebook friends - the destruction and power that a tornado holds.
Tweedy also noted that sh e was lucky her mom called to warn her, because there was little to no warning from the local news station. She was warned by friends and family who live out of town. A lady livingoffofBrentain Lane, who wishes not to be named was lucky. She was in a room of her house when h er son called her and told her to take cover. She went to the bathroom, and not even five minutes later , a tree crashed through the exact spot where she had previously been standing.
Some people were not as lucky as Parker, Tweedy and the anonymous resident.
The white car that Parker mentioned was picked up and thrown. The driver, Chad Weyant, passed away from his injuries. At ruck in the same intersection was also picked up and tossed around. The driver, Benji Ordaz was LifeFlighted to Plano Medical Center.
Today, Madill is busy picking up t he pieces from the storm, and the ones who are capable are helping the ones in need.