Tornado Survivors Share Their Stories in Reddit AMAs

In the wake of a devastating tornado outbreak in the South, stories of survival continue to surface. Living through a tornado can be a traumatic experience. For some, it can change their lives entirely.

Over the years, survivors of some of the most intense tornadoes have taken to Reddit to answer questions about their experiences. These are some of the most striking stories.

"It was the loudest thing imaginable," said Reddit user haxmire, who survived the 2011 EF4 tornado in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The house was destroyed, and a roommate's girlfriend didn't make it. "I could not hear anything [else]. My roommate said he and his girlfriend screamed but I certainly could not hear them and they were a foot at max away from me. The tornado was officially an EF4."

(MORE: 10 Shocking Things about the 2011 Tornado Superoutbreak)

One woman survived a tornado in a bank vault. "The bank manager, a police officer, and a bank employee had to hold the door closed the entire time because it would not shut completely from the inside...so in my mind (it did not actually happen), I could picture it ripping away. Thank the Lord, it never did," Dena Clark (Reddit user denaclarkm) shared of her experience during the EF5 tornado that tore through Moore, Oklahoma, in May 2013. 

Another unlikely place to wait out a tornado? A WalMart.

"I remember looking up at the roof and it looked like the matrix or something," said Reddit user wishthiswas4chan, who survived a deadly EF5 tornado while in a Walmart in Joplin, Missouri, in 2011. He and his wife had been shopping when they were sent to the back of the store, and within minutes, the store was destroyed. "It was just bucking and heaving and ripping off, and I was certain a beam was coming down on me. My ears were popping and the sound was roaring." 

(MORE: New Study Reveals Better Building Codes Could Have Saved Lives in Joplin)

Another survivor of the 2011 Joplin tornado was Reddit user darthjammer224, who was in 7th grade at the time. 

"I was taking out the trash when the sirens came on," darthjammer224 writes. "Luckily there was a siren extremely close to where I lived."

For many, the sounds are the most terrifying part. 

"I think the [scariest] part was when the funnel cloud passed over and you could literally feel the air pressure change and hear the house creaking," Reddit user BunnyTornado wrote of their experience surviving an EF3 tornado in Louisa, Kentucky.

What's It Like To Actually Be Inside a Tornado?

"The sound was deafening. You could not hear a d*mn thing other than the tornado and the wood splintering and breaking. I also could not see anything. The darkness was insane. The first shake of the house split something and I saw a brief amount of light and that went away almost immediately. Being inside of it it was like being thrown like a rag doll. I remember hitting the pavement outside of our house on the ground and continuing inside tons of debris from our house and the fucking thing ripping my iPhone from my hand then blacking out." – haxmire 

(MORE: What Caused the 2011 Superoutbreak in Tuscaloosa and Beyond? New Study Affirms Theories)

What Does a Tornado Sound Like?

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"There was lots of popping in the beginning. I remember hearing the glass shatter and the debris even began to squeeze through the cracks of the door. It was very loud." – Dena Clark

"The sound was loud and pretty scary. I don't know if I'd compare it to a train, but it's kind of hazy in my memory. I remember my ears popping more. A sleeper would almost certainly wake. Not only is the tornado loud, but the rattling of the building is unignorable." – wishthiswas4chan

"It is surreal to be able to recognize the sound of the house you have built your life in for the past 7 years ripping apart by a natural force. It is insane because in my mind I could very clearly make out the large crash of our vehicle (although I didnt know it was a vehicle, just something big) crashing through the wall into my room, I could hear electronics popping and transformers blowing, I could hear the roof peeling away from our house. The thing that amazed me is that I could hear all of this as clear as day while the tornado blew over. Hearing everything separate, but also together." – darthjammer224

(MORE: 10 Worst Tornado Outbreaks in U.S. History)

What Was the Hardest Part? 

"I think the hardest thing for me was not knowing how my husband or the rest of my family was doing. My phone died and when I finally did get it charged cell reception was horrible so it was very hard not being able to hear from all of them immediately." – Dena Clark

What Stays With You the Most? 

"The part that sticks with me the most was just seeing the roof rip off, because that was the moment I really believed that things weren't going to be okay. One minute I looked up and I was in Walmart, the next minute it was like I was outside. No walls, no roof, just rubble and people crying in terror. That transition is what is the most vivid." – wishthiswas4chan

(MORE: What Turned the Moore, Oklahoma Tornado Violent?)

How Did You Feel?

"The feeling of community about the town was insane. For a short while, everyone was family. You saw someone and you offered everything you had to help. My father went out to my neighbors house and helped them out of their basement because there house was flattened where as ours still had quiet a few walls. He literally gave that man the shirt he was wearing because the our neighbor wasn't wearing one, and his blew away." – darthjammer 224

Advice from Survivors 

"Do not rely on the sirens alone unless you must (if you are outdoors away from information). Take tornadoes seriously. If the path is looking like it will come within 10-15 miles of you, go ahead and take precautions especially if you are to the north of the projected track. Get to the lowest floor of your structure and the smallest most central room of the structure." – haxmire

"Also pay attention to weather forecasts. If a day/time is going to be a higher risk for your area make sure you are awake/alert to the situation and pay attention. If storms with a risk come through at 3 a.m. where I am I make sure I am either awake or have the alert system on my phone set to wake me up so I can then check the situation." – haxmire

(MORE: 7 Things You Should Never Forget When a Tornado Strikes)

"Our family has had and still has a great plan when the sirens go off. Grab all living things and pile in the basement, and if given the opportunity and time grab things like cell phones, wallets, car keys ... and keep those in the basement as well." – darthjammer224 

"The safest place to be is in a basement or if you live in a single story home, which was my case, you go to the very middle of your house and try to put as many walls between you and the outside as possible, we also piled on loads of pillows and blankets just in case the roof came of and debris started flying." – BunnyTornado

MORE ON WEATHER.COM: A Look Back at the 2011 Superoutbreak